Can't wait to start digging

[Attmos]

About 20 days until I can finally start digging up the trees I've got my eye on. I'm so damn excited I can hardly stand it. lol

It's a good time to take cuttings as well correct?
There's a Kousa Dogwood (Cornus Kousa) and a Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum) that I have been given permission to take a branch from each, and I'd like to get them started if I can.

SPRING TIME! Let me out of this damn house! lol

 

[River's Edge]

It's a good time to take cuttings as well correct?

It depends. Timing for spring is a general idea, the specific timing and technique used can make all the difference.
the best timing is just when the buds start swelling and are about to open. So it is about the actual condition of the branch, not the calendar specifically. Check out the details for hardwood cuttings taken at the end of winter just prior to the buds swelling and opening.

 

[Attmos]

It depends. Timing for spring is a general idea, the specific timing and technique used can make all the difference.
the best timing is just when the buds start swelling and are about to open. So it is about the actual condition of the branch, not the calendar specifically. Check out the details for hardwood cuttings taken at the end of winter just prior to the buds swelling and opening.

Ok thanks, I will.

 

[Stick in a pot]

About 20 days until I can finally start digging up the trees I've got my eye on. I'm so damn excited I can hardly stand it. lol

It's a good time to take cuttings as well correct?
There's a Kousa Dogwood (Cornus Kousa) and a Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum) that I have been given permission to take a branch from each, and I'd like to get them started if I can.

SPRING TIME! Let me out of this damn house! lol

Have you got any pics of what youre planning on digging up?! I know how you feel, the excitement of all that potential and to see what that root system is like and uncovering any deeper down nebari! Good luck!

 

[Vergil]

About 20 days until I can finally start digging up the trees I've got my eye on. I'm so damn excited I can hardly stand it. lol

Super excited for that, as well! I just need the 10 inches or so of compacted snow to melt and the ground to thaw.

 

[Attmos]

Have you got any pics of what youre planning on digging up?! I know how you feel, the excitement of all that potential and to see what that root system is like and uncovering any deeper down nebari! Good luck!

Not really, but they're Holly, Silver Maple (I think), Scots Pine, Blue Spruce etc... The Honeysuckle was bulldozed by the city, so that's gone. They're all relatively small, and Silver Maples don't make good bonsai...
These are the product of much older trees in my complex, that just happened to survive... they aren't part of the landscaping.

*Why don't I just buy some good pre-bonsai that have real potential...? Reasonable question.

I plan to buy a few pre-bonsai as well, when the whether is conducive to shipping.

 

[Attmos]

Have you got any pics of what youre planning on digging up?! I know how you feel, the excitement of all that potential and to see what that root system is like and uncovering any deeper down nebari! Good luck!

I'm still very new to this.

 

[Vergil]

There's an Eastern Hemlock that's somehow still living quite happily under a broken tree limb in my in-laws' back yard. That'll probably be my first to try collecting.

 

[Stick in a pot]

in my opinion buying is over rated! I thought of digging a tree up yourself and developing that same tree into a bonsai is what its all about, all while learning at the same time! Im pretty new to this aswell so learning on trees that ive managed to dig up for free is brilliant and if they can become a nice bonsai in years to come then all the better

 

[Gabler]

in my opinion buying is over rated! I thought of digging a tree up yourself and developing that same tree into a bonsai is what its all about, all while learning at the same time! Im pretty new to this aswell so learning on trees that ive managed to dig up for free is brilliant and if they can become a nice bonsai in years to come then all the better

That's the approach I've taken, mostly due to student loan debt and my consequently tiny bonsai budget. At this point, I spend money only on soils and fertilizer, and rarely a new pot. I have access to a swampy woodland to collect "numadori," but five years later, I'm still waiting on my trees to develop. If you can afford it, buy a couple of decent trees to enjoy and practice on while you're waiting for your own trees to develop from seedlings, nursery stock, etc.

 

[The Barber]

in my opinion buying is over rated! I thought of digging a tree up yourself and developing that same tree into a bonsai is what its all about, all while learning at the same time! Im pretty new to this aswell so learning on trees that ive managed to dig up for free is brilliant and if they can become a nice bonsai in years to come then all the better

The majority of trees I own are collected material, and hunting for material in the woods is probably my favorite part of the hobby. Feels like you win the lottery when you find an amazing tree. Inversely you feel like absolute shit when that tree doesn't survive collection, and the best material tends to have the worst survival rate I swear.

 

[Vergil]

It was (and most likely still is) common in Japan that the 'impressive' trees were ones that had been owned by prominent men in its past. Admittedly, the prominent men acquired great trees, worked on by great masters, but a tree's lineage (especially if it included economically/politically powerful, famous owners) featured highly (and some might say even more than its artistic element) in how it was evaluated.

While I don't really care who owned it in its past, the tree's provenance can be of great sentimental importance. A volunteer tree dug up from my in law's back yard, a cutting from my landscape bush that I managed to propagate, a seed that I stratified in my fridge for 3 months before planting, an air layer from that ornamental tree in my front yard... All those that 10 years later finally look like reasonably sized and mature bonsai will be so much more special to me than anything I bought in a nursery.

Definitely worth buying good trees to work on in parallel or to have really quality stock (and do what furthers your goals for this hobby), but I agree with what seems to be the consensus in the replies here... I can't wait to start digging!

 

[DonielDoom]

It's a good time to take cuttings as well correct?
There's a Kousa Dogwood (Cornus Kousa) and a Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum)

C. kousa should be handled like C. florida when taking hardwood cuttings. Sounds like they're much better taken as softwood cuttings and get significantly higher propagation rates, FWIW. EG: 30% average success rate is expected for hardwood cuttings while a 50-100% is expected for softwood.

Take cuttings midwinter (around Feb seems in line), wound them, apply 0.8-2.0% IBA, and root in grow beds or perlite. Roots should start to grow in 4-8 weeks.

Terminal (tip) cuttings root better than sub-terminal cuttings by ~15%.

I'm lacking information on A. palmatum hardwood cuttings, unfortunately. Younger trees typically root better than older trees. Besides that I've only got softwood cutting info. High yields with those, though.

River's Edge nailed it with this statement.

Timing for spring is a general idea, the specific timing and technique used can make all the difference.
the best timing is just when the buds start swelling and are about to open. So it is about the actual condition of the branch, not the calendar specifically

Source: The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation 2nd edition by Dirr and Heuser.

 

[Attmos]

Have you got any pics of what youre planning on digging up?! I know how you feel, the excitement of all that potential and to see what that root system is like and uncovering any deeper down nebari! Good luck!

Here's the little Holly. Only one I really took pictures of. A branch of the parent plant was laying on the ground and rooted. I'll separate it from the parent plant and dig up the root ball.

 

[Attmos]

C. kousa should be handled like C. florida when taking hardwood cuttings. Sounds like they're much better taken as softwood cuttings and get significantly higher propagation rates, FWIW. EG: 30% average success rate is expected for hardwood cuttings while a 50-100% is expected for softwood.

Take cuttings midwinter (around Feb seems in line), wound them, apply 0.8-2.0% IBA, and root in grow beds or perlite. Roots should start to grow in 4-8 weeks.

Terminal (tip) cuttings root better than sub-terminal cuttings by ~15%.

I'm lacking information on A. palmatum hardwood cuttings, unfortunately. Younger trees typically root better than older trees. Besides that I've only got softwood cutting info. High yields with those, though.

River's Edge nailed it with this statement.



Source: The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation 2nd edition by Dirr and Heuser.

Thanks for that.

 

[Stick in a pot]

Here's the little Holly. Only one I really took pictures of. A branch of the parent plant was laying on the ground and rooted. I'll separate it from the parent plant and dig up the root ball.

Love that stuff like that happens! Holly will be fun to play with its so bendy so should be great to practice wiring on, just be careful the leaves dont get you

Ive had it here with a mulberry tree/bush that had fallen over but survived and the branches that ended up in ground rooted! Going to try and get them up this year as i believe I separated it last year so hopefully its grown some more roots closer

Anyone use or recommend any rooting products? Do they actually work?

 

[Vergil]

Anyone use or recommend any rooting products? Do they actually work?

Hormex I've found is pretty good, though I'm sure any brand with the same active ingredients would do. They have different concentrations. For Mulberry: for younger softer cuttings use #3, for woodier cuttings use #8.

https://hormex.com/products/hormex-...o-hardwood-medicinal-plants-and-tree-cuttings

Link for a plant index and which concentration to use:

Rooting Hormone Powder Strength Plant List - Find Your Plants Now

Find the ideal strength rooting powder for your plant variety. Hormex Rooting Powders enhance and speed up successful cloning from cuttings. Available in four strengths, it supports everything from easy-to-root to the most challenging plant varieties.

hormex.com

 

[Stick in a pot]

Hormex I've found is pretty good, though I'm sure any brand with the same active ingredients would do. They have different concentrations. For Mulberry: for younger softer cuttings use #3, for woodier cuttings use #8.

https://hormex.com/products/hormex-...o-hardwood-medicinal-plants-and-tree-cuttings

Link for a plant index and which concentration to use:

Rooting Hormone Powder Strength Plant List - Find Your Plants Now

Find the ideal strength rooting powder for your plant variety. Hormex Rooting Powders enhance and speed up successful cloning from cuttings. Available in four strengths, it supports everything from easy-to-root to the most challenging plant varieties.

hormex.com

Ah brilliant thank you! Will have a look at this

 

[The Barber]

I dug up some trees today...will get pics once I clean the roots up. Till then, here's an oddball fusion I stumbled upon in the woods. American hornbeam and American elm getting cozy, looked to be fully fused.

 

[The Barber]

I dug up some trees today...will get pics once I clean the roots up. Till then, here's an oddball fusion I stumbled upon in the woods. American hornbeam and American elm getting cozy, looked to be fully fused.
View attachment 628746

Oops, meant this post for the yamadori 2026 thread but this works