Trident 07
Trident Maple [Acer Burgerianum]
Sort of a formal upright. Sort of …

November 24, 2023

JANUARY 12, 2024. Well I’m still up to my old tricks: no notes from 2023, though I did do some work on this tree. I bought some trident seedlings in February, intending to do some more root grafts on the front of the tree.  That never happened when it should have, so the tree didn’t get repotted at all. Then sometime in the summer I thought I might get something done with one new graft on one side anyway, do I managed to do that without taking the tree out of the pot at all. Fingers crossed. I did manage to do some more development work on the branches, and things are looking up there. With some guy lines added this spring (and a much needed repot, I’ll get the other grafts added and make great strides toward a really nice tree. As it is, I’m afraid the only good thing I managed in 2023 was taking a few really nice fall photos.

March 27, 2022

MARCH 29, 2022. Well, the approach graft didn’t work, largely because the branch wasn’t attached very securely. It was doomed from the beginning. So last summer I decided to try a thread graft again. This time it worked, and now the threaded branch has put on new growth and is growing well so far. I actually have hope for this one. You can see the graft sticking up behind the tree in the photo. I’m trying to knock off growth along the curve before the branch enters the trunk. Encouraging growth after it comes out the back of the trunk should help the graft take. I think.

I’m not repotting the tree this year so I can concentrate on branch development. One thing one year, the other the next year I guess. I am going to have to build up some soil around the roots that were grafted before. With the improved planting angle that started last year, they’re just sticking out the front, no looking very good at all. I’ll try splitting them, or maybe just nicking them, then covering them up with a lot of moss and akadama fines. That ought to keep them lively and encourage some surface division.

March 7, 2021

March 7, 2021. John Walker helped me repot this one yesterday. I was worried about cutting off some of the old roots, because I didn’t know if the grafts had grown enough. He thought they had, even said their growth in one year was fantastic, but we compromised. We left the shoots on but cut them back to just one bud. We did get rid of a lot of the larger old roots.

I still want this one to sit lower in the pot, but I didn’t try to cut back the flat bottom this year. Next time. I was able to tilt the trunk back a little, and I think that’s a better angle. We started one approach graft, where I tried to do a thread graft last year. Maybe this one will take!

It is the larger Eli Akins pot I bought at the 2019 show when he was here. Now I have three Waldo Street Pottery containers, and two of them have trees growing in them.

March 6, 2020

March 6, 2020. I took this to the ABS workshop at Aldridge Gardens this morning and used six shoots from John Walker to do the root grafts it needed. John was busy, and before I got started Jim McLane came over and asked how I was doing. When I told him what was up, he volunteered to help. I’m really glad he did, because he followed up with good suggestions for after-care, even what I need to do in the fall.  I followed his directions for sphagnum moss on top of the soil when I got home. First I rubbed the strands of moss through the 1/4″ sieve, then I wet it down and let it get thoroughly wet. Then I packed a pretty good layer of it (maybe a 1/4″ thick, maybe a little less) all over the top of the somewhat open soil mix. Jim said it would keep the new roots moist up at the surface, and it will also keep soil from being disturbed and/or washing away. That ought to be another level of protection for the new roots. He also told me to let the three lowest branches (already extended pretty far) grow all summer as vigorously as they want to. That’ll help keep the energy of the tree down toward the new roots. Defoliate the upper branches if I want to, but keep the bottom one growing unimpeded. NEXT — I have to remember to take the moss off in the fall. That should let the falling sap make those surface roots begin to swell getting ready for winter. NEXT SPRING — check the roots and see if they’re attached. If they are I can remove the shoots.

October 25, 2019. This one is growing well, and after taking to Kathy Shaner back in May, I know I have to do something about the roots before I do anything else. And I have to do a pretty thorough job of it. Trey offered to help, and John Walker said he would as well. We’ll make it happen.

March 23, 3018.  The biggest problem still lies in the primary branches. When the tree is naked it looks like an insect being crucified: two branches on each side sticking straight out. Like it’s being held up by a bad robber, with no finesse at all. No matter what happens this year, I have to do two main things:

• Encourage every new bud at a primary branch level that might replace one of the crucifixion branches. I just have to start over.
• Make those approach branches work at the back side of the trunk.
  • The one that’s already there needs to be set free.
  • The new one has to be started!

February 26, 2018. Repotted in the large Chinese unglazed rectangle I’ve had for a few years. It really looks good, but I was a bit disappointed when I cleaned it up and found almost no root spread at all. On the other hand, the base of the trunk was sheared off level and has completely healed over. I know my experience is limited, but I’ve not seen anything like this before live or on video. The only thing I can do this year is help it grow and try to get a few branches on the back side of the trunk.

August 26, 2017. Front.

August 2017. I took this one to the Saturday workshop in the Potting Shed and got a good bit of cleaning up done. And I got some good encouragement for making one or two more thread grafts. This one will be a “nice tree” quicker than the Hackberry I bought at the same time. The photo shows what is clearly the front, since there’s a pretty sharp bend forward at the point of the first big chop.

2017.July. I bought this one on eBay from a seller named Tony Baudier in River Ridge, Louisiana. Google says that’s a suburb of New Orleans, and it looks like it’s part of the city on the map.

The trunk is good but needs some cleanup. The branches have been started and there’s a living thread graft that looks healthy and ready to be set free. I really like the tree.

I got a message through eBay today from the seller, offering more information if I want it. I do, so I’ll see what I can learn.