PROJECT- Trident Maple III

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I have had this trident maple about 4 years. It started as a yard tree in a 5-gallon container. The tree was chopped down and branches removed. The top was carved to help with the taper. This tree is like a stick almost all the way up, but I have decided that the top will make a fine shohin. I will continue to refine the top while on this tree since the growth will be much faster than cutting it off and re-growing from there. I have decided to use the tree as a training ground for some layering practice.

First up, the tree after defoliation:

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While the tree is just OK in this configuration, I feel that some changes in pruning and a ground layer to improve the nebari will help this tree for a possible showing during the time it takes the new apex to grow out.

I will start by removing some of the branches that grow straight up:

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The tree was being trained in the neo-classical style with a rounded top. I have decided that the future shohin will be in the classical style (conifer style), and that the apex needs a lot of pruning and thinning.

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The back of the scar. The apex has a few good-size potential leaders coming from the same area. These will be reduced to two. I think using the lignan (clip & grow) method, I can selectively prune the top for proper branches without the need for a lot of wiring.

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The apex of the tree after the pruning. I have pruned out all unwanted growth. All the cuts on the tree were sealed with Kiyonal sealant. This preventive sealant is especially important because the heat at this time of year (summer) can otherwise dry out cut tips and cause die back of branches.

The top of the tree is looking more like what I envision for the future shohin. I tried to make the bottom of this pictur the approximate line at which I would layer the tree.

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This is the complete tree after hard pruning back of the branches. If you squint hard enough you can imagine the outline of the future tree at the top:

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Now on to part II.

While I was happy with the progress with the pruning and development of the tree as a whole, the bottom of the tree has suffered greatly since it's captivite in a shallow pot.

When this tree was first potted, the roots showed no signs of protruding from the soil, but the present shallow pot has forced the roots from the pot, and some of them have grown quite large, and even have bark on them! Unfortunately, the tree has no roots at all on the back half of the tree.

The only thing to do is perform a ground layer and try to start over.

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At one time the tree had a circle of aerial roots that formed from all the little bumps circling the trunk and plunged into the soil. I decided that this was a logical area I wanted to layer the tree. I made a mark all the way around the circumference of the tree at this point, and a second mark below it to identify the section that I will remove.

I decided that I should move the lower mark a little further down the trunk to enlarge the cut area just to sure that the areas remain separate. In this way the trunk will have no choice but to send out roots rather than bridge the gap:

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Before the cuts were made, I prepared everything I would need for the procedure. I cut a 1-gallon plastic nursery can about 2" from the bottom by splitting the can and then cutting around the circumference.

This gave me the sleeve that I needed to wrap around the tree to hold the soil.

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