Yashu’s Larix laricina 5 year native tree, native pot challenge

[yashu]

As title suggests, this is my very late submission to the “Native tree, Native pot challenge”

The tree is an American Larch (tamarack, hackmatack, whathaveyou) collected early spring of 2024… which gives me a bit under two years to make this presentable.


I collected this tree on an outing with @RJG2 and @MaineChowder (who it appears is not on here anymore?) in what is basically my extended backyard. This spot is accessed in spring, via canoe, right after ice out, before the bog grows up and is impenetrable for the remainder of the season. Collection is an adventure in and of itself.

The pot is a Richard Robinson creation. Mr. Robinson is a potter from Maine who passed in 2014. Both my pot and tree are Maine natives.

 

[yashu]

The Pot

As mentioned, the pot is made by Richard Robinson of Maine.

Richard Robertson (deceased) | American Bonsai Ceramics

americanbonsaiceramics.com

It’s a dark brown container with a very informal and organic form.

 

[yashu]

Collection

The tree was collected mid March of 2024. Three of us paddled to the collection site in a bog upstream from a beaver pond in my backyard



It was a dank, cold and basically miserable day, as it should be that time of year up in Maine. We made the best of it and collected probably more than a dozen trees between the three of us.







No one went home dry that day despite multiple layers of water resistant clothing



Still an amazing place even on a crappy day.



A few of the trees were literally chopped from the frozen sphagnum. This tree took way to long and as much as I wanted to give up on it I had made enough progress that I couldn’t stop. I think it will make a decent literati one day.



But that’s not the tree I’m using…

 

[yashu]

The Tree

I actually scouted this tree early winter 2022 but it was all iced in and not a good time for collection. That spring (2023) I paddled out and made a first attempt at digging it but the roots were in such a tangle that I was worried about cutting them all off just to free the plant up so I ended up leaving it. In spring 2024 I took @MaineChowder out to collect and at first told him to take the tree as I wanted to be sure that he left with some quality trees but after telling him the story of first discovering it he said I should keep it… that took no convincing on my part. The following week we went back out with @RJG2 and enough had thawed that we could collect a bunch and everyone left with good trees.

The plant had a naturally interesting nebari that widens nicely at the soil surface.







As you can see many sub-trunks split off from the main base where the first primary trunk died early in the trees life.

From the point where the tree divides it takes on the feel of a small forest or grove planting. I know this is fairly unorthodox in traditional bonsai and it occurred to me to remove many of the trunks to take advantage of the potential taper that could be created in a single trunked tree but I really liked the natural form and this is not uncommon in many large larches in the bogs of Maine.

It was bare rooted almost immediately after collection and put into an unglazed Yixing pot.





It took some time but finally started to wake up in mid-spring

 

[RJG2]

Collection

The tree was collected mid March of 2024. Three of us paddled to the collection site in a bog upstream from a beaver pond in my backyard

View attachment 584242

It was a dank, cold and basically miserable day, as it should be that time of year up in Maine. We made the best of it and collected probably more than a dozen trees between the three of us.

View attachment 584239

View attachment 584240

View attachment 584241

No one went home dry that day despite multiple layers of water resistant clothing

View attachment 584269View attachment 584268

Still an amazing place even on a crappy day.

View attachment 584262

A few of the trees were literally chopped from the frozen sphagnum. This tree took way to long and as much as I wanted to give up on it I had made enough progress that I couldn’t stop. I think it will make a decent literati one day.

View attachment 584270

But that’s not the tree I’m using…

Oh no! The first picture of my face the public Internet in almost 20 years! Totally not me in the blue coat and yellow kayak!

 

[BrightsideB]

That’s rad!

 

[BrightsideB]

I’ve seen some good trees worth collecting out kayaking as well. Beats walking miles lol but anything for the trees!

 

[yashu]

Progression

This part is going to be short since there really will only be 2 seasons of progress after the initial collection and the conclusion of the contest in December of this year.

Some minimal wiring was done after early season growth progressed to put the trunks in more interesting positions. Minor pruning was also done to encourage more growth towards the trunks and to increase the density a bit.






Late spring and more growth.









One of the local humming birds liked the tree to keep watch over “his” feeder



A mid season shot at dusk with our larch all the way to the top right


Later in the season on a dewy morning


Moving into fall and the gold beginning to set in the needles



Winter in full swing

 

[yashu]

That’s rad!

Thanks @BrightsideB !!!

 

[yashu]

Oh no! The first picture of my face the public Internet in almost 20 years! Totally not me in the blue coat and yellow kayak!

I’ll remove if you say so!

You’re pretty incognito though and looking pretty cool at that

 

[snowman04]

I really like this shot:



Great job!

 

[yashu]

I really like this shot:

View attachment 584291

Great job!

Thank you!

 

[Cruiser]

Nice work. Love the night shots, they really make things pop.