yamadori

My neighborhood has a path around it with landscaping that is maintained by the HOA. We have probably 50 olive trees lining the street into the neighborhood. When the olive trees fruit, the crows like to eat them, then they drop olive seeds all over the neighborhood. I was walking the path and...

Approximately 20-year old Ponderosa Pine collected in South Dakota by Andy Smith (Golden Arrow Bonsai), April 2022. Received and potted in 100% pumice.

I collected this tree in the Ozark "mountains" this winter (February 2022). Didn't know the species at first, but it had a great base and really neat craggy bark down at the bottom. Here is a picture with the roots as I was potting up in Feb. Got some really strong growth so far - May 2022

Brand new with (almost) zero knowledge bonsai lover here 🙋‍♀️ I’ve identified quite a few potential yamadori’s on top of the wooded mountain where I own a parcel of land, and now need advice on what to prepare before extracting and potting. The only thing I know is I need a large pot and that I...

About a week ago, I went on my first Juniper Yamadori collecting trip and brought home two fine specimens which I'm praying to the gods, will survive. This was an extremely fun and memorable experience for me, but I feel no amount of reading would have probably fully prepared me for what I was...

I want to start sharing the progression of this large yamadori Tosho. I got it last year (for free!), from someone who bought it about 7 years, styled it, but then quit the hobby all together. She wanted this tree to be in good hands, rather than letting it die in her garden. When I got it, the...

So I’m about 2 years into practicing bonsai and I’ve gotten the itch to collect some yamadori specimens. I have the chance to collect somewhere that has a bunch of American hornbeams and wanted to ask for advice. I found one in particular that seems really interesting. It’s a fairly large...

I wasn’t sure where to put this post I’ts my first time posting here. I need some help here, a friend gave me this tree that collected and I want to know what kind of tree it is, from what I read and the description I found in this article, it is a Limber pine -“This species of conifer can have...

Hi all, This weekend, again I had the chance to dig out this amazing tree. Unfortunately while lifting the tree out of the ground, a lot of The roots just fell off. I made it wet and placed it in a big training pot with akadama, some vulcastrat and moss. for now it just has to rest for at...

Hello everyone, new to bonsai nut forum. I am wondering if anybody in the New England area are planning Yamadori hunts this spring. Preferably with permission from land owners. Hoping to find my first Larch. I would love to join you or your group!

So I have the opportunity to collect as many of these European beeches as I like, they've been growing here for 60+ years. There's a couple in there with interesting trunks that would be worth having. However the problem comes as they need to be out of there by October and obviously the best...

Just collected this yamadori beech. Really easy collect and tons of small fine roots. Kind of in doubt of how i should prune and style this? Any advise? :)

This is the second high alpine yamadori Mt Hemlock we acquired today. It‘s ”subtrunks” seem to emanate from one central trunk. Will need some excavation to confirm this WAG. The tallest tree is about 35” and the entire group comes up at an angle. Looks like it was growing on a mountain side...

Made a connection to acquire two Mt Hemlock groups. Both dug in the alpine areas somewhere outside Mt. Rainer park boundaries. Here’s the first, more straightforward project. (The other is more complex.) Two trunks and at least one seedling together. Height of the tallest twin 41”. Any...

Hello all, I live in central Florida and throughout my years living here, I’ve noticed an abundance of Chinese elm trees in landscapes and in the wild. The trees have the orange flaky iconic bark that Chinese elms possess and the small leathery elm leaves. The trees max out at about 30 feet...

Andy Smith collected in spring 2020. Bought it through Ken’s World of Bonsai (2021). Haven’t done anything to it yet. Planning to graft foliage in spring 2022:

Hi all, collected a nice thick hornbeam from my grandads place in central France, unfortunately I was forced to collect the tree then and there (mid august). I collected it withought a lot of Troy and had to pot it up in pretty terrible soil (the only soil available at the time). It stayed in...

Hi - this is my first Mugo yamadori I dug up last year and I think it's quite healthy. Come next repotting, I will pot it more straight up I guess. I thought about possible ways to go forward and wanted to ask for input (keep in mind I'm a greenhorn ;)). I'm also open to much more radical...

Dug up this oak a few months ago and it’s bursting with beautiful new foliage. Do you guys think this is suitable material for a good bonsai? Maybe if I chop it low and start a new leader? I dug it up because I thought the nebari was beautiful and there was a little taper at the base.

I collected this nice little hornbeam on December 29, 2020 from my woods, had pretty good surface roots and a really nice radial nebari. Washed the roots and placed it in an 11 inch pond basket. The cuts I made on the major roots are too far away from the trunk in hindsight, which will set me...

Hi, I have recently collected this tree (2 days ago, it was now or never) from a forest near my grandads house. I have potted it up in a plastic pot with regular potting soil (all that I have available) and given it a deep watering. In the photos you can see where I have cut the tree in order to...

Hello everyone, I start this thread because I was a bit unsuccessful in finding info about this. I recently acquired a Japanese Red Pine, of yamadori origin, with a spectacular shari that runs over the whole lenght of the trunk (I will follow with some pictures). The question I have for you is...

This is my entry to the 5-year native challenge. Taking into consideration this year is special in many aspects I decided to collect at least one tree for commemoration. Since my area was in a rather strict lockdown in March and April I did not want to risk encounters with officials. My moment...

Hey friends. I’m curious what you guys’ opinions are as to how good the backside of a bonsai trunk looks. Does it matter or does it not? Can an ugly trunk backside just be hidden by branches and foliage over time? or does it take away from the value of the tree? For example, I have this...

Ripped out this crepe myrtle earlier in the summer that was unwanted but I have no idea what to do with it. I can’t seem to find any kind of structure fitting for a bonsai. If I just chop off all the top and leave a fat stump I’d be waiting 15 years for a decent sized new leader to come in...