Question ------- trees found high on mountains sides .......................

[Anthony]

Okay, we deal with trees [ in Trinidad ] growing on fertile plains, heavy clay soils.
Lush.

Trees high up in the mountains, has anyone ever checked to see how much soil
is contained in those pockets the roots grow in?
Or what comes out of the decaying rock [ granite, basalt etc. ]

Is it like a cubic metre of organic material spread over a distance ? To a 3 foot tree ?
Anyone?
Good Day
Anthony

 

[leatherback]

In some cases.. Nothin at all. Looks like bare roch, with just a few cracks. In others, a pot full of decomposed needles from the parent plant.
In yet other cases there is lots of top soil.

 

[Anthony]

I do wonder if it were checked just how much soil those trees have access to?

 

[BrianBay9]

I have collected many such trees, mostly Ponderosa and Lodgepole pine from granite in the Rockies. I'd say most I pulled were in pockets around two feet by two feet by eight inches deep. Gross generalization of course. The best trees come out of that pocket in 15 min or less, cutting a couple of support roots. In the best case the entire pocket is filled with roots.

I don't know if the occasional root that I cut - the ones diving into a crevice, have access to soil someplace other than the pocket I'm working on.

 

[Anthony]

Interesting so if Sunlight [ high UV for smaller leaves/ finer branches ? ]
and adequate water will sustain life on a conifer.

These potential yamadori, might have hidden pocket [ buckets ] of organic
material hidden away and along the root run ?

They may be shorter, smaller than average, but are they really starved ?

Nature's Bonsai Children.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Wilson]

Here in eastern Canada I have collected, and seen numerous trees on top of rock. Often as Brian mentioned above, cut a root and lift. Around here moss and lichen cover the rocks, and create an easy spot for germination. The elements beat these guys right down, but like Anthony said "maybe not starving".

 

[rockm]

Interesting so if Sunlight [ high UV for smaller leaves/ finer branches ? ]
and adequate water will sustain life on a conifer.

These potential yamadori, might have hidden pocket [ buckets ] of organic
material hidden away and along the root run ?

They may be shorter, smaller than average, but are they really starved ?

Nature's Bonsai Children.
Good Day
Anthony

yes. They're really starved. In the bristlecone pine's case, adverse, low nutrient/moisture is KEY to their longevity and durability.
https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/identifying-bristlecone-pines.htm
https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/lahontan-valley/nevadas-bristlecone-pines-have-seen-it-all/

 

[Melospiza]

I have seen Virginia pines and Eastern redcedars growing on exposed granite here in Western Georgia and Eastern Alabama. The granite substrate is typically pretty smooth and slopes gently, with small crevices and pockets. The pines start out in little pockets of the rock and as they grow, their mat of roots expands, collecting leaf debris, dust and moss, and are able to expand even more. Thus the tree roots themselves form the anchor that holds this substrate together. Since the rock isn't very craggy, you can lift the entire substrate off the rock like a mat. The moss layer keeps it moist too, and soon small herbaceous plants like coreopsis grow in this substrate, along with woody plants like huckleberries. This mini ecosystem is pretty stable and can handle high heat in summer and wind and heavy frosts in winter. However, a severe summer drought can kill off even drought-resistant junipers and destabilize this ecosystem, and wildfires, which naturally occur at regular intervals, can return the ecosystem to bare rock, and the plants have to start from scratch. It is one of the most picturesque ecosystems you can find in Georgia.

 

[Dorky_gearhead]

Has anybody added soil around a tree in hopes of it growing more roots, for a later collection? I know it would take several years to form a quality root system.

 

[Melospiza]

Has anybody added soil around a tree in hopes of it growing more roots, for a later collection? I know it would take several years to form a quality root system.

I think something similar to this is recommended by some expert collectors, where they bare-root one side of the tree in the ground as much as possible, then fill it with bonsai mix. The next year do the same thing on the other side, and in the third year you can easily dig out the tree which has grown fine feeder roots into the bonsai soil and does not suffer as much as it would have if it were wrenched out of the ground in one go. I can try to find the article later. Your method might work for some trees growing on rocks, but not if the roots are growing deep into crevices in the rock.