I've got a small trident maple that I've had for a couple of years. I'm
thinking of letting it grow out to get larger and develop trunk
caliper. It just wintered outdoors with the rest of my trees in what
people tell me is about as harsh a winter as they get here. Would I get
quicker trunk development in a growing box or in the ground? I'm
thinking it would do ok in the ground with some protection in the
winter.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a

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I've got a small trident maple that I've had for a couple of years. I'm
thinking of letting it grow out to get larger and develop trunk caliper. It
just wintered outdoors with the rest of my trees in what people tell me is
about as harsh a winter as they get here.

I have wintered trident maples outdoors successfully in Zone 5, but not this
year. I would put it in a sheltered, south facing bed. If it is not too big,
use a rose cone or some other protection.


Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Last year I was shown a Trident on Long Island that has been in the ground
for 10 years. The tree appeared be as healthy as any Japanese Maple that
grows on Long Island.
I think a tree stands a better chance of being damaged in a pot than being
in the ground, if the pot remains outside all winter.
I keep tridents in a greenhouse in the winter.
Steve w

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You'll definitely get quicker development in the ground. I've tried both
and the difference is marked. If you can improve the soil with
leafmould, compost, well rotted horse manure or anything similar, to add
organic bulk, that helps. Also feeding well accelerates the fattening
up. Their ability to withstand cold will be enhanced by being planted in
the ground. "Maples of the World" gives its hardiness as zone 6, so you
should be OK. I'd mulch heavily to protect the roots if I were you
though.

Cheers

Kev Bailey
North Wales zone 9


I've got a small trident maple that I've had for a couple of years. I'm
thinking of letting it grow out to get larger and develop trunk
caliper. It just wintered outdoors with the rest of my trees in what
people tell me is about as harsh a winter as they get here. Would I get
quicker trunk development in a growing box or in the ground? I'm
thinking it would do ok in the ground with some protection in the
winter.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a



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kevin bailey wrote:

You'll definitely get quicker development in the ground. I've tried both
and the difference is marked. If you can improve the soil with
leafmould, compost, well rotted horse manure or anything similar, to add
organic bulk, that helps.

No problem here. I've got a pile of llama manure that is quickly growing.

snip

I'd mulch heavily to protect the roots if I were you
though.


I thought I'd do that with maybe bark mulch or more llama manure. I think
I'll put a piece of slate under the tree to encourage the development of
the nebari.


Cheers

Kev Bailey
North Wales zone 9

Thanks for the suggestion. You've convinced me. I wanted to wait and see
how it made it through the winter before I committed it to the ground.
Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a


I've got a small trident maple that I've had for a couple of years. I'm
thinking of letting it grow out to get larger and develop trunk
caliper.
snip

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a

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this is only my opinion, but i think it would be better off in the ground than in a growing box , unless the growing box was in a protected area , such as a greenhouse.
I feel the roots stand a greater chance of being damaged from freeze in a pot than in the ground. the soil does provide some insulation
SteveW
long island NY

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Mike asked, about his maple:

was wondering
if there was any different care than a juniper? Anything different i should
d?

It is really hard to respond to a question like that. It's like asking "Is there a difference between care for huskies and poodles"? Both are dogs, but anyone who's got experience with both would know there's a lot of difference, too.

With junipers, you care about the large branch structure, and you really can't *see* fine branch structure, so you can clip a juniper (like a poodle). Many junipers grow all season long, and need to be tended all season long. They bud back fairly well as
long as there are green needles on the branch, but it's chancier on older wood, so major branch decisions need to be made ahead of time.

Maples need greater attention to fine ramification, and there are really two times a year when they need pruning, and woe to you if you miss those times: after the springtime budbreak when you'll want to cut the tree back to 1-2 pairs of leaves, and then a
month or so later when the buds released from apical dominance emerge. Because maples have opposite branching, a lot of the decision making is fairly automatic, and maples, with minimal prompting, will look pretty nice. I worry more about trunk girth, an
d will pick a branch early on to be a sacrifice branch.

None of this will make sense to you now, but it will after you have kept the trees for a while. It's one reason you might want to keep a tree for a year before doing anything to it: you learn the particular rhythm of the species, and then you are better a
ble to train it.

-Nina

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