Yamadori Collection

[Macebailey123]

Hello - I am wanting to collect from more mountainous regions. I have collected and had a successful rate thus far. My question is related to collecting from rock pockets. What are the best ways to do so? It appears as if you would need a pry bar and small hand tools to remove. When do you know that you can’t remove? What are the best ways at accessing small pockets? Any tips would be helpful.

 

[Macebailey123]

Here are some examples.

 

[Wills612]

None of those appear collectible. You are looking for the root mass to wiggle. You should be able to collect fairly easily and just have to cut a few anchor roots.

 

[Macebailey123]

@Wills612 when I did attempt to wiggle these they did wiggle pretty good actually.

 

[misfit11]

These are fantastic specimens. However, collecting Yamadori like this requires extensive experience and skill. Do you have any experience collecting trees from the wild? Just getting them out of the ground is the first part. You then need to pot them up in the correct medium and provide the after care to ensure their survival. People that collect trees like this are masters that have been doing it for years. Even the very best lose trees. It would be a shame to kill one of these wonders of nature that have been able to eek out an existence for possibly hundreds of years.

Also, do you have permission to collect? This is a very important consideration. Don't collect anything without consent.

I don't mean to be a kill joy but these are important things to consider before pulling trees out of the ground.

Cory

 

[Macebailey123]

These are fantastic specimens. However, collecting Yamadori like this requires extensive experience and skill. Do you have any experience collecting trees from the wild? Just getting them out of the ground is the first part. You then need to pot them up in the correct medium and provide the after care to ensure their survival. People that collect trees like this are masters that have been doing it for years. Even the very best lose trees. It would be a shame to kill one of these wonders of nature that have been able to eek out an existence for possibly hundreds of years.

Also, do you have permission to collect? This is a very important consideration. Don't collect anything without consent.

I don't mean to be a kill joy but these are important things to consider before pulling trees out of the ground.

Cory

Yeah I’m familiar with the permit processes. I’ve collected trees on national land before. Nothing in rock cracks like this which is why I was asking. I’ve mainly collected by digging. That said I’ve always planted in 100% pumice and had great experience with success. I wouldn’t start with these. I just used them as examples.

 

[Colorado]

Hello - I am wanting to collect from more mountainous regions. I have collected and had a successful rate thus far. My question is related to collecting from rock pockets. What are the best ways to do so? It appears as if you would need a pry bar and small hand tools to remove. When do you know that you can’t remove? What are the best ways at accessing small pockets? Any tips would be helpful.

A pry bar is a must. And yes, some kind of tool(s) to sever large and small roots. It is essential to retain an intact root ball of field soil. The photos posted don’t look likely collectible but could be wrong.

 

[Macebailey123]

A pry bar is a must. And yes, some kind of tool(s) to sever large and small roots. It is essential to retain an intact root ball of field soil. The photos posted don’t look likely collectible but could be wrong.

Thanks! Curious - do you have photos of any that you have collected that were collectible? Would love to see an example if possible.

 

[Paradox]

Some trees just aren't collectable because their roots run deep into crevices that you can't get to

 

[Colorado]

Thanks! Curious - do you have photos of any that you have collected that were collectible? Would love to see an example if possible.

Yes, here is a Doug fir that I collected with @Hartinez last weekend that is a good example.

 

[Hartinez]

Here is another example. It’s hard to see but the big rock to the left of the tree was moveable with a few pry bars. We ended up having to sever a decently large tap root, but we wouldn’t have been able to had lifting the rock not been possible. Fortunately also, it allowed us to sever the tap root below a solid ball of feeder roots.


The issue I see with the pics you posted is the shear scale of the rocks the trees are growing in. It doesn’t appear that any access to the roots is possible, even with a pry bar. Not enough roots for it to survive at least.

 

[BrianBay9]

As suggested by others, the trick to mountain collecting is not necessarily the collecting part, or even the after care. It's selection of the tree you're going to collect. Starting on granite is good. Looking for pockets in the rock that support a tree. Narrow cracks are usually not going to work well. Select a tree where the root ball moves when you rock the trunk.

In my experience on a granite ridge in the Rockies you might find one tree in a few hundred that's a good candidate.

 

[rockm]

As suggested by others, the trick to mountain collecting is not necessarily the collecting part, or even the after care. It's selection of the tree you're going to collect. Starting on granite is good. Looking for pockets in the rock that support a tree. Narrow cracks are usually not going to work well. Select a tree where the root ball moves when you rock the trunk.

In my experience on a granite ridge in the Rockies you might find one tree in a few hundred that's a good candidate.

That's not limited to mountain collecting. Most trees in flat woods aren't all that collectible either. One tree in 100...Same "rock the trunk" trick works for lowland species as well. If the trunk doesn't budge AT ALL at ground level when given a moderate shove, the work to get it out will likely kill you and the tree.

 

[Hartinez]

That's not limited to mountain collecting. Most trees in flat woods aren't all that collectible either. One tree in 100...Same "rock the trunk" trick works for lowland species as well. If the trunk doesn't budge AT ALL at ground level when given a moderate shove, the work to get it out will likely kill you and the tree.

As suggested by others, the trick to mountain collecting is not necessarily the collecting part, or even the after care. It's selection of the tree you're going to collect. Starting on granite is good. Looking for pockets in the rock that support a tree. Narrow cracks are usually not going to work well. Select a tree where the root ball moves when you rock the trunk.

In my experience on a granite ridge in the Rockies you might find one tree in a few hundred that's a good candidate.

Yes def. while most certainly could be used and made into decent trees, the whole point is to search the special trees. Less is more. Quality over quantity all day.

 

[Macebailey123]

Great insight. The last time I went collecting I got pretty lucky with a great looking pine sitting right on top of a granite slab under a rock I could move by picking it up. One tap root and I picked it up. I’ve also collected with trees on stand alone ground and it’s a pain. I guess I’ve seen pictures of people collecting and the cracks they are getting them from are pretty slender. Maybe it’s not so much the size of the crack but the movement of the rock around it and ensuring there are enough roots at the surface of course.

 

[PonderingSage:]

Yeah, the wiggle test is often misleading, as some just rock on that anchoring root. If you dont see any roots as you are poking around in the pocket, that is usually a bad sign. Iv’e been foiled by grass and other plant roots that I’d thought was the rootball.
Good luck. For me its about walking more than digging and trying to be selective, which is hard when there are some nasty trees around.

 

[ShadyStump]

@Macebailey123 Where are you located? Having an idea of the geography/geology you're working with makes a big difference. Location is the key. Stuff like your examples is a good place to look, but as said before maybe 1 in 100 is actually collectable, then 1 in 50 of those will be worth your time.

 

[Macebailey123]

@Macebailey123 Where are you located? Having an idea of the geography/geology you're working with makes a big difference. Location is the key. Stuff like your examples is a good place to look, but as said before maybe 1 in 100 is actually collectable, then 1 in 50 of those will be worth your time.

Right! I’m in Northern CA.

 

[ShadyStump]

You'll do well to add it to your profile around here. It'll skip asking this question in every thread. Including your USDA growing zone helps too.

Then you have barely enough time for fall collecting as it is, so be prejudice about how you choose a tree, and maybe wait until spring when it's better timing anyway.

 

[Macebailey123]

You'll do well to add it to your profile around here. It'll skip asking this question in every thread. Including your USDA growing zone helps too.

Then you have barely enough time for fall collecting as it is, so be prejudice about how you choose a tree, and maybe wait until spring when it's better timing anyway.

Thanks. Yeah I’m looking at collecting next spring.