New to bonsai and Yamadori and from Maine!! Any help/advice?

[yamadorinut]

Im new to this and have been simply collecting trees from my yard to start off. Any recommendations on which species to keep an eye out for or any advice on the trees I've already collected?

 

[Shibui]

Not sure what grows in gardens in Maine but azalea is one species I've collected lots from gardens. Takes years for azalea to thicken in a pot but you can dig up old trees with great trunks from gardens. They transplant very easy and sprout prolifically after severe top reduction.

Hard to tell from the angle of the photo but it looks like the pine trunk has reverse taper. Looks like a white pine. Possible grafted?
The second tree is showing signs of stress - droopy top. I'm guessing a very recent collection? Maybe just a bit late to dig with all the leaves open. Dig before leaves open is a good guideline for deciduous.

 

[Paradox]

As shuibui said, the best time to collect most trees is very early spring as the buds swell.
It's probably too late in the year now.

Once buds open and shoots extend, you run into issues between increased transportation and reduced ability of the roots to transport water because they've been disrupted from collecting.

This often results in a dead tree.
Collect early in the spring as described and the tree has time to start recovering before demand on the roots ramps up.

 

[NateMcFly3]

Any recommendations on which species to keep an eye out for

Should be plenty of crab apples and pitch pines there, they can make nice bonsai

 

[NateMcFly3]

Should be plenty of crab apples and pitch pines there, they can make nice bonsai

Collected Maine Pitch Pine

Here is the other pitch pine collected at the same time. This one got the emergency repot due to my clumsiness. Here’s hoping it pulls through.

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Paradox]

Also, please put your location on your profile so we don't have to repeatedly ask you where you are. Location can be very important for giving you proper advice for bonsai.

Im new to this and have been simply collecting trees from my yard to start off. Any recommendations on which species to keep an eye out for or any advice on the trees I've already collected?

 

[Dabbler]

I just vacationed in Deer Isle in Maine! I love Maine a lot but it's soo cold! I'd be after the pitch pine - they were everywhere!

 

[RJG2]

Welcome, there are a few of us here. @MaineChowder @yashu to name a couple.

Definitely follow the advice to put your location in your profile.

 

[yamadorinut]

Thanks for all your advice and info! I realize it’s a bit late in the season but I’m still hopeful and wanting to try yamadori! I just dug up what I believe to be a Norway maple. Any info or suggestions for this guy?

 

[Paradox]

Thanks for all your advice and info! I realize it’s a bit late in the season but I’m still hopeful and wanting to try yamadori! I just dug up what I believe to be a Norway maple. Any info or suggestions for this guy?

Just because it's "growing in the wild" doesn't mean it will make a good bonsai.

This looks like a stump with a couple of shoots growing out of it.

First it was collected at the wrong time, so it might not survive

If it does, let it grow for at least 5 years then you might be able to do something with it.

Potting soil is not good medium for bonsai. It will stay too wet and promote root rot.

I get you're excited to do bonsai. Please put some time and effort into learning what you should be looking for in a potential tree and learn the appropriate time to collect things

 

[RJG2]

You're also pretty close to Mike's Bonsai Nursery (in Litchfield) - he does some beginner classes from time to time, and has some decent starter trees.

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057241039099

 

[PonderingSage:]

Thanks for all your advice and info! I realize it’s a bit late in the season but I’m still hopeful and wanting to try yamadori! I just dug up what I believe to be a Norway maple. Any info or suggestions for this guy?

If you dig with leaves already open, l would reduce the leaves by half. You can do this by cutting each leaf in half(cutting the tips off) or cutting off every other leaf.
I did this with a Hawthorne I collected and August last summer and took off 80% of the foliage in the tree is thriving this year.
Basically by doing this, you reduce the water load that that tree needs if it’s collected and has had a disturbance to the roots.

as a side-note about collecting in general, it’s better to temper your enthusiasm and often wait for the appropriate season to do the work, otherwise you’re digging up a tree that is not going to live anyway.
Which isn’t a huge deal for urban trees but a no no for wild trees

 

[We're all Mad Here...🎩]

One thing you can obviously do is go nursery hunting and seek out junipers to practice on that have trunks with nice movement and taper. There is lots of bonsai terminology and lots of variable advice you'll hear in this forum, which is what makes it great. You've got some good advice already. Be careful collecting now, but most importantly, whatever trees you do work on, learn the species, and plan to develop patience.

The worst mistake I made early on is chopping a young tree into the bonsai I'd hope it to be years later. Find some good YouTube channels, learn, dive deep into the forum because your questions have likely been answered (not all), and most of all, have fun. You'll get frustrated, maybe lose the drive, but just keep at it.

 

[Gabler]

If folks here seem to be hard on you, it's because they want to see you succeed, not that anyone here was rude, but a string of messages saying you messed up can be disheartening.

You're asking the correct questions. Every beginner wants to try every species, myself included. It's good to see you're already questioning which species available to you are good for bonsai.

Red maple (Acer rubrum) is fairly cold hardy, and It's becoming a more popular species. Certain species of juniper and pine are very cold hardy. Are you in zone 5? Zone 4?