Anyone interested in Chicago Yew Yamadori

[Brian Van Fleet]

Seems to be responding to the misting well. Doing it 2-3X/day. Haven't watered the soil yet, but we've had quite a bit of rain recently so it's staying wet.
2 spots of brand new foliage, 1/4" big lol, and the remaining foliage is staying green and healthy. Don't want to jinx myself, but, so far, so good.

Good, don't change anything...then when you think you want to change something...don't. It should spend the rest of the year right where it is.

 

[fore]

Great Job!

Is June to late to dig out a yew? This is really inspiring. I have two yews, one with a 10 to 12 inch trunk and one with a six inch trunk. I live in the Boston area.
Thanks

JoeDes

I did mine 2 wks ago, and it's been a cold spring here, so the new buds had opened a little bit. Now, they all have 4" tufts of new growth. If it were mine, I'd wait till next yr. just to be safe. If someone said "come get these or I'll be throwing them away", then I'd do it anytime.

 

[fore]

Good job Chris. Nice material, that will need a couple years to grow and be ready for work.

My buddy in Iowa loves yews. When he collects one, he keeps it in full shade for the year, waters almost never, and mists the foliage several times a day. Once they get established, they're bullet proof.

Here are a couple photos I took of his yesterday to give you a sense of where yours can go in 5-7 years. First photo is his most recent collected yew, dug in March, others were collected 5-10 years ago (he's a gifted carver):

Brian, I was saving these images, and wondered if you knew your friends techniques used to carve? Power tools, manual?

 

[Poink88]

Looks like powertool to me.

IMHO...this is a much better model/reference and a tutorial too.

http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t924-cheng-cheng-kung-s-bonsai-school-taiwan-juniper

Here's more...
http://www.sidiao.com/photo_e_6.htm
http://www.sidiao.com/photo_e_7.htm
I can definitely recommend his book w/o any hesitation. Not cheap, but the best I've seen bar none.

 

[fore]

Wow, all three of those trees are MONSTERS! lol Thanks for the links!

And I remember when you bought the book Dario. Have you used any of the techniques? Did you buy any of the special tools needed?

 

[Poink88]

Wow, all three of those trees are MONSTERS! lol Thanks for the links!

And I remember when you bought the book Dario. Have you used any of the techniques? Did you buy any of the special tools needed?

I haven't really applied them yet, except on a couple minor ones. Most of my carvings were done prior. I did not buy any of his special tools. With a bit of creativity/ingenuity, you can achieve the same result with other tools...just a bit more difficult. For instance a knife or carving gouge can work nicely...but may be tight on some areas. A cheap long nose pliers works wonders when peeling fibrous wood. etc.

I did buy a Flexcut mini draw knife and plan on getting one of their right hand scorp later. Like this one http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart.php?target=product&product_id=1000&category_id=248

 

[Dav4]

Yew wood is very hard and doesn't tear nearly as well as pine or juniper, and this makes it almost impossible ( but not quite) to work the deadwood with just hand tools. Having done a fair bit of deadwood work on yews, I would say die grinders and dremels are the way to go in most instances.

 

[fore]

I haven't really applied them yet, except on a couple minor ones. Most of my carvings were done prior. I did not buy any of his special tools. With a bit of creativity/ingenuity, you can achieve the same result with other tools...just a bit more difficult. For instance a knife or carving gouge can work nicely...but may be tight on some areas. A cheap long nose pliers works wonders when peeling fibrous wood. etc.

I did buy a Flexcut mini draw knife and plan on getting one of their right hand scorp later. Like this one http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart.php?target=product&product_id=1000&category_id=248

I have the basic Flexcut set, which I like, but at the ends of unskilled hands of mine, it still looks artificial lol I was reading somewhere recently that people were using used dental tools...some bought off ebay, and others got free tools by simply asking their dentist...I'm going to try the latter with my next checkup lol

 

[fore]

Yew wood is very hard and doesn't tear nearly as well as pine or juniper, and this makes it almost impossible ( but not quite) to work the deadwood with just hand tools. Having done a fair bit of deadwood work on yews, I would say die grinders and dremels are the way to go in most instances.

Thanks Dave for the info, I did see how hard it was when cutting it away, but didn't try to see how hard it was to carve. I just assumed, when wet, it'd be 'not that bad' to work it manually lol
Geesh too, I'm even worse with my dremel and die grinder than manually working the deadwood lol I need to get some practice in now

 

[Poink88]

I have the basic Flexcut set, which I like, but at the ends of unskilled hands of mine, it still looks artificial lol I was reading somewhere recently that people were using used dental tools...some bought off ebay, and others got free tools by simply asking their dentist...I'm going to try the latter with my next checkup lol

I am one of those but please note that dental picks are more for cleaning and not for carving.

 

[fore]

I am one of those but please note that dental picks are more for cleaning and not for carving.

I thought the sharp ends Dario would be great at forming parallel lines to the existing deadwood. A lot of control, but only for the refining stage of the work.

 

[Poink88]

It is a tool and can be used for that purpose but would be very tedious. Try using a wire brush instead (ran along the grain).

 

[fore]

It is a tool and can be used for that purpose but would be very tedious. Try using a wire brush instead (ran along the grain).

Yes, it would be, and possibly not usable with these yews. But I think the pushing/pulling of wood fibers looks best, but must be live wood to really work well. I'm going to have to use power tools on reducing the jin on my RMJ, and on these yews eventually.

By the way, all three have new buds growing! Been misting 2-3x/day. Very exciting for a newbie lol

 

[fore]

All three have new buds popping up, 5-6/tree. Awesome they are going to make it. Haven't watered once, just been misting. But I can't seem to stop myself from picking off the bark that's flaking off, the red is so beautiful! lol

 

[Poink88]

Please post update pics Chris, don't tease us like this. LOL

Congrats! It is always exciting when a newly collected tree shows sign of new growth/buds Don't slow down now though...keep your diligence with good after care.

 

[Dav4]

All three have new buds popping up, 5-6/tree. Awesome they are going to make it. Haven't watered once, just been misting. But I can't seem to stop myself from picking off the bark that's flaking off, the red is so beautiful! lol

I collected 3 yew stumps a few years back. They all pushed some growth during the 4-5 months following collection...only one was alive 1 year later. You can read about it here
http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?1159-Collecting-yews-and-time-from-field-to-pot

New growth post collection is nice, but it really doesn't mean anything other than the tree had some stored energy reserves that it's expending. New growth a year following collection... that's a good sign.

 

[Poink88]

Haven't watered once, just been misting.

Why? You want to monitor that soil and make sure it never totally dries out...else you will kill all the roots...old and new (and eventually the tree). Make that substrate optimal for growth...not over or under watered.

 

[fore]

I collected 3 yew stumps a few years back. They all pushed some growth during the 4-5 months following collection...only one was alive 1 year later. You can read about it here
http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?1159-Collecting-yews-and-time-from-field-to-pot

New growth post collection is nice, but it really doesn't mean anything other than the tree had some stored energy reserves that it's expending. New growth a year following collection... that's a good sign.

Oh, Thanks for being a party pooper Dave! LOL!!!!! Seriously though, I'll keep my expectations low and hope for the best. All are such great material. And Thanks for the link btw!

 

[fore]

Why? You want to monitor that soil and make sure it never totally dries out...else you will kill all the roots...old and new (and eventually the tree). Make that substrate optimal for growth...not over or under watered.

I'll get you some pics later today after work.

The soil isn't drying out. The misting moistens the soil, and we've had a bit some recurrent rains recently. But I'm following Brian's advice (post #70) to only mist the first yr. and keep an eye on the soil. So I just haven't had to water it yet. And it just hasn't been that hot here so far this yr., it's in the mid 60s today in fact...so strange for the middle of June in Chicago lol

 

[Poink88]

The misting moistens the soil, and we've had a bit of rain recently. But I'm following Brian's advice to only mist the first yr. But I will keep an eye on it if we start getting really hot here.

As long as the soil doesn't dry out completely, then you are okay. Do check that it is moist all the way down...I've had instances where the top looks wet but dry underneath (see my Turface thread). Note that if the roots are working properly...it can suck the water from below faster than your misting can replenish it. Keep checking.

Good luck!