Coast Live Oak yamadori

[chantat]

Hi all. I would like to add a bigger Coast Live Oak yamadori to my collection but I am totally lost on where to start. I have a couple questions for you all:
- How do you actually discover good sites for collection? Do you just walk along trails while looking for good material?
- Are there specific terrains that have better yamadori material? Any good way to find those terrains?
- Is the permit process generally difficult?
- Are there ways to tell if the tree wouldn't survive a dig?
- To be mindful of nature conservation, are there trees that shouldn't be dug up ?

I am also located in the California Bay Area if that helps. Thank you in advance!

 

[rockm]

Hi all. I would like to add a bigger Coast Live Oak yamadori to my collection but I am totally lost on where to start. I have a couple questions for you all:
- How do you actually discover good sites for collection? Do you just walk along trails while looking for good material?
- Are there specific terrains that have better yamadori material? Any good way to find those terrains?
- Is the permit process generally difficult?
- Are there ways to tell if the tree wouldn't survive a dig?
- To be mindful of nature conservation, are there trees that shouldn't be dug up ?

I am also located in the California Bay Area if that helps. Thank you in advance!

All these questions have been solved by local bonsai clubs in your area. It would be a good thing for you to tap into to get a larger tree.

Sorry to be blunt, but collecting trees for bonsai is not just going out and digging up any tree you see. Please don't do that. It gives the rest of us a bad name. Collection requires permission from land owners. Digging a tree on land that doesn't belong to you without the landowner's permission is theft. Digging on state or federal parks, forests, landmarks is punishable by fine ore even imprisonment--depending on what you're doing and where you're doing it. National and state parks are under pressure from vandalism as it is. Don't add to it. Some of those parks have collection rules, usually involving a permitting process. Some don't.

Also, if you're new to bonsai, and haven't ever collected trees before, what you dig yourself is likely going to die. Not being pessimistic or trying to insult you, but that's the way it is. Collection is not about digging up a tree. Most of the difficulty comes AFTER you dig up a tree. That requires understanding critical aftercare. After initial collection, it can take years before you do anything else to the tree. REcetnly collected trees require special care that takes into account their severely reduced root mass (sometimes up to 99 percent is removed).

Joining a club can not only steer you in the right accurate directions for permitting, but can also yield already-collected trees for sale at pretty low prices.

 

[BrianBay9]

Search this site for coast live oak and you'll find plenty of posts discussing collection. For coast live oak, finding the collecting site is the hardest part. Private land (with permission) is your best bet in the bay area. Sometimes you can get permission from a construction site or road work. The good part is that coast live oak are almost weeds there.

The second part of the good news is that coast live oak are one of the easiest oaks to collect. They have a relatively shallow root system and often have feeder roots near the trunk. Collect in winter. Focus on the first 12 inches of trunk to select the best candidates. Most will have smooth, immature bark in your size range, but some little ones have mature bark. Those are gold. Dig down along the trunk until you encounter the first set of feeder roots and cut the tap root below that. Often there will be a big bulge in the trunk a few inches below the soil line. If you haven't encountered feeder roots above or at this bulge, cut at the bottom edge of the bulge. Even without feeder roots I've gotten 80%+ survival. Once home, many CLO collectors I know completely defoliate. Pot in 100% pumice and keep moist. New buds will pop by spring. Don't work the tree the first season. Wait for strong growth - could be the second year. Don't repot until the third year.

That should get you started.