European beech yamadori

[Mihai]

Hello guys! I'm pretty new to this forum and today I just got my first yamadori. It's european beech. Just brought it home and put it in a pot with soil from the site it was found.
I'm not certain how to proceed. Should I cut back the roots and change the soil and pot to a bonsai soil and a smaller training pot or should i just let it settle in the one i placed it in this afternoon (see pictures). The second issue is: would you cut the trunk and do some pruning now or wait until the tree is established? Not quite certain what I want to do with it, but I think it has potential. What are your thoughts?
Sorry about the cat but she's a diva.

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016
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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

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• Mihai
• Apr 3, 2016

 

[Dav4]

I have no experience with collecting European beech, but I can tell you that the majority of deciduous trees I'm familiar with should be bare rooted at collection, then placed in an open, free draining soil mix. Soil like that in the pot will likely smother the roots in time. Unless someone says otherwise, I would plan to change out the soil before the tree begins to grow. Also, I wouldn't prune much if at all until the tree has recovered from collection. Good luck.

 

[sorce]

Pop a Pringle!

Welcome to Crazy!

Is it in clay?

Sorce

 

[AlainK]

I have no experience with collecting European beech, but I can tell you that the majority of deciduous trees I'm familiar with should be bare rooted at collection, then placed in an open, free draining soil mix. Soil like that in the pot will likely smother the roots in time. Unless someone says otherwise, I would plan to change out the soil before the tree begins to grow. Also, I wouldn't prune much if at all until the tree has recovered from collection. Good luck.

I second that.

What's more, beech are among the latest deciduous to bud out, so it's about the right time to do it. BTW, you didn't mention your location in your profile, that would help...

If you let it grow freely then prune it in autumn, there will be a lot of dormant buds showing next spring, then you can select the ones you want to keep.

 

[Mihai]

Hey guys, thanks for the answers. I'm in Romania (zone 6). @sorce: The tree was collected in a forrested area and the soil is more sandy than clay...
Would you comepletely wash out the roots or just scrape off whatever you can?

Thanks a million.

 

[sorce]

I'm in Romania

Awesome! I think you may be the first!

I don't know much of those....

I would probably be inclined to bare root it too.

It definitely has potential.

Its not being kept indoors is it?

Sorce

 

[Mihai]

@sorce: ) there's some sort of romanian online bonsai comunity but posts there are few and far apart. So... glad to be here.
I'm keeping it outside on my balcony. South facing, with lots of light, morning sun and afternoon shade.
There's a wooded hill a few miles from where I live so the chances of collecting more are pretty good. But being new to this I'm not certain what to focus on. Trunk thickness or branch structure?
That settles it! I'll try to find some bonsai soil and repot this one something wider and shallower.

Thanks for the tips so far. If anyone else has any other ideas/tips/trick i'm open to suggestions.

 

[wireme]

How's the skiing in Romania? I skied Bulgaria once, was really good then I was looking at maps of your country, looks like there might be some good off resort backcountry there too.
Just around the Serbia/Bulgaria border I saw some countryside that looked loaded with great deciduous yamadori material too.

 

[Mihai]

Well, if I leave the patriotism aside and go for the pragmatic approach, I have to say that it's nowhere near as good as it could be. There are a few areas where you have a lot of snow from september till late april and a couple of groomed pistes but the infrastructure is absolute crap... so for a 200 km trip you waste 5-6 hours due to trafic and bad roads. On the other hand, there's a thing (place is more like it) called Balea Lac that's stunning for backcountry. If you're into off piste that is, it's absolutely worth it.

 

[Dalmat]

Wash the roots, you have no chances with that soil,don't prune it. It's a beech and is exception for a usual procedure with deciduous trees. It is not an easy tree to keep alive. It can get green now but just drop dead on the end of summer without any visible reason,so
you will have to wait to next spring to be sure. Also when pruning,branch with no buds left, dies.

 

[wireme]

Well, if I leave the patriotism aside and go for the pragmatic approach, I have to say that it's nowhere near as good as it could be. There are a few areas where you have a lot of snow from september till late april and a couple of groomed pistes but the infrastructure is absolute crap... so for a 200 km trip you waste 5-6 hours due to trafic and bad roads. On the other hand, there's a thing (place is more like it) called Balea Lac that's stunning for backcountry. If you're into off piste that is, it's absolutely worth it.

I like crap infrastructure, usually it means a cheaper and more interesting place, as long as there is good snow and backcountry off piste access. I'm all familied up now though, trips have become more difficult to pull off.
Good luck with your tree, looking forward to seeing what else you can find there.

 

[Mihai]

I like crap infrastructure, usually it means a cheaper and more interesting place, as long as there is good snow and backcountry off piste access. I'm all familied up now though, trips have become more difficult to pull off.
Good luck with your tree, looking forward to seeing what else you can find there.

thanks! will post more as I get them. Right now it will probably won't be anything too spectacular as I don't have the time for long trips out of the city into deeply forested areas.

 

[CWTurner]

If anyone else has any other ideas/tips/trick i'm open to suggestions.

Bonsai collecting is definitely about the trunks. You can always regrow branches. Look for tapered trunks with some character in twists or bends.
Here in the U.S. our young Beech are often sprouts from the roots of a nearby mature tree. It's hard to successfully collect those in one trip. Better to sever the connection between sprouts and mother tree, then collect it the next spring if it survived.
Don't forget to rinse your bonsai soil so that it doesn't get all mucked up.
CW

 

[Cypress187]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[fredman]

Had a Romanian friend in SA looong ago. Interesting fellow. We sure had some good laughs. Name was Silvio Mihai. Often wonder what happened to him....
Good to meet another Mihai

 

[Tieball]

Nice trunk character in the fourth photo.....with or without that side branch. Nice collected material.

 

[Potawatomi13]

So much nicer looking tree than most "Yamadori" seen on here. Good character, decent branching. Good start. For now big thing is keep alive.

 

[Mihai]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great feedback. @fredman : yeah... I hear you ). Romanians are super fun to be around especially if you're not to skittish about politically incorrect jokes. We kind of make fun of everything here.
The only bonsai soil I can get my hands on in my area without too much of a hassle is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bonsai-Focus-Repotting-Mix-Litre/dp/B00BBAMIDK
What do you think? I was thinking of adding a little perlite or vermiculite (not too much) to it just to have a little water retention as I won't have room for a very large container.

 

[Mihai]

Just got an idea... I still have some rooting hormone around the house that I used for my super hot peppers. Ho you think it would help if I applied some when repotting?

 

[just.wing.it]

Just got an idea... I still have some rooting hormone around the house that I used for my super hot peppers. Ho you think it would help if I applied some when repotting?

I'd leave the rooting hormone alone, just go for the free draining soil mix. Perlite sounds good. I have no experience with vermiculite.