The lower trunk is obvious what spark my interest from the get go. Was a well look at you hiding over here . Amongst the under growth . Relatively rare . These trees are not the most apical dominant out there . But there ability to withstand harsh conditions . Make this rare . Like a cliff face tree . The search for light is behind its growth . You can see where it went sideways . And as soon as it got light it went up
Apparently I do mame now.
Yes, totally a yamadori mame with deadwood. Mountain ash maybe, but I'm not sure.
(Speaking of, what I claimed to be a scrub oak a couple weeks ago I don't think actually is. Not sure what it is, but the bark and buds are all wrong once I actually looked at it.)
Found it went while hiking with the dog this morning.
There's a funny story about that. I'll tell it elsewhere.
Jacked up my little shovel trying to get it out of the rocks.
Not as much root as I'd hoped, so it's in the greenhouse for now.
You better close this thread right now because no one can compete which what I’m about to show you. And so what if I’ll be dead by the time this lignum vitae will be 3 feet tall in 35 years.
I spent some time this after noon wandering in the swamp, looking for small BCs with good base. I found two small ones and a big one I couldn’t resist.
Apparently I do mame now. View attachment 485309
Yes, totally a yamadori mame with deadwood. Mountain ash maybe, but I'm not sure.
(Speaking of, what I claimed to be a scrub oak a couple weeks ago I don't think actually is. Not sure what it is, but the bark and buds are all wrong once I actually looked at it.)
Found it went while hiking with the dog this morning.
There's a funny story about that. I'll tell it elsewhere. View attachment 485310
And one of the coolest things about living somewhere with extreme elevation changes is when collecting season is over, just drive up a couple hundred feet.
Thought I was too late in the season, but this scrub oak is just starting to bud. It was a pain to get out. No shoveling at all, just slowly working the soil and rocks out of the way with my fingers.
I thought that root would pull out from between the rock, but when I put some real power on it it cracked. I had to cut it off. Not near as much fine root as it should be.
Here it is potted up in a produce basket, leaning on how until I can wire it down.
Eve if the rest died, there's a little sucker starting off the roots that may make it. It could still be a fascinating tree in the end.
An update on the big Japanese privet I dug earlier this year. This is today, after pruning the redundant sprouts and the leaves close to the trunk. I've been massaging the branches down. Well on it's way to a Walter Pall-type Fairytale bonsai. Lotsa carving in this tree's future. I'll leave that beautiful natural scar in front of course.
I’m most excited about this beech growing at the base of this hillside. It’s not easy to find thick beech trees with any movement, though it’ll probably take twenty years to develop and refine it, so I’ll have something to look forward to in my mid to late forties. For this year, I’ll just...
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What’s the latest you’ve seen a beech leaf out after collection?
I’ve collected enough beech to recognize a basic pattern when they fail to recover. They push growth, but then they shrivel up in the heat of summer when their roots aren’t sufficient to support the foliage. Then they fail to wake up the following year.
This failure to wake up the same year as collection is new to me. Every other beech I have has leafed out. This one has not. I collected a decent root mass, potted it in perlite, and covered that with a mix of rich black humus and coconut husk chunks, to hold moisture but allow some air down to the perlite. It has been perpetually moist but only soaking wet when it rains. The bare trunk gets maybe an hour of sunlight in the early morning, and then it’s shaded by a privacy fence the rest of the afternoon.
We did have an unusually cool spring, so I’m hoping this tree is just a bit behind in pushing its dormant buds below the chop site. That said, I’m worried collection proved to be too much, and the tree lacks sufficient energy reserves to even try to leaf out.
Went to the swamp for some meditation time.
1 large, 2 medium, and 2 small collected from under big BCs. Let me know when you are tired of seeing these posts.
I’m most excited about this beech growing at the base of this hillside. It’s not easy to find thick beech trees with any movement, though it’ll probably take twenty years to develop and refine it, so I’ll have something to look forward to in my mid to late forties. For this year, I’ll just...
www.bonsainut.com
What’s the latest you’ve seen a beech leaf out after collection?
I’ve collected enough beech to recognize a basic pattern when they fail to recover. They push growth, but then they shrivel up in the heat of summer when their roots aren’t sufficient to support the foliage. Then they fail to wake up the following year.
This failure to wake up the same year as collection is new to me. Every other beech I have has leafed out. This one has not. I collected a decent root mass, potted it in perlite, and covered that with a mix of rich black humus and coconut husk chunks, to hold moisture but allow some air down to the perlite. It has been perpetually moist but only soaking wet when it rains. The bare trunk gets maybe an hour of sunlight in the early morning, and then it’s shaded by a privacy fence the rest of the afternoon.
We did have an unusually cool spring, so I’m hoping this tree is just a bit behind in pushing its dormant buds below the chop site. That said, I’m worried collection proved to be too much, and the tree lacks sufficient energy reserves to even try to leaf out.
BUT I have had trees do that to me before. My best theory right now is too early and/or too little root.
Came across a thread here once (can't recall the title or even who posted it, but maybe in the resources somewhere) where they explained that roots store energy, and foliage produce energy. From that I deduced that when my collected trees failed to wake up it was because the energy and/or growth hormones needed to do so never made it from the roots to the branch tips to start the leaf buds. Leaves don't bud, they don't produce the hormones and energy for root growth.
Hence the insistence on getting the tree just as the buds are swelling. That energy has already made it to the foliage - at least in part - and started the energy cycle, which should get the tree going, but early enough that the collection shouldn't shock the tree too much.
BUT I have had trees do that to me before. My best theory right now is too early and/or too little root.
Came across a thread here once (can't recall the title or even who posted it, but maybe in the resources somewhere) where they explained that roots store energy, and foliage produce energy. From that I deduced that when my collected trees failed to wake up it was because the energy and/or growth hormones needed to do so never made it from the roots to the branch tips to start the leaf buds. Leaves don't bud, they don't produce the hormones and energy for root growth.
Hence the insistence on getting the tree just as the buds are swelling. That energy has already made it to the foliage - at least in part - and started the energy cycle, which should get the tree going, but early enough that the collection shouldn't shock the tree too much.
This is now budding out and looking good.
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