The 2023 Yamadori/Collecting Thread

[Cajunrider]

I’ve found my tree! It is a collector specimen. Very nice taper. Wide base flare with deep deep flutes.
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It now has a name: Dr Strange

 

[Gabler]

Nice!
I have had that happen to me, though; enough energy to push a few new leaves, but not roots.
Keep it cool and humid.

It's in a corner where an east-west privacy fence meets a north-south privacy fence. It gets a small amount of sunlight early in the morning, but it's fully shaded the rest of the day. It did have some feeder roots at collection, so I'm hoping it manages to generate enough energy to live.

 

[Hartinez]

 

[ShadyStump]

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One seed or Utah?
That trunk is gorgeous whichever.

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

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WHEW

 

[Hartinez]

One seed or Utah?
That trunk is gorgeous whichever.

One seed. The trunk sold me. I wanted more natural deadwood, but I couldn’t walk away from the trunk.

 

[Hartinez]

A piñon from the same day as the juniper. This has been one of the more mild springs I’ve ever experienced in Abq. We are rarely breaking 90 each day. We’re usually around high 90s right now. This has allowed me to collect the high desert stuff a little later than years past.

 

[ShadyStump]

has been one of the more mild springs I’ve ever experienced in Abq. We are rarely breaking 90 each day. We’re usually around high 90s right now. This has allowed me to collect the high desert stuff a little later than years past.

Same here, but moreso. If my dog would settle down and quit eating trees I'd be collecting still, planning trips to the high country even.

 

[PonderingSage:]

Same here, its been raining in the desert… we may have a few more weeks.

A piñon from the same day as the juniper. This has been one of the more mild springs I’ve ever experienced in Abq. We are rarely breaking 90 each day. We’re usually around high 90s right now. This has allowed me to collect the high desert stuff a little later than years past.
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[PonderingSage:]

Collected this squat juni a few weeks ago. So far so good

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

Collected this squat juni a few weeks ago. So far so good

Very cool tree. I like the deadwood feature highlighted.

 

[PonderingSage:]

Very cool tree. I like the deadwood feature highlighted.

Thanks

 

[Shogun610]

Collected this squat juni a few weeks ago. So far so good

Oh man look at that fin. Mad cool.
Tree looks healthy , and grass growing in the soil , good soil too

 

[Cajunrider]

Collected this squat juni a few weeks ago. So far so good

I am jealous. Beautiful tree.

 

[ShadyStump]

Collected this squat juni a few weeks ago. So far so good

Why does everyone else get the cool trees?!

Probably a good thing, though. I'd likely kill it.

 

[WavyGaby]

A piñon from the same day as the juniper. This has been one of the more mild springs I’ve ever experienced in Abq. We are rarely breaking 90 each day. We’re usually around high 90s right now. This has allowed me to collect the high desert stuff a little later than years past.
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Nice ones. Im excited to see what you do with these. A trip to the high desert for a collection is on my bucket list. I would love to pick your brain.

 

[Gabler]

Why does everyone else get the cool trees?!

Probably a good thing, though. I'd likely kill it.

I don't know what you have available in your part of Colorado, but we don't have many coniferous forests here on the Delmarva Penninsula. Those we have are sandy riparian areas along the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. The only junipers we have are eastern red cedars. If I find any sort of yamadori tree, it's virtually guaranteed to be a deciduous tree.

Deciduous trees aren't going to have the impressive deadwood features you tend to see on conifers. The wood rots too fast outdoors. Plus, if part of a deciduous tree is dead, the rest of the tree is likely sick and soon to follow. It's occasionally possible to find an interesting tree that's been browsed by cattle or run over by heavy machinery, but trees subject to that kind of abuse don't usually last long, so they're few and far between.

My best bet has been to look for trees with an interesting base and collect them with the expectation that I will be developing the rest of the tree myself. My goal in collection isn't to find the ideal tree. My goal is to shorten the amount of time required to get a reasonably thick trunk. It takes maybe two years for trees to recover from collection, sometimes faster or slower depending on the species, age, and health of the individual tree. That saves me a net three to five years of growing in the ground and/or in large pots before my first chop, depending on the size of the collected tree and its growth rate. In other words, my goal in collecting isn't to find the ideal naturally-styled tree, but to find thick trunks for free.

 

[ShadyStump]

I don't know what you have available in your part of Colorado, but we don't have many coniferous forests here on the Delmarva Penninsula. Those we have are sandy riparian areas along the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. The only junipers we have are eastern red cedars. If I find any sort of yamadori tree, it's virtually guaranteed to be a deciduous tree.

Deciduous trees aren't going to have the impressive deadwood features you tend to see on conifers. The wood rots too fast outdoors. Plus, if part of a deciduous tree is dead, the rest of the tree is likely sick and soon to follow. It's occasionally possible to find an interesting tree that's been browsed by cattle or run over by heavy machinery, but trees subject to that kind of abuse don't usually last long, so they're few and far between.

My best bet has been to look for trees with an interesting base and collect them with the expectation that I will be developing the rest of the tree myself. My goal in collection isn't to find the ideal tree. My goal is to shorten the amount of time required to get a reasonably thick trunk. It takes maybe two years for trees to recover from collection, sometimes faster or slower depending on the species, age, and health of the individual tree. That saves me a net three to five years of growing in the ground and/or in large pots before my first chop, depending on the size of the collected tree and its growth rate. In other words, my goal in collecting isn't to find the ideal naturally-styled tree, but to find thick trunks for free.

Snapped a few pics today of some of what can be found on a trail near me. These particular trees aren't likely to move - roots down in fissures in the rock - but the rest of the area is a gold mine.
That's why I'll never tell anyone about it. Some asshole will hear and rape the whole place until it's destroyed. I won't even touch much of what's up there.

Ponderosa pines


And scenery porn just to rub it in.


So, no, I was mostly joking.
I've pledged to myself to not take a single conifer from here until I'm good enough to ensure it's survival.

 

[Cajunrider]

One seed or Utah?
That trunk is gorgeous whichever.

There is such a thing as Trunk Porn around here.
I never thought it would come to that but I've been admiring a lot of trunks in this place.

 

[Gabler]

Snapped a few pics today of some of what can be found on a trail near me. These particular trees aren't likely to move - roots down in fissures in the rock - but the rest of the area is a gold mine.
That's why I'll never tell anyone about it. Some asshole will hear and rape the whole place until it's destroyed. I won't even touch much of what's up there.

Ponderosa pines
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And scenery porn just to rub it in.
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So, no, I was mostly joking.
I've pledged to myself to not take a single conifer from here until I'm good enough to ensure it's survival.

So I guess in the meantime you're practicing with lower-quality trees to perfect your collection technique?