On a very cold day (for Florida) i was lucky enough to have the NoNaMe’ Bonsai Study group and Mike Rogers help me to move my large Trident Maple.  Altough it fit nicely where I had it, I found that it was too difficult to work on it.  So I decided to move it out into my yard for easy access.  The fact that the tree and bonsai pot weigh about 500 pounds I’m not worried about it walking away.

The first challange was to get the tree out of the pot and then move the components separately. 

Defoliating the Maple

 We moved the tree into a plastic tub so that it could be moved more easily.  Since the tree hadn’t dropped its leaves yet, the group helped the tree into dormancy by defoliating the tree.

setting the stand

The stand needed to be placed and leveled so that it would support the tree, and sit level.  Edwin and David are using a level to make sure we had a perfect stand.

Finishing touches

I added some additional soil to stablize the stand while the rest of the group finished with the tree.

Combing the roots

One last task was to comb out the roots.  I don’t know the next time I will repot this tree so we took advantage by working the roots prior to the repot.

Setting the Tree

The tree was then set in the pot (back towards the photo) and the soil was added.  The sun rises from the right side of the photo and sets behind to the left.  I am trying to develop my first branch and in order to maximize the sunlight we potted it facing this way.

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It was not even two weeks ago that I removed the leaves from my large Trident Maple, and today the leaves are already popping.  It has been a very hot and sunny Summer, so the risk of too much sun is always a concern.  However with leaves popping all over the tree I know it will be a very short time that this tree has its canopy back.

Close up of Trident Maple bud

Here is a close up of one of the branches.  The brown stem on top is where the leaf was removed.  The large shoot to th right was the small bud at the base of the old leaf.

2 leaf intersection

Here is another example of the end of a branch where two leaves were removed.  Although this looks to be one bud, there are two.  One formed at the base of the old leaves.  I’ll be sure to post future pictures to show how the size of these leaves were reduced by removing them.

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The weather today in Orlando was a high in the lower 90′s and sunny.  However in my back yard it has turned Fall for my Trident Maple.  Our growing season lasts for about 9 months here, and in the middle of Summer trees slow down a great deal and practically go dormant.  During that time we are able to defoliate our deciduous trees to gain a second growing season.  In effect, we can get two full growing seasons in one.

Defoliated Trident Maple

If you remember last year I let this tree grow for the entire year without really doing much to it, but you’ll also remember that I had areas along the trunk that failed to produce new branches.  I defoliated it this year for a number of reasons.  First to get a good look at the growth along the trunk.  Second, to let more light in so that branches that are developing can get more sunlight (these branches I left the leaves on).  Third to take advantage of our long growing season. 

New first branch

I had a set back this year as my first (and most important branch dies) however the great news is that a new branch has begun to develop in an even better location.  With the leaves removed this branch can begin to thrive while the rest of the tree grows back its leaves.

New buds

However don’t worry this tree will recover.  When a leaf is pulled off a new one will grow a thrid smaller.  This is good to know for when the tree is ready for show to reduce the leaves.  In the picture above you can see the new leaves ready to grow.  It should only be a few weeks before the tree is once again leafed out.

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The Trident maple has begun to fill in but as you remember I opened this tree up pretty well.  So I have a lot of bare areas that need to fill in.  Also I broke the first main branch as I was trying to bend it, so now I need to develop a new one.  This tree really needs a lot of work, but I think it will come along quickly.

Trident Maple just leafed out

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