First Collection Attempt: Hawthorn

[Dryad]

The other day a friend of mine mentioned he was planning on cutting down trees/shrubs in an overgrown portion of his garden, so I asked if I could take a look for some potential material.

Among the weeds there was a 7ft Hawthorn, with swelling buds just about to pop. Doing a bit of digging it looked as though it had the beginnings of a nice nebari so I returned this morning to begin collecting. After digging a trench around the base, I realised the thick radial roots I saw yesterday were only present on one section of the base, and the trunk continued deeper, wedged between two large slabs of rock (which I neither had the time nor tools to remove). So I had no choice but to cut the trunk just beneath the lateral roots - fortunately there are some finer feeder roots present here also, but there is one side which lacks roots alltogether.




With so few roots, I realise its chances of survival are slim, but it's worth a shot. As for the trunk chop height, I had planned on chopping lower but to be safe I chopped just above a low budding branch. Here it is potted tightly in a pumice mix:




And the branch (potentially a new leader):



Would leaving this branch to leaf out improve its chances of survival? Or should I go ahead and chop lower? I'm also planning on sealing it in a black bag to promote root growth, though I'm unsure whether to leave the branch poking out or not.

 

[mwar15]

I just collected some hawthorn and I chopped them high like you did. I sealed the cut, and left branches one one of them. I would leave the branch on it. I did the black bag trick one one of them and it started pushing buds before the one I didn’t do the black bag trick.

 

[Dryad]

I did the black bag trick one one of them and it started pushing buds before the one I didn’t do the black bag trick.

Good to know, cheers. Do you suggest I leave the branch in the black bag as well as the rest of the trunk & the pot?

 

[mwar15]

Here are mine

 

[TomB]

Good to know, cheers. Do you suggest I leave the branch in the black bag as well as the rest of the trunk & the pot?

I don't personally like the black bag technique, but I know it works for many people. If you are using it, everything (including the branch) would go in the bag.

 

[mwar15]

I don't personally like the black bag technique, but I know it works for many people. If you are using it, everything (including the branch) would go in the bag.

I have never used it until now on a couple hawthorn. If you don’t have a area to protect them, ie a greenhouse what do you do? I’m curious why you don’t like it?

 

[Shibui]

In my experience hawthorn (English hawthorn) is one of the easier to transplant. I would be quite comfortable with just a few roots like that.
I don't think the small branch will help it survive but I would be quite happy to leave the trunk as is for this year. After it buds and grows this summer you can choose better placed new shoots and reduce the trunk to the best option next winter or the following spring.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Check out Harry Harrington’s videos on the black bag technique.

 

[Dryad]

Not getting a whole lot of sun so not sure if the black bag will be very effective yet... Also something I realised when reading a separate collection thread - when collecting this stump, the hawthorn had buds swelling all over, except for its crown where a few branches had already leafed out. Having partially leafed out, does this mean its chances of survival are diminished?

 

[eryk2kartman]

I think it will survive if you provide the proper care for it now,
Leave it out of the direct sunlight and wind, Hawthorns are quite strong and resilient, black bag would help i think.

 

[Shibui]

A few leaves open is no problem. You probably cut them all off at transplant so effectively put the tree back into dormant leafless state.

 

[Dryad]

A few leaves open is no problem. You probably cut them all off at transplant so effectively put the tree back into dormant leafless state.

Exactly what I wanted to know, thank you.

 

[Dryad]

I spent a while setting up a black bin bag suspended with sticks, and was forced to chop off the small branch as seen in my original post as it kept tearing through due to wind (I don't own a greenhouse). After a few weeks of daily misting, I checked in on it today and there are signs of life!



I am still hoping for more buds to break lower down, so I will continue the "sweating" technique and will hope for the best. My black bin bag setup leaves much to be desired however. It has been very windy here recently and I find no matter what way I adjust it, it either gets torn or collapses somewhatu, and ends up clinging to the trunk.

As such I am experimenting with a thin, grey plastic bin which I have placed over the stump (held down by bricks), and I hope it will have similar results to the black bin bag. As the material is still somewhat thin, light still gets through, and I am not worried about it getting too hot as the sun here is still fairly weak.




I plan on removing it once a day to mist the tree and provide new air. Has anyone tried something like this before? Are there any obvious issues with this method that I might be missing?

 

[Graft]

My only concern would be heat. A bin liner is thin and can let heat escape. This will collect the heat of the sun and radiate it inwards as well as outwards. If it were me I would put some holes in to allow heats to escape and let air in. But as I have never tried this before I might be totally off point.

 

[Dryad]

If it were me I would put some holes in to allow heats to escape and let air in.

I had a look at it from the inside to see where I would drill holes, and I realised that not much light was passing through at all... A short lived experiment!

Back to the black bin bag I go.

 

[Tieball]

I’m not sold on the dire need for a bag cover....or any cover at all.

 

[Bonsai Outeiro]

I had a look at it from the inside to see where I would drill holes, and I realised that not much light was passing through at all... A short lived experiment!

Back to the black bin bag I go.

In my short yamadori experience, the step between black bag and direct sun must be very slow, small hole after small hole until you can get your tree some fresh air in early fall if it does not suddenly die in the middle of the summer (I have indeed suffered the heat of the summer on my own collected trees)

 

[Dryad]

Thought I'd post a two month update on this collected Hawthorn. Things are looking good! Because of circumstance I haven't been able to mist the tree daily, so I moved it to a shadier corner while still covered by the black bag. In fact recently I've only had the opportunity to mist it twice a week or so but it's been growing vigorously, and I reckon I've only gotten away with it due to the lack of sun we've had here over the last while.



Last week I opened up a small hole at the top of the bag to let in more light, however now that the new shoots are getting taller I've had to open it wider to prevent them from touching the plastic. There will come a point soon where there won't even be space for the bag around the tree - should I then scrap the bag alltogether? I would be worried about the sudden change in environment but I see no other option. I would leave the tree in indirect sunlight also to prevent the leaves from scorching.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

[mwar15]

Nice! I took the bag off mine and they are pushing lots of growth. Mine are still on the north side of my house, so no direct sun. Just take it slow and get them strong

 

[Shibui]

There will come a point soon where there won't even be space for the bag around the tree - should I then scrap the bag alltogether? I would be worried about the sudden change in environment but I see no other option. I would leave the tree in indirect sunlight also to prevent the leaves from scorching.

By opening the bag a bit you have already started the adjustment process and have now taken a second step in that process. You can open it further again, even if the bag becomes just an open top cylinder round the trunk for a few days before completely removing it.
I think that with more experience you will find that trees are much more resilient than we give them credit for. I'm pretty sure this one would have made it even without the bag and would also have coped with sudden removal as @mwar15 has done. I have collected quite a few hawthorns (mostly small) and have never resorted to the bag for recovery.