Anyone interested in Chicago Yew Yamadori

[Poink88]

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

Lucky you. We hit 100 yesterday where I am and had lots really close.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

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

GOOD...stay...the...course.

 

[fore]

Lucky you. We hit 100 yesterday where I am and had lots really close.

That's why I left TX/Houston in 1999. After school, I just couldn't stand the hot muggy weather there lol I'd still be in Berkeley Ca. if not for this economy ;(

 

[fore]

GOOD...stay...the...course.

Thanks Brian again for that post! It def. gave me a game plan that I can easily do, and so far is working very well. Course laid out! LOL

 

[fore]

Here you are Dario, and these are from the 18th. Just 4 dys later, when misting this am, there's even more new buds. I'm trying not to get too excited though given Dave's 1/3 experience. I'll def. be pretty bummed out if only one lives.

 

[fore]

Brian, do you plan on fertilizing your RMJ's? Wondering the same for these yews...

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian, do you plan on fertilizing your RMJ's? Wondering the same for these yews...

Just talked to my buddy in IA, where they are. He said that they've now been watered twice (in 6-7 weeks) and they're all pretty stable, so he has lightly foliar-fed the, with fish emulsion.

 

[crescendo]

Congrats friends Keep It up.

 

[mcpesq817]

How are these doing? Just out of curiosity, did they backbud on bare branches?

Dont despair too much on possible success rates. I've dug up 5, and got a recently collected one at a workshop, and out of the six, five of them made it. The one that didn't was collected on very rocky ground with few roots and was hard to anchor into the pot - after accidentally hitting it with my lawnmower in the middle of the summer, it was toast. The other five are going very strong though.

 

[fore]

How are these doing? Just out of curiosity, did they backbud on bare branches?

Dont despair too much on possible success rates. I've dug up 5, and got a recently collected one at a workshop, and out of the six, five of them made it. The one that didn't was collected on very rocky ground with few roots and was hard to anchor into the pot - after accidentally hitting it with my lawnmower in the middle of the summer, it was toast. The other five are going very strong though.

All three are back budding on bare branches. Maybe 1/3 is a little behind, but basically, they are all the same. My only 'yet to happen complication' is that I planted two with prob. too much root mass as i had to plant them in 12" deep wood pots, and I have a little blackness on the, say 6" of the bottom ext. sides. Root rot is what I'm worried about. The one I put in a 8" tall has none. So last week, I drilled a bunch of 1" holes thru the sides and then just stapled plastic screen over the hole. I also bought a Dramm mister about 2 mos ago instead of using my watering head, this has helped a lot with the blackness. Now I don't feel moisture on the wood.

But I learned a lesson here, that is to prune the collected root mass small enough to fit into a no taller than an 8" pot. I'm hoping that this will keep the deep roots from too much moisture. In fact, I use a chopstick stuck in the soil to monitor moisture. I've not had to water these once! The misting and occasional rain kept it wet enough. I've foliar fed them about 1/mos.

I'm pretty sure all three are going to make it though Thanks for asking!

 

[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):

I see now Brian and Si when you said 2-3yrs to get established. They are pushing growth, but boy, very slow growers. I keep going back to these awesome trees with carving I can only dream of. Thanks again for the inspiration it's giving me

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Keep misting...

 

[fore]

Keep misting...

Will do Brian! It just dawned on me, do I have to mist them while they are housed in the poly house over winter?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Will do Brian! It just dawned on me, do I have to mist them while they are housed in the poly house over winter?

As long as it's above freezing, I would try to keep the humidity high by misting.
My IA buddy keeps his in a heated garage at 38, and mists them every day in the winter.

 

[fore]

That is a perfect setup he has. On really cold nights, I have a hard time keeping it above freezing, so I'll just mist when I can. Thanks Brian!

 

[fore]

Brian, a quick question for next yr? I've been using the shade cloth I had on hand, 70%. Plus, (despite me paying $500 this spring to have trees cut back), they are under shade nearly all day, until 4ish in the afternoon. So I've been wondering, next yr, should I try to place them where they get more sun...and/or...should I get a shade cloth that lets more light in?

Here's the progress:

 

[Poink88]

Looking great! You have a design challenge ahead of you...too many branches to choose from. A better problem than not having any.

 

[fore]

Looking great! You have a design challenge ahead of you...too many branches to choose from. A better problem than not having any.

So true Dario. I'm somehow going to have to develop my carving skills before tackling these monsters. Wish I had a Kevin Wilson around to watch him carve lol

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian, a quick question for next yr? I've been using the shade cloth I had on hand, 70%. Plus, (despite me paying $500 this spring to have trees cut back), they are under shade nearly all day, until 4ish in the afternoon. So I've been wondering, next yr, should I try to place them where they get more sun...and/or...should I get a shade cloth that lets more light in?

Here's the progress:

Congrats, this looks like very promising material! I'd give them as much sun as they can take starting in the spring, then watch them and move them to some shade for the heat of the summer.

 

[fore]

Thanks for the advice Brian! I'm very happy all three are thriving. Great to hear I can move them to sun next yr. as I've had a problem with the substrate staying too wet. You can't see it in the pic, but I drilled numerous 1.5" holes thru the sides, stapled plastic mesh and am now hoping it'll dry out a bit.