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Hello all!

I've recently acquired my first bonsai. Hooray me!

As I'm sure it's no surprise, I've been absolutely enchanted by them. I've devoured much information regarding the topic, however, with basic lack of experience I hope to, at least partly, to gain it ahead of time through this forum.

I purchased Laputa, the Trident Maple through an ebay seller, who seemed credible enough. Is it odd to name a tree,? seemed natural. -_- It came very well packaged and quickly (2 days). Said they feed it regularly and it looks well potted; not sure what kind of soil - It drains, but doesn't go immediately through the pot.

Its allegedly 8-10 years old and i think its great!

Its September in Texas so i dont plan on doing anything but water until spring, slowing down when need be. I'd like to build it a bit higher, but I'd really like to focus on branch structure and ramification. It had some interesting qualities that called to me.

I'd like to kindly ask your opinion of its current state, and a possible projection.

Thanks

Well, you have a Trident Maple, age is irelevant. There are branches bang opposite and one needs to come off. It has been badly pruned, but that is not a problem as it will back bud. Unless it has been recently pruned, it has not grown well this year, mine has made 12 inches of growth twice this year. It may be it is potbound, but there is nothing you can do about that this year. Do not water to a schedule, water when dry, Remember also that it is not suitable to keep indoors,

Nice one, but remove the moss from the trunk. The trunk underneath will rot fast. You can easily remove it with a toothbrush without damaging the tree.

m5eaygeoff: Its definitely will continue to be kept outside. I'm a bid confused about where exactly bang opposite is...I agree it does look a bit drab, and have been watering to touch not schedule. Would it be eligible for repotting by spring 2014?

chrisv: Thanks very much! Ill be removing that moss and aiming for adding what health i can before it goes dormant.

It resides on my patio, and never receives direct sunlight. In part i feel it would shrivel and burn at this stage if left out in direct sun.

howdy laputa,
were are you located? I ask because tridents are a zone7 plant. and need special attention when overwintering in lower zone climates. anyway it looks like you have a very nice starter tree with some nice beginning development of both roots and trunk. you will need to decide the future size of this tree, so a plan of development can be determined

manofthetrees wrote: howdy laputa,
were are you located? I ask because tridents are a zone7 plant. and need special attention when overwintering in lower zone climates. anyway it looks like you have a very nice starter tree with some nice beginning development of both roots and trunk. you will need to decide the future size of this tree, so a plan of development can be determined

Thanks for the reply, its great to have feedback so soon!

Im located in Dallas, Texas. What kind of preparations should I make for winter?

Im a little confused on how to proceed, I'd like the trunk to widen and grow in length.

Would repotting in a larger training pot be advised to achieve more growth?

I've cleaned away the moss and attempted to pick a new front with some markings for cuts to made in early spring.

If you want more growth and progression in the trunk, the best bet would be to plant it in the ground for a few years if you have the ability to do so. Place a tile or plate below the tree to allow the roots to grow radially and not directly down forming a large taproot. You can wire and style while in the ground and train the foliage while allowing it to bulk up. If not, an oversized pot will work well, but not as good as in the ground.

As far as the foliage, I would leave everything for a couple growing seasons. The more shoots you have in the canopy, the larger the trunk to allow the exchange of nutrients and water from the roots to the foliage and vice versa. You could remove anything obviously dead but be weary of dieback.

ok im going to put my two sence in here...
if you look at the tree the lowest branch was grown to be the 1st branch which would leave you with a shohin sized tree .if you want a large tree go buy a large tree. this tree was not grow and sold as bonsai to be big.
the trunk cut you are proposing is wrong. this branch should be the new leader and the fatter trunk section should be cut. this leaves you with a left side 1st branch, a right side 2nd branch, backside filler branches, and a mass of top branches to choose from to start building an apex. I said this before but, this is very nice starter material

manofthetrees wrote: ok im going to put my two sence in here...
if you look at the tree the lowest branch was grown to be the 1st branch which would leave you with a shohin sized tree .if you want a large tree go buy a large tree. this tree was not grow and sold as bonsai to be big.
the trunk cut you are proposing is wrong. this branch should be the new leader and the fatter trunk section should be cut. this leaves you with a left side 1st branch, a right side 2nd branch, backside filler branches, and a mass of top branches to choose from to start building an apex. I said this before but, this is very nice starter material

yes yes, and thank you. I've been studying quite a few deciduous shohin size trees and they seem to fit the bill. I want to accentuate those nice lower branches very much. And your suggestion for a trunk cut is highly appreciated. Its got a huge ugly knob at the top that really messes with the taper. Having that off really frees up a lot of potential.

Is this the cut your speaking of?

this pick... leave what is planned to be cut snd loose the backside this will be the front and it will hide the big scar. this is not the time to do it so you have to be patient