Pruning Trident Maple Bonsai during the Growing Season to develop better branches

In this video I will walk you through the process of pruning a trident maple bonsai during the growing season. Trident maple is better resistant to hot weather and can grow to enormous proportions in one season. As such, timed pruning is needed to ensure fine growth at the top, and heavier growth on the lower branches.

[@jeffhurst4744]

Like the way you explain what you’re doing/cutting/etc and what you expect to happen as the tree matures into the bonsai envisioned.

[@GrowingBonsai]

I do try and watch what I record in the viewpoint of someone watching without prior info. The "Why do you do this" and "what do you expect to happen" questions come to mind even before I start recording.

[@FrostBiteBonsai]

A ton of great information! I love how you reviewed all the information near the finish. What a difference on that tree! Thanks Jelle!

[@GrowingBonsai]

So nice of you

[@rtregear]

Very informative, Jelle. Thanks!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bigtomatoplantslover6205]

Beautiful Bonsai 😍 Like it ❤️ My friend, thank you for good sharing 😊 Have a good day

[@GrowingBonsai]

Have a nice day

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Love the gigantic trunk of your trident. I guess it wasn’t that easy as it looked, to work through this bunch of shouts… I do have different opportunities this year, as lot of my maples didn’t grew as well this season. Haven’t been all in perfect substrate, as I’m still in my find out phase… 😬 Learning a lot the hard way it seems. So I’m happy to watch you working on your healthy trees and have a prospective into future, if doing right … 😄🙋‍♀️

[@GrowingBonsai]

:) The aim is to make things seem doable in my videos. I do not believe telling someone it is very difficult helps anyone :). But.. The more often you do things, the easier they become.

[@phillipwaterman5721]

Hello jelle nice video keep up the good work mate thanks

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thanks, will do!

[@nerinat8371]

Stunning trunk!! Thanks for explaining the process its very helpful

[@GrowingBonsai]

Glad it was helpful! Thx :)

[@living_sculptures_za]

This is a very informative and well presented video.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thank you so much!

[@Mindfuluser2024]

Great and informative thank you very much!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Glad it was helpful!

[@carlmcclain6934]

Very instructive and helpful. My little trident maple is only a small version of this fantastic tree, but has lots of growth and potential. Thanks for the video!

[@GrowingBonsai]

You are very welcome. If left alone, tridents can get really big, fast!

[@allanbanks1222]

Jelle, great video as always, wondering if you could make an update video on this tree?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Not much to show on this one though! It is just growing, and healing the wounds :) Been a cold year this year, so very slow going!

[@sebastienleblanc2708]

I got a dozen Sugar maples 🍁 that I transplanted and pruned

[@GrowingBonsai]

How are these doing?

[@marcovalsesia2020]

perhaps you can make a video when to prune single types?

[@abhinav3101]

Nice

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thanks, good to see you here

[@Yurup]

Great video, always good to see the theory in practice! I was wondering, do you have any Mugo pines and could you do a video about them? There is a lot of conflicting information out there and I would love to get some info from someone in my climate!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Great suggestion! I have one, which I am styling. So this is a species which I am also learning about!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

All my tridents are now showing the new growth - I pruned about 3 weeks ago. My leaves seem to have the same brown tips as yours. I always forget to take the leaves off the sacrifice branches. Great video. We must have done the pruning about the same time - did you take any cuttings... 😉

[@sigridscholt9276]

To much roots for the leaves ?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

@@sigridscholt9276 I'm not sure I've heard of that as an issue before?

[@sigridscholt9276]

Pot grown plant thing

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

@@sigridscholt9276 I must look into that - cheers

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hahaha, no. I did not take cuttings. Or did I? The tips are either fungal or frost or too much fertilizer in spring (I have a habit of tossing some salt granules in the pots in spring). I am still with fungal.

[@W9SL9Y]

Hi Jelle, is it okay to do a full defoliation in winter (if the maple doesn't drop all the leaves) to do more precise prune and wiring? Thanks for another great video!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Yes you can! Normally it would drop all the leaves anyway!

[@Bonsaiandknives]

Hi Jelle, you are lucky with this fat trunk! I just started Trident Maple with two 3-years old plant. Development of such a trunk needs up to more than 10-15 years I suppose?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Yeah, and depending on your climate, more. I find I can get 3cm fattening in a year on a unrestricted growing trident and then the growing season is over already :)

[@Albanus35]

Hey Jelle! It's Albas from Brazil. I actually have a question about Trident Maples! Can you do air layerings, and after removing them (about early summer), repot the original bottom tree? Or will I have to wait another year to repot the bottom part? Because I have one attached to the ground, I want to airlayer it since it's kind of rare around here, but it grew so vigorous last season that I think the Nebari needs some attention at this point, because if it grew so fat on top, the bottom may also have, you know... What do you think?

[@GrowingBonsai]

I have killed most of my trees due to impatience. Airlayering asks a lot from the original tree. It depends thus a lot on how much foliage is below the layer site. If that is substantial I would certainly risk it. Then again.. Repotting in summer is frowned upon by many :)

[@Albanus35]

@@GrowingBonsai Thanks for the reply Jelle, but it has nothing to do with impatience, I wouldn't mind at all to wait a year more to work the roots, I just don't want to mess it up you know, when a tree grows that fast it's easy to deform a good nebari, that's my only concern... It is now 3m tall, and it was like 50cm tall, that's a lot for a single growing season.But thank you so much for your response, I will air layer and see how it goes, maybe let the repot to next season to be sure. After all, Trident maples can take intense root pruning.

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@Albanus35 your clinate is different than mine. Here things stop at 1 maybe 1.5m in a growing season. With such a sacrifice your tree will be pumped 💪

[@chasingthefish9042]

Would it be a good time for a trunk chop?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Why would I chop this tree?

[@chasingthefish9042]

@@GrowingBonsai no I was asking if it would be a good time to do a trunk chop on a maple

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Hello Jelle! I got a kinda off same type of trident. Low and fat. In late winter I pruned almost every branch of. Not in the right place. Ita alive but it have just put out maybe 10 leaves this year and is looking very weak. What would you do to improve it? I have not touched it offcourse afther I did the big branch selection. I thought it was going go explod with growth this year...but not so much. It leaf out really late too

[@GrowingBonsai]

could it be ot was hit with a late frost? They really dislike the cold spring here. I assume good substrate and a moderate organic fertilizer are applied? Warm spot with decent light (but be wary of sunburn of a bare trunk). Without being able to see it, it is hard to give more than that!

[@johnrb9397]

Hey Jelle, Can you give a shout out to Tony from Tony’s Bonsai. He is terminally I’ll and I know it will make his last days hearing this shout out 👍❤

[@GrowingBonsai]

Yeah, I know. Am in contact with him.

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@GrowingBonsai]

:)

[@DarthMasiah]

🖖

[@GrowingBonsai]

👍