Let Me See Your Yamadori!!!

[eferguson1974]

Like they said above, it usualy takes a long time, and here is a much more common example. This is another species of strangler fig. I have a bunch because theyre free if I go pull them from their hosts. Some die because the roots are too spread out. Get a good idea of the species you want or like too. Train your eyes to see them far away. Cliffs and outcrops are classic places to look. Maybe an old rock quary or mine might have cool trees. Or where animals passing by eat them over and over, stunting them. A game trail might have something along the edge too. I look for those kinds of places. On my friends' farms too, where cows and horses "prune" for you. Hope those ideas help you find decent materials.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Thats a badass start! What are your plans for it? I wouldn know where to begin as far ss styling goes. But its cool in my eyes!

I have clump style in mind. Just growing roots now. I've left the branches to grow wild. I've thought about reducing the branches next spring when leafless and decide the next section of trunks. Want to show off that base.

This picture is shot just now. It shows how well its growing, but also how all the character is hidden away now.

 

[MattE]

I have clump style in mind. Just growing roots now. I've left the branches to grow wild. I've thought about reducing the branches next spring when leafless and decide the next section of trunks. Want to show off that base.

This picture is shot just now. It shows how well its growing, but also how all the character is hidden away now.

View attachment 105510

So you guys usually give it a season for root growth? do you recommend growing in a colander to try and keep the roots in a smaller ball before you throw it into a bonsai pot or into a box frame ?

 

[Stickroot]

Fast development is not really part of yamadori. Most of what is collected takes years to make into bonsai. Yaupon is a sprinter when it comes to growth. Privet is another. Elms can be, depending on what you have to do.

Collecting is NOT a "fast lane" for bonsai. It can speed you up, as trunks are more mature, but with most stuff that's dug up, you're probably looking at a decade of work to make it a decent tree, or even just presentable.

Brian's tree is a good example.

 

[rockm]

"Brian's tree is a good example."

A good example of what?

So you guys usually give it a season for root growth? do you recommend growing in a colander to try and keep the roots in a smaller ball before you throw it into a bonsai pot or into a box frame ?

Sounds like you're getting the wrong idea of collecting. Recovery and growth are the trickiest part of collecting trees. Digging one up is the easy part. Coaxing it to live afterwards can be difficult.--this is on a sliding scale, depending on many things. For instance if you're digging a young elm tree, you can chop off all of its roots in mid summer, chop the trunk to two inches, plant it in marbles and it will probably survive.

If you're working with an older oak, or a pine, that kind of thing will kill it, probably outright, or possibly two years from now when it runs out of stored energy.

Seeing fast progression is all well and good, but realizing your mileage is likely to vary (tremendously) is something to keep in mind.

 

[augustine]

Generally, you look for the same traits that we look for in all material whether it be nursery stock, pre-bonsai stock, etc such as a good roots and tapering trunk and the potential to create good branching. However sometimes the wild material may be so cool that one may be able to disregard some of the conventional "guidelines."

When collecting from the wild it's very important to have the skills needed to keep the trees alive and thriving, especially if collecting conifers.

Do you belong to a club? Try it if possible. If you have good material in the area chances are that the bonsai folks are collecting.

 

[eferguson1974]

Yes, a colander IMO is a perfect container. It air prunes roots and doesnt stay wet very long. So overwatering and root rot are much less likely. Plus theyre cheap. Im using them to grow out roots and recover from collection. Pond baskets are good too they say, but I dont find them here. There are folks who argue against them but many use them and swear by them. In my experiance so far theyre better than buckets or pots that can stay to wet for some trees even here in the tropical jungle where everything is wet for six months or more.. So yes, I recomend them. Since I started using them Ive lost less trees, all the proof I need. You can find them in lots of sizes and shapes too. I think if I were you Id get some colanders and Napa oil dry, pn 8822, and have them ready sift the dust out of the oil dry. You can plant trees in it like it is or add a little bark fines or other organics to hold a bit more water since the colanders do dry fast. I wish 8822 was available here in Costa Rica...

 

[MattE]

awesome thank you guys for the tips, im gonna try and find a bonsai club here, i have never ever seen anything here for them

 

[Stickroot]

"Brian's tree is a good example."

A good example of what?



Sounds like you're getting the wrong idea of collecting. Recovery and growth are the trickiest part of collecting trees. Digging one up is the easy part. Coaxing it to live afterwards can be difficult.--this is on a sliding scale, depending on many things. For instance if you're digging a young elm tree, you can chop off all of its roots in mid summer, chop the trunk to two inches, plant it in marbles and it will probably survive.

If you're working with an older oak, or a pine, that kind of thing will kill it, probably outright, or possibly two years from now when it runs out of stored energy.

Seeing fast progression is all well and good, but realizing your mileage is likely to vary (tremendously) is something to keep in mind.

You have not shown any examples of what you speak of. Do you have any?

 

[rockm]

You have not shown any examples of what you speak of. Do you have any?

Yeah,

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Fast development is not really part of yamadori. Most of what is collected takes years to make into bonsai. Yaupon is a sprinter when it comes to growth. Privet is another. Elms can be, depending on what you have to do.

Collecting is NOT a "fast lane" for bonsai. It can speed you up, as trunks are more mature, but with most stuff that's dug up, you're probably looking at a decade of work to make it a decent tree, or even just presentable.

You're right on. That ilex isn't anything to write home about because you can hedge them into a passable canopy pretty quickly, and on top of a fat trunk it gets attention...that's about as fast lane as it gets. It is a decent example of an ilex, and has had quite a bit of work over its 4 years in a pot, but I usually pass over it when I'm giving a tour of the garden!

 

[rockm]

You're right on. That ilex isn't anything to write home about because you can hedge them into a passable canopy pretty quickly, and on top of a fat trunk it gets attention...that's about as fast lane as it gets. It is a decent example of an ilex, and has had quite a bit of work over its 4 years in a pot, but I usually pass over it when I'm giving a tour of the garden!

It is still a great tree. I've been looking for one for a while. It's a bit sensitive up here in Va. to harsh winters, though.

 

[wireme]

awesome thank you guys for the tips, im gonna try and find a bonsai club here, i have never ever seen anything here for them

Feel free to drop in if you're heading west sometime, I've got a few yamadori to look at here.

 

[MattE]

Feel free to drop in if you're heading west sometime, I've got a few yamadori to look at here.

Hell ya lol i go down every fall. Man wishing i was in BC "okanagan valley " so Nice !!