Approach grafting on Trident maple for bonsai

In this video Terry Erasmus demonstrates how to perform approach grafting on a Trident maple which he field grew and dug from the field in the previous spring.
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[@SVIMXNmtg]

2 minutes into the video and already learned something! Thank you so much Terry! If I wouldnt be in debt I wouldnt hesitate to smash the thanks button!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks buddy. Next time then 😁

[@borkobonsai]

Thanks

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Pleasure. Thank you kindly for the support.

[@alexsiv1110]

Thank you for letting us know such a great technical skill, very good teacher

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That is very kind of you to say Alex! Hope you are able to try some of the techniques yourself too.

[@maciejtargosinski6466]

Absolutely great video I learned a lot, you explained everything perfectly. I live in Ireland so will be trying to graft my trident maples next year when the spring comes . Thanks for sharing

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks so much and I wish you every success Maciej

[@gerritdevos4707]

Great video. We have a 10 year old trident maple in the garden and I think this spring I am going to do some air layerings on it. If I look at your videos on these trees it looks like you can have hours and hour of fun with them. Thanks for your inspirational videos. Love them.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Hours and hours is an understatement! It’s my purpose. Tridents are not the most predictable when it comes to air layering. Sometimes they take like you won’t believe, other times they simply callous over. Late spring is the best time. Good luck!

[@BrendonVS80]

Many thanks Terry , wonderful video 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you so much buddy.

[@razor2ts]

Thank you Terry, always lots of fabulous knowledge passed down :-)

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks very much!

[@Brosef1974]

I love the correction at 1:11. Awesome video. Keep up the great work.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Many thanks Justin. Glad you like it too.

[@Brosef1974]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai you're my favourite South African.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@@Brosef1974 is this an extremely polite way of saying you don’t know any other South African’s? 😂

[@BobMatthews]

Excellent video Terry, very informative.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you so much Bob.

[@pablo.4421]

Terry, thank you again for an amazing video that teach us, not only about drafts, but a lot of things about decisions. I have one question in case you can answer me. Is it useful to scrape a little bit the surface of the branch you are going to graft? Sometimes I have seen it can helps to join the branch to the main trunk. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Pablo. In my opinion it depends on the branch you’re grafting with. If it has barked (gone brown) or lignified then you can scratch to reveal the cambium and fusion happens faster. If the branch is green there is no need to scrape. Either way scraping or not scraping both can fuse. Simply tying 2 maple branches together will result in the fusing eventually b

[@tutranbonsaivalamvuon8326]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️việt nam

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Greeting to you in Vietnam!

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Thanks button is click'd. Great video. Are you from germany?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you so much! Most appreciated. Nope not from Germany but there are many Germans who live where I am, which is Somerset West, Cape Town, South Africa.

[@robertosanchezpalomares369]

Good video!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks so much Roberto!

[@gyulazarka730]

Dear Terry! Can one do the grafting on tridents in the beginning of autumn as well? Thank you for this outstanding lecture😊

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks! I’ve not tried then. I don’t think it’s a good idea though because sapflow will be little and thus the graft is unlikely to take. It’s better in spring throughout summer.

[@gyulazarka730]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Thank You and can't wait the next tutorial😊

[@BONSAIenCORTO]

Great, but just great tips. Thanks.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you for the compliment. Glad it was helpful to you.

[@devanmccarty1625]

Great video. Curious as to why you use approach grafts rather than thread grafts.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Devan. I actually mostly use thread grafting but approach grafts is a valid technique. Knowing how to do both can be useful particularly when dealing with very thick trunks and it is much more difficult to drill through. Sometimes an approach graft is just easier to perform than thread in the circumstances. Success using either is pretty much the same, depends on the species.

[@andrewt1176]

Thanks Terry, great advice. Using a branch coming of the branch you’re approach grafting is a great tip and not very often given. Are you able to show removal of the grafts when they have set please

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Andrew. Sure, I intend to show that for sure. The tree is growing strongly so hope I can show this soon, maybe a months time.

[@markwoodard659]

It’s early spring here in zone 7 US. I wonder when to do approach grafting for adding surface roots between spread out larger roots

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Hey Mark. When you repot, that’s the best time to do this. The tree’s roots are exposed so it facilitates inserting new roots. If you’re not repotting then just creating the space needed to insert the small trees/rooted cuttings you’re using.

[@richardnathandaniels2534]

That is a sweet looking grafting knife! Can you give some info on that?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks. Sure! It’s sold by Kaneshin in Japan. We import and offer it on our website www.bonsaitree.co.za/collections/grafting-tools/products/kaneshin-handmade-folding-grafting-knife-230mm

[@richardnathandaniels2534]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Awesome! Thanks!

[@putty1961]

Did anyone else keep wanting to push that leaf aside?!!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

I know I did!!! 😂 Tough being in the video and taking the video.

[@sabikmercuriobravo5976]

Very well explain as always Terry. Can you make a video how to heal the antracnosis ob japanese maples or how to deal wirh that problem?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

I definitely will but you need to give me some more time. It’s very difficult problem and I don’t like taking about solution until I know it is solution. I should do some video on it in early 2023

[@whitecaps0]

Fantastic video. One question. What are the advantages of approach grafting over thread grafting as they seem fairly similar?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks very much! Thread grafting is usually only done in early spring. Approach grafting can be done any time during the growing season. Also, approach grafting does not require drilling a hole through the tree.

[@adamchilinski6149]

Terry... this is great. Quick question as I missed it in the video... do you remove bark and expose cambium on the whips or you just put them in the recesses you cut out?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Hi Adam. Thanks. When the whip is so green I don’t think it’s necessary. If the whip has barked up then it would be good to scrape to expose the cambium.

[@adamchilinski6149]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Thank you… clear. Only apply to fast growers like trident maple or its general for all ‘classic’ deciduous?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@@adamchilinski6149 I can’t say all because I haven’t worked on all 😀 However as a guide, trees which callous easily over wounds will also graft easiest. The ones which do not might need additional encouragement

[@Ollieslife101]

Dang leaf in the way

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

I did my best. 😊 I’m in the video, doing the filming myself as well as the editing.

[@FedeBoonzai]

Bellissimo video grazie di cuore ,spiegazione perfetta! Quando si può fare innesti ? Da maggio in poi?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you so much, I am glad you enjoyed it. Approach grafting can be done almost anytime during the active growing season. Thread grafts can only be done at the beginning of the season, unless you defoliate the branch (or the leaves and buds may be damaged).

[@tonimagery]

Nice video! How successful is this technique?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

It’s very successful when done on a healthy tree during the growing period.

[@hashiramabonsai]

great video! did you ever try to graft a japanese maple on a field maple? I got different varieties with great whips, like katsura or orange dream, do you think it would work?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Great question. To the best of my knowledge it will be possible to do provided it’s the same genus. For instance Acer grafting onto Acer.

[@hashiramabonsai]

acer campestre and acer palmatum should work then :) ill give you an update if it worked next year@@TerryErasmusbonsai

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@hashiramabonsai great! Good luck

[@kevinjohnson4238]

So you do not strip the whip to expose cambium before placing it in the notched spot?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

You can Kevin. Especially when the whip is lignified (the bark is brown). When it’s this new and green there is essentially no bark to speak of so I don’t really feel it makes much of a difference.

[@kevinjohnson4238]

@Terry Erasmus Great! Thank you for the quick response. I love your videos, thank you so much!

[@user-sl5yh2mh7w]

and if you prune the bark of a branch, will the accretion speed up?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

It might or you might lose the branch. I think it depends. In my experience if the branch you see grafting with is still green then it’s unnecessary to scrape the bark. However try for yourself and see if you see any difference.

[@rubinchand462]

Would this work with a Chinese elm ?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Yes. I have done it with several of my elms. Thread grafting works very well with them.

[@josemoreira-]

Any update on then progress?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

I will do an update in spring. I did this tree and others so I will show all to compare the techniques and success. Thanks for the interest!

[@maxjenkem3993]

Do you expose the cambium on the whip?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Not when the whip is this young no.