Trident Maple Fall (Winter?) Color

Not sure why this is the first year that my maple tree(s) are exhibiting fall leaf color, but it’s nice to see reds and other colors instead of brown.

Do you have any hints to bring about more fall color in your maples?

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Trident Update

My first Trident fusion “tree” began on January 1, 2011.

I planted it in the ground (raised garden bed) this past spring, and now (December 1, 2013) it’s 8′ tall. I haven’t pruned this tree at all, ever. There has been some good fusion on the front side, but obvious gaps elsewhere due to dead seedlings and lack of light received by the rear branches.

I plan to pull the tree in the late winter/early spring and place in a large RootMaker pot. This should allow better overall growth as I’ll be able to rotate throughout the growing season. I’ll also start some air layers in order to have material to fill the gaps. There are several branches that need to be removed, as they have fused fully and keeping them will only result in bigger scars.

I wrapped up the branches a couple weeks ago to make the tree easier to move in the spring. I was concerned about the branches lignifying and breaking.

Maples in Spring

Well, spring is definitely here! Lots of leaves out and more on the way.

Trident Maple

The trident was repotted a couple weeks ago before the leaves appeared in a wider pot. The roots needed a lot of trimming, and I carefully laid them out in a radial pattern from the trunk. I used cactus mix again for this season.

Amur Maple Seedlings

As you might have read in prior posts, I have a method that has worked very well for germinating maple seeds. These were the ones I collected in Santa Fe, NM. I keep them in the refrigerator, check for sprouting ones weekly, then plant them with the root down and the top of the samara pointed upwards.

Japanese Maple Seedlings

I planted these way late last year, and while some seem to have lost their leaves and gone dormant, others didn’t and are showing some new growth right now. It will be interesting to see how they do over the summer.

What Next?

Clean Up

I need to remove a few of the dead seedlings that are wired to the frame, and clean out the leaves and debris from the top of the tree

Trident Maple–1 Year Compared

Just for reference:

Trident Maple After One Season

Here is what has resulted from one year of growth:

Clearly some good growth and fusing occurred here.  The amount of fusing is consistent around the lower part of the tree.  Some of the seedlings didn’t make it; if I had to guess, I’d say maybe 5 or 6 didn’t wake up from dormancy, and the same number perished during the year.

Leaved Out

I was very glad to know  the Trident seedlings were viable once the buds broke in the Spring.