yamadori

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...

Hello, Long time lurker on this wonderful forum, but 1st question. I am the type of person who does copious online research and searches previous threads before ever asking questions, but I cannot answer this: does a tree with a completely deadwood trunk & limbs grow larger? I ask because I...

I need help Identifying this pine. I think it's Scots but not 100 % sure. It's my biggest tree yardadori dig yet. It's been demolishing in hellcat as of late but there's a few branches trying to push candles. Collected Oct 2020.

Hello friends, I have been looking around for yamadori bonsai material for months without much luck because most of the land surrounding me is privately owned. I finally decided I would just cut a chunk off of my azalea hedge in my front yard that I thought had great roots and a workable...

Seeking suggestions for my Norway Maple “foot” Yardadori. Zone 6b. Collected late summer 2020 clearing out the side yard. Should I wire these down or just let it grow? What do I do with the multiple buds coming off the stump and new branches. Future plan is to carve/hollow out the stump...

time to finally introduce myself, another Lockdown noob! grateful to have found my interest heading into winter so plenty of time to read and learn from so many great posts on here to prepare me for the spring growth I am enjoying watching in my early trees who probably owe their young lives to...

So today I collected a plant. I think it’s an elm, but not so sure. Can anyone tell me what it is? Still having a hard thing telling it myself. Advices, opinions regarding the plant are accepted. Tell me whatever you think. I put in a fairly light soil to promote root growth(around 60-70%...

I was driving-home when I spotted it, these are VERY hard to find I've been seeking one for half a decade now w/o luck, seems it was ~an hour of being curbside the rootball's edge was dry but interior still had some moisture, was a good size: I chopped the top&bottom, leaving some...

Hello everyone! I just created my account today and the first thing that caught my eye was this Native Challenge. I collected a few Ponderosa Pines and California Junipers around the vicinity of Mammoth, Bishop, and Wrightwood CA during the late Fall - early Winter of 2019. That's what I am...

Another satisfied Golden Arrow Bonsai customer! Let me give a shout out to Andy for his excellent communication, fast shipping, carefully packaged tree, and great prices. I'm starting this thread to track my progress with this tree (age: ~60 years) and solicit advice along the way. For the next...

This is the earliest image I have of Yugen. I had already applied some guy wire

Here she is after her first styling in the early fall of 2020. It took me three days but I'm really happy with the results. This was my first time using copper wire (thanks Mirai!)

This is the picture of me with Tsugamori after I potted her into her first bonsai pot. The pot is a rather cheap Chinese oval, but it works well enough. The previous training pot was filled to the brim with roots and very visible mycorrhiza. Minimal root pruning was done. Pure pumice added

The hemlock in its original training box with no styling save for a branch or two being removed by former owner. Originally harvested by Anton Nijhuis from a high elevation bog on Vancouver Island. Approximately 200 years old. Was in training box for four years.

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for accepting me to the team... I mean group;) So I recently collected this beautiful pine from Massachusetts, right near the ocean. I believe it’s either a Scott’s Pine or Pitch Pine, possibly a Japanese Black Pine. I successfully transferred her into a new pot...

Hi all, am I very new to bonsai so forgive any mistakes I might have made. I recently collected about 8 of what I think are Japanese boxwood. And was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on how to make sure they stay alive and well established. Here is a bit of context. I collected them...

So today is the first snow of winter and temperatures are starting to get colder. I pass by this stump on my morning commute into work. It was cut down to a stump this autumn because high winds took down most of the tree. I am thinking about collecting this stump for a bonsai. I'm pretty...

I've been watching this Japanese yamadori short videos nightly. Soothing, interesting, and showing many things differently from the mainstream. One episode every day (almost). Small yamadori trees, some nice penjing like assemblages, expert use of moss. And some tricks I've been applying...

Here is my contest tree. Red maple dug March2020. I gave it all season to recover Here it is in fall and then today

Hey Bonsai Nuts! Well, I had a pop up opportunity to collect this big Juniper I found in a local field last night. Had to get it now. I've read a couple non bonsai articles that best time to collect Junipers for transplanting is in the fall before the first freeze. I've also read here that...

Saw a neighbor digging up his yard and asked if he was saving the juniper on the edge of the construction zone. He said no and he preferred small trees like Japanese maples. Ding ding ding! I bought a blood good JM last fall for nothing at a close out sale. It was not a good bonsai investment...

Hello everyone. Come spring I'm thinking of collecting a weeping willow (Salix babylonica) growing near my house that has a beautiful double trunk. I just wanted to bounce around ideas with you guys on what direction I should take the tree since the trunk gives a lot of options. As you can see...

I have a friend who emigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in Nov 19. He asked me to take over his bonsai collection and one of the trees was this olive yamadori that he had dug out in the Eastern Cape. I wasn't too sure on which direction I would take it as the lower branch was really...

Hi all, Found an amazing Engelmann Spruce in the Rocky Mountains. I've done 100% of my collecting in the spring, but wondering your thoughts on collecting in the Fall. Everything I've read so far says it's OK as long as precautions are taken for wintering it. Also, about 90% of this tree's roots...