Some sort of manzanita

[Jocofat]

Hello all.
mom relatively new to bonsai but have been successful more often than not with my trees and experiments. I was wandering and found a small manzanita on a friends property. Decided to dig it up and pot it up then read about them and realized most people say they are extremely likely to just die...
Any tips for me and my mistake of collecting this cool little tree...?
I have taken some advice on potting it up in an inorganic soil and not cutting anything off of it.
other than that I’m really just hoping and wishing it will pull through the experience of being dug and potted.

(FYI in the picture there is just like 1 inch of standard bonsai soil with some bark in it but under that is all perlite and DE.)

 

[Paradox]

@Jocofat
I am not familiar with this species of tree so I can't really give you advice.

However can you please put your location in your profile so we dont have to keep asking you and people can give you appropriate advice based on your location.

 

[Perrywinkle]

My understanding is that most manzanita species don't tolerate having their roots bound by small containers. Some people in forums say they've grown manzanita in containers by overpotting them and using very well draining soil. I would leave it as is and see if it survives. Once you've collect it, the only thing to do is hope that it survives. In a couple of years, maybe repot it in a large container and see how it does.

Edit: Some sources say that the secret to growing manzanita is getting the mycorrhizal fungus to grow with your tree. If you have any left over soil from your collection maybe try to lightly integrate it into the soil of the container.

 

[Jocofat]

Thank you for the advice. I updated my profile. Now I guess it’s just the waiting game

 

[sorce]

I bet if you don't believe they're hard to keep alive, they won't be.

Welcome to Crazy!

If you put a Mudman under that loop, it will live.

Sorce

 

[cishepard]

Some great info:

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/manzanita-thread.20025/

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Now that I have moved to NC, I would not be able to keep manzanita,, because it is too wet and humid here. Having kept (and killed) many different types, I would suggest the following:
(1) They grow in low water conditions that are not too hot. Think high desert mountains above 3000' or low rainfall slopes in the Rockies. They require soil that is low organic, and almost dries completely between waterings. Very easy to kill by over-watering or letting roots stay wet.
(2) They are nitrogen-fixers via symbiotic fungi in root nodules. If you use a high nitrogen fertilizer, you will nuke the roots.
(3) They do best with alkaline water (not surprising given low rain, low organic soil). If you use acidic water (or an acid fertilizer), you will nuke the roots.

 

[penumbra]

Not a plant for my climate so I have no advice. But it is a cool little plant and I hope it does well.

I bet if you don't believe they're hard to keep alive, they won't be.

I said I had no advice, but I have found that the above often works well.^^^

 

[erich_raudebaugh]

They probably do well collected from the landscape rather than the wild. Keep it away from strong winds and sun for a year, also tenting helps. If you have lots of roots it will live, otherwise forget it.

The problem with manzanita is when you sever large tap roots on yamadori, the trees are extremely reliant on those roots. That's when they die. If the leaves look even a tiny bit crispy, build an enclosure with plastic, or make a tent of some kind. In fact, any kind of tent or greenhouse will help, the sooner you do it the better.

At the same time, what Bonsai Nut says is true, but they will croak very quickly after collecting through transpiration and no water uptake via roots. It's a bit contradictory. Probably the lack of fungi they need helps them die faster.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Best of fortune with this. Hope to have one or two Manzanita one day.