Here is a project 11 years in the making. Truthfully, it’s probably a 5-6 year project, but I’ve learned a lot along the way, and hopefully my timelines shorten as I go on.
2002, received, and planted in the ground:
Then in 2003, I did some root work and planted it in a shallow flat, and wired up a new leader. I have learned that this is not the best way to develop new trunk sections:
2004-2005 in a wood box. It regained some strength after root work, and started growing well:
Here it is in 2008, back in the ground:
In 2010, the top half died back, so it was reduced to a stump:
Fast-forward a few years of in-ground growing time…
After cleaning up the pruning scars, adding fresh cuts to the callus, and scraping off the rough bark around the collars:
This is on the path to becoming a powerful little shohin pig. If it continues to close the pruning scars this year, it might be time for a pot next spring.
I have been studying bonsai since 1994, in an ever-increasing obsessive fashion. In our last 5 years prior to moving from Iowa to Alabama pursuing a career in the foodservice industry, my bonsai collection was limited to a few varieties that could survive brutal winters outside, or winters under dim light in the dank basement of our humble duplex...my wife puts up with a lot. Including the trailer hitch I put on our brown 1983 Chrysler New Yorker to pull a U-Haul full of trees to Nashville for a 3-month stop along the career path that led us to Alabama. 12 years later, we no longer have the New Yorker; and not a single one of those trees remain on my bench, having given the last holdout to a new club member this summer. I prefer collecting native trees and buying the classical species used in Japan, feeding organic, and reading everything I can get my hands on.
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I guess the death of the top could be considered a happy accident. It looks about as big as one of those Al Keppler sumo tridents he’s been posting on his blog. How long do you think it will take to develop the branching, two or three years? I’m curious since tridents are so vigorous.
Early in the progression you mentioned that your initial chop and wiring the leader may not have been the best decision. Could you expand on this? What would have done differently?
Wiring up a leader slows its growth, and in my experience, something else appears and overtakes whatever I’ve wired. Best to get movement at the chops vs. between the chops.
Nebari Bonsai 
Great nebari. Going to be a fun little fat-guy.
I guess the death of the top could be considered a happy accident. It looks about as big as one of those Al Keppler sumo tridents he’s been posting on his blog. How long do you think it will take to develop the branching, two or three years? I’m curious since tridents are so vigorous.
Early in the progression you mentioned that your initial chop and wiring the leader may not have been the best decision. Could you expand on this? What would have done differently?
Wiring up a leader slows its growth, and in my experience, something else appears and overtakes whatever I’ve wired. Best to get movement at the chops vs. between the chops.
Hi Brian, any updates on the above tree, looks good!
Most recent:
https://nebaribonsai.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/fat-little-trident-maple-part-3/
Thanks for reading.
Reblogged this on Bindi Bonsai.