Pre-digging preparation for Yamadori?

[BoondoxUtah]

I am sure this has been discussed before in more than one thread, but I've spent lots of time searching the forums and really haven't found what I am asking. I remember at least one answer that mentions taking time, sometimes significant time, in prepping the tree prior to digging. I have several pinyons and Junipers that are good candidates for digging, but if possible I would like to try and increase the root ball and feeder roots closer to the truck prior to digging. I can easily access these trees and can modify the area around the roots. I also can water the trees at least two to three times a week. So some specific questions: will nicking or scaring more established roots, then burying them in a decent rooting media, stimulate roots at the site of the cut? Will creating a healthy rooting zone near the tree, with supplemental watering encourage root growth? Since my access is so good to these trees (a 5 minute walk at most), I am thinking "why dig this tree, put it in a box for two to three years letting it recuperate and grow out the a new root system, when I could potentially leave the tree in the ground and concentrate on creating new roots in place before digging?" Thoughts? Techniques? Forget about it?

 

[River's Edge]

So some specific questions: will nicking or scaring more established roots, then burying them in a decent rooting media, stimulate roots at the site of the cut? Will creating a healthy rooting zone near the tree, with supplemental watering encourage root growth? S

In short the answer is yes. It will be more effective to cut off the real strong roots, leaving the finer feeder roots. Than it will to nick or scar some roots. As for the second questions, additional watering my help if the trees in question are not getting the right amount of water. I would consider supplement fertilizer as part of the program for improved root growth.
Normally this type of work is only done for very valuable, older yamadori with specific challenges in collection or condition. So please understand that in most cases it will not be needed. With experience one will be able to explore the root ball and determine if needed and how best to go about it for the particular species and collection site. Generic responses are not too helpful in this type of situation.
Hope the comments help.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Thoughts? Techniques?

A couple years back my sister-in-law had two incredible (very old) blue-star junipers that she felt were overgrown, but they were (of course) great material. I waited for early spring and dug them up with great care... only to find very little feeder roots reasonably close to the trunk. I potted them up with care and babied them all summer but by autumn, they were dead. In this case, I think their roots were very deep and widespread; feeder roots were just outside of reach. If had it to do over, I would have cut a circle around them the year before and let them sit for a season. I might have also tried to cut the tap root but that's not usually so easy. A little more patience and prep on my end probably could have saved mine. Good luck.

 

[nuttiest]

I wonder this too, like doing 1/3 around the tree every year until just a tap root is left. Can you use a tourniquet on roots?

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I wonder this too, like doing 1/3 around the tree every year until just a tap root is left. Can you use a tourniquet on roots?

Why 1/3? You're leaving it in situ. Go all the way around... and snap that tap root if you can. Those severed roots will send out feeders better in that scenario than anything else. If you leave it in-ground, cut away (in my opinion).

 

[Shibui]

If you are going to all the trouble of cutting long roots to get more feeder roots, make sure you cut fairly close to the trunk. Most people way overestimate the length of roots when cutting. That means a huge grow box when you dig and , at some stage, those roots with all the great new feeder roots will need to be chopped short again.
Try to imagine the pot the tree might go into and cut accordingly.
If you are going to do it, do it right first time.

Can you use a tourniquet on roots?

Yes, you can definitely use a tourniquet on roots. It works well but it may take a few years for the roots to thicken enough to cause enough constriction to force new roots. You also need to be aware that cutting off the supply of water through those longer roots may compromise the tree until new roots can grow and those new roots will then need a water source.

 

[leatherback]

I find that people use yamadori in all sorts of ways. Most of the time people are talking not about the old rugged trees that traditionally refer to yamadori but to young whips and trees of a decade or maybe two old. These young healthy plants can more often than not be collected without any prior work. The older and weaker the tree to be collecter is (and with related rootball sizes) the harder to collect and more prep work MIGHT be needed.

Then again, if you have good substrate, a sheltered filtered light greenhouse and misting setup you probably do the tree a favour by bringing it down the mountain in one go.

 

[Hartinez]

I like that everyone who has chimed in has said, it might help, and not that it will help, by coming back over successive seasons. I think climate, and location of the tree to you, are big considerations.

Here where I am, it’s hot and dry until the monsoons when it rains almost every afternoon for a month. But even then, the clay dirt the nice trees are growing in, dries out so quickly. This just means that if I’m trying to cultivate fine roots in the field, that getting them to grow is hard enough, but getting them to survive for a year, 2 years or more is even harder.

To me in my climate, which seems is probably a similar climate to yours, digging in one go at the right time of year, then taking proper after care is far more beneficial than coming back year over year to try and lessen the stress of the collection.

I have collected quite a few One seed juniper and piñon pine with good success. Not as high a success rate as spruce or fir, but still high considering the environment they are collected in.

 

[Dabbler]

Honestly pictures are worth a thousand words when it comes to yamadori - it can help to give better advice then just speculation on a description, though the advice is very good.

 

[BoondoxUtah]

This is great. Thank you for all the comments. Just for background, the trees I have chosen, are all older specimens that are in situations where erosion will likely kill them. They are a also much older trees. They are in a sandstone environment, with the sandstone being very friable and usually bedded. The roots get into the cracks and then create a root mass of fine feeder roots. I have added pics of one of the trees. This tree is about 3.5 feet tall (the old leader is dead and towers above that small bit still alive. The photos also show the old dead roots that erosion has exposed.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Holy cow! That's true yamadori. I'm not sure how you'd go about trimming back the roots with the rocks in the way. This type of collection is outside of my experience. Keep us posted on your progress!