A little something I collected today.

[M. Frary]

Such a great find for you Mike! I feel happy for you.Excuse my haste to present my ignorant opinion before that of Mr. W. Pall's but I have come to the conclusion that the roots will sustain what they can and the rest will die. So I do not remove any foliage from collected trees (except that which is removed along the necessarily cut branches) but I let the tree decide which portion will survive and which not.

That's just how Dan Robinson does it in talking to Grouper52 about his trees.

 

[M. Frary]

Beautiful tree Mike, the best Yamadori I have seen coming out of Michigan ever.

If it survives it will be coming down to see you this August Vance.
Thank you for the compliment.
I think you know how hard I scour the woods looking for something worth digging. Hours and hours. I just happened to take a route I've never traveled before.

 

[M. Frary]

Fingers crossed!!!!

My fingers,my goes my eyes and anything else I have that can be crossed are crossed.
Ouch!

 

[PiñonJ]

I was out looking for a couple jack pines to collect today.
Driving along the trails and spotted this about 50 yards off the side of a snowmobile trail.
It looked good at a distance. Short,lots of foliage. Couldn't see the trunk. It was sitting in a depression in the ground.
As I got closer my heart started beating faster and faster.
My god,what did I find?
Something very close to a bonsai ready tree growing in the wild.
Probably the closest thing I'll ever find probably.
Hell I'll use the term yamadori for this tree,not just a collected wild tree.
Being so large in diameter and being so old I didn't hold out much hope for getting it out. It probably had a couple big roots coming out of the side and a tap as big as my wrist
I still had to try.
I got the shovel,saw and the largest bucket I have. Its 5 gallons.
As I started going around the trunk with the shovel my heart really started beating hard.
No resistance but the shovel cutting through small diameter roots.
I only had to go around only one time and it was out.
No tap root,no large roots radiating out of the sides.
I've dug up much smaller trees that were way worse.
And they usually don't survive.
I filled the bottom of the bucket with sand from the hole and dropped the tree in.
Jack's love their sand,yes they do.
Now,I'm no shrinking violet but this thing is heavy!
I'm so glad I only had to carry it 50 or so yards.
Any further and I would have needed to take a smoke break to get my breath back.
I really hope it makes and I have confidence it will come through with flying colors.
Time will tell.
I'll know in about a month or less if it survives.
Yeah I used a brick for scale.
Didn't think a beer can conveyed the size well enough.View attachment 240806View attachment 240807View attachment 240808View attachment 240809View attachment 240812

Oooh, I got all tingly reading about all the small roots - a rarity around here. I was out in the mountains today. Got a Dougy, a Pondy and a couple of Gambel Oaks, but the roots were disappointing, despite the fact that we’ve had a wet winter. I’ll have to go higher next time. Gongrats! Hope it does well for you.

 

[PiñonJ]

I do have a question though.
Should I reduce the foliage?
There is a ton of it and I dont know if the roots can sustain it.
@Walter Pall
Your opinion would be most appreciated.

I would not prune any of the foliage. That’s the power source for its recovery. Either you got enough roots, or you didn’t.

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

Amazing. Jealous down here in Grand Rapids. Do you tend to roam over a few private properties? I’m going to make a trip to my uncles cabin in Baldwin to begin scouting for next year.

 

[Walter Pall]

I do have a question though.
Should I reduce the foliage?
There is a ton of it and I dont know if the roots can sustain it.
@Walter Pall
Your opinion would be most appreciated.

I would take off one third maximum. Keep the crown moist,. Do not put in full sun over summer. half shade is fine. Do not do anything to the crown for two years. Water plenty and feed immediately. I hope the tree is in modern substrate.

 

[leatherback]

Either you got enough roots, or you didn’t.

Bonsai wisdom!

 

[M. Frary]

. I hope the tree is in modern substrate

Nope. Sand that it was growing in.

 

[M. Frary]

Amazing. Jealous down here in Grand Rapids. Do you tend to roam over a few private properties? I’m going to make a trip to my uncles cabin in Baldwin to begin scouting for next year.

I'm everywhere.
This came off the side of a snowmobile trail off of a powerline.

 

[leatherback]

I'm everywhere.

holly crist, you are bonsai god?

 

[Walter Pall]

Nope. Sand that it was growing in.

It is a mistake to think that collected trees like the soil they grew in. There is a reason why they are good for bonsai-. Usually it is the conditions at the local habitat and the soil. Soil is NOT good for a bonsai container. Sand is NOT good. Often it is too fine and air cannot go through. It does not work as buffer keeping water. Mistake! Thee are good reasons why we do not use soil or sand!!!

 

[M. Frary]

It is a mistake to think that collected trees like the soil they grew in. There is a reason why they are good for bonsai-. Usually it is the conditions at the local habitat and the soil. Soil is NOT good for a bonsai container. Sand is NOT good. Often it is too fine and air cannot go through. It does not work as buffer keeping water. Mistake! Thee are good reasons why we do not use soil or sand!!!

So I don't need to reduce the crown.
Got it.
Thanks.
As for the sand...don't take this the wrong way but have you ever collected or dealt with a jack pine? Honest question.

 

[Tieball]

I have mature Michigan Jack Pine trees around me. They grow well in my sand. My earth “soil” is basically like a discolored sand dune. I will be good for me to follow along your Jack Pine progress....a good new subject to capture my attention.

 

[M. Frary]

bonsai god?

Bonsai Godzilla.

 

[Walter Pall]

So I don't need to reduce the crown.
Got it.
Thanks.
As for the sand...don't take this the wrong way but have you ever collected or dealt with a jack pine? Honest question.

The usage of sand has nothing to do with Jack Pines specifically. Scots pines in Europe often grow in pure fine sand. And still it is very bad to plant them into this medium.

You will be surprised: I own six Jack Pines which are better material than I have ever seen in person with my students or on the net. Seventy years ago the Polish government decided to plant something on the huge gravel mountains around the coal pits. They tried out every conifer in the world. One batch was a couple hundred Jack Pines. Now these are big old trees. Many did not do well. These are very good bonsai material. So we have very good Jack Pines here.

Jack pines are treated exactly as Scots pines - it is that simple.

i know that in America there are endless Jack Pines growing in some areas. Why are there so few as bonsai? Because the vast majority die after collection. Same with Scots pines from sand! It took me ten years and to find out that Scots pines from sand are almost always dying and one better takes them from rocks or from the bogs.

 

[Native Tree12]

That is a great looking tree

 

[Vance Wood]

The usage of sand has nothing to do with Jack Pines specifically. Scots pines in Europe often grow in pure fine sand. And still it is very bad to plant them into this medium.

You will be surprised: I own six Jack Pines which are better material than I have ever seen in person with my students or on the net. Seventy years ago the Polish government decided to plant something on the huge gravel mountains around the coal pits. They tried out every conifer in the world. One batch was a couple hundred Jack Pines. Now these are big old trees. Many did not do well. These are very good bonsai material. So we have very good Jack Pines here.

Jack pines are treated exactly as Scots pines - it is that simple.

i know that in America there are endless Jack Pines growing in some areas. Why are there so few as bonsai? Because the vast majority die after collection. Same with Scots pines from sand! It took me ten years and to find out that Scots pines from sand are almost always dying and one better takes them from rocks or from the bogs.

That's an interesting point. In my discussions about Larch, collected Larch almost always come from very sandy bogs, or purely one or the other. I have over the years come to the conclusion that the reason is a narrow focus in an issue of not competing with other species too well. Larch and Jack Pine do have the tendency to find purchase in areas where other trees cannot. So it would seem that these trees will only grow where others wont, and cannot grow in better conditions because they cannot compete with more viable species likely to dominate an environment.

 

[Walter Pall]

That's an interesting point. In my discussions about Larch, collected Larch almost always come from very sandy bogs, or purely one or the other. I have over the years come to the conclusion that the reason is a narrow focus in an issue of not competing with other species too well. Larch and Jack Pine do have the tendency to find purchase in areas where other trees cannot. So it would seem that these trees will only grow where others wont, and cannot grow in better conditions because they cannot compete with more viable species likely to dominate an environment.

I think that's very true. It does not mean, however, that the trees prefer sand and peat. They would much rather grow in good soil. In a container one should not use fine sand or peat as growing medium even if the tree before grew exactly in this kind of stuff.

 

[GGB]

Awesome find. Look forward to seeing it wired up down the road. Assuming everything goes well