Need help trying to plan for this tree.

Hello everybody, I've been spending the afternoon today looking over and doing some minor work on my trees. I have this trident that I just don't know what to do with. It has a rather ugly area 2/3s the way up the tree where there are a bunch of old scars from branches being removed before i got the tree and the remaining branches come off at odd angles leaving a bunch of reverse taper.



What I'm pondering is doing a trunk chop right in the center of this area try to rebuild the apex and hope for some back budding lower down on the tree. The second picture here where I'm thinking of doing the chop, probably along the green line, but the red line might also be a possibility.



I don't know when I would do this, probably next year or the year after, once I get the branches below the cut built up a bit more. I think I would help get rid of the awkward area and end up giving me a bit a better tree in the long run. Does anyone agree with this idea, and if so what would be the best time of the year to do so, or am I just nitpicking on something thats not really a big deal?

hi,
try a few slight angle and 'front' changes as the trunk is nice and chopping it off could set the tree back a few years and not gain much. You dont really have reverse taper, just a thicker heal that can be hollowed out with concave cutters

try a few pictures from other fronts and I'll fire up photoshop

cheers Marcus

All righty here is a few more angles from around the tree. I guess now that I look at these the first image is looking pretty good. I lose a little from the base but area I dont like is very much minimized. What do you all think?



The main problem is that there really isn't anything going on at the base on the back side of the tree which you can see in the pictures below. I've pulled the soil back a bit so you all can see.

Eh...thats not too bad, as Marcus says a pair of concave cutters can easily fix that, what is however lacking are surface roots, SO...Here is a great chance to practice approach grafting seedlings to the base to improve the nebari structure, and Tridents will take the graft easily! Its not hard at all.

I have one of the "mass produced" tridents myself and I'll be doing some approach grafts next year for better roots. Similar situation to what your looking at to be sure.

PM me if you want a good seedling source.
-Jay

hi,
As Jay says tridents like this are a nice blank canvas to add bits where you need.

Once you get the little seeedlings to use as roots thread the same tree through a hole drilled in the trunk where you want lower branches. then you get a thread grafted branch as well.

At the moment you have a nice trunk and initial branches were cut back back to begin the ramification. The trouble then was the buds were allowed to grow straight upwards which is why the branches look messy. cut back the branches again and loosley wire the new shoots level when they appear, and only keep two buds from each branch stub = left and right not up or down.

In my virt there are 3 or 4 grafted new roots and one main new branch, the rest is grown frrom existing stubs


cheers Marcus

marcus watts wrote:hi,
Once you get the little seeedlings to use as roots thread the same tree through a hole drilled in the trunk where you want lower branches. then you get a thread grafted branch as well.

Thats a great Idea, make 'em pull double duty as new branches and new roots....
-Jay

That looks pretty good actually. I'll have to look into getting some seedlings and learning the best way to do these grafts.