Huge Yaupon Holly

[crab apple]

Just scored this huge landscape Yaupon Holly. It was minutes away from the bull dozer. I kept it moist and got it right home and in this bus tray. It's 96 degrees out so it may be doomed but I'm gonna give it a go. A couple of questions:
1) Should I leave the few remaining green growth that's on there (twigs w/leaves) or prune off.
2) Should I further reduce the whole thing ?
3) Leave in shade for a coup[le week?

The plant seemed to be vary vigorous just an hour or two ago.

 

[Eckhoffw]

I’d leave any green on there. That bit of foliage won’t demand much from roots, but may pull enough sap to keep that part alive.

If it’s real hot like you mentioned, a very shallow tray of water under the pot may help ensure it doesn’t dry out.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

They are really strong plants. I'd leave the green, but consider giving it afternoon shade. Make sure that tray you have it in has tons of drainage, but otherwise they drink water like a sieve.

If it survives, it should start pushing new buds all over the trunk. As soon as those buds start to push, I would eliminate the long growth you left on from before.

 

[crab apple]

I wonder if I should black bag it. I did that with a wild Yaupon that I collected last winter that never came out of dormancy and it stated popping some buds, but now it seems too hot to be black bagging anything. I have very little experience with the technique.

 

[Eckhoffw]

I wonder if I should black bag it. I did that with a wild Yaupon that I collected last winter that never came out of dormancy and it stated popping some buds, but now it seems too hot to be black bagging anything. I have very little experience with the technique.

The bag seems dangerous. Pretty tough to safe monitor in high heat. Like @Bonsai Nut said, maybe afternoon shade/ or A dappled sun shade spot would be safer.

 

[Cajunrider]

I wonder if I should black bag it. I did that with a wild Yaupon that I collected last winter that never came out of dormancy and it stated popping some buds, but now it seems too hot to be black bagging anything. I have very little experience with the technique.

You are in NW Florida. Black bag it now will cook it. I collected 2 big ones last year right around this time. All I did was tossing them each in a Home Depot concrete mixing tub that I drilled a bunch of holes for drainage. Then I covered the roots with the cheapest potting soil I found. I watered them well every day. They budded in about 3-4 weeks and were kept for a year before I put them in bonsai soil.

 

[rockm]

I wouldn't worry about black bagging this (that will, as said, cook it). You could even remove the green stuff. Yaupon is extremely tough and this one will likely push new buds from the trunk in a couple of weeks. Once those buds open and begin growing, you should watch the plant closely, as initial buds can be driven by momentum alone and not new roots.

 

[crab apple]

Is this guy rdy for full sunlight? It's been about 5 weeks since collection

 

[crab apple]

This guys hairdo is coming along nicely

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Looks great! Now leave it alone for a year

 

[crab apple]

Finally gave this yaupon a hair cut, I refrained from a hedge type cut and actually got in there and removed certain branches, I could have cut a bunch more but I'm gonna see how it responds to this first.

 

[crab apple]

Can anyone offer any help on how to proccede with this tree. I'm only about 3 years into bonsai and don't really know where to go with this one, it's way ahead of most of my other stuff cuz it was already old when I collected it. Seems like I'm stuck with this umbrela style top, each branch is kinda a broom style all messed together but I'm not really digging it. I have made pads in junipers but the branches were coming out of the sides so it wasn't difficult to cut voids inbetween, but with this one all the brances pointing strait up as seen in earlier pics.
I guess I've either got to accept the helmet head look or try to cut pads in it but the only way I can see to cut pads would be to reduce each "broom" down to one or two branches and this would probably reduce the foladge initialy down by 90 percent or more. Any suggestions?

 

[Eckhoffw]

It’s dense and shoots are running upwards yes, but it could be thinned out.
I would get in there and prune anything, not growing out of the side of branches

If you do this completely, I bet the tree will be thinned out enough to start picturing pads within the mass.

 

[crab apple]

Would I need to reduce each branch where it only had a few secondary branches coming out of each large branch, usaully you would reduce to two or is that something that might be overlooked in a situation like this?