collected American Beech

[Steve Kudela]

Hey folks, here are several photos of an older collected tree. Collected 27 years ago from near the St. Mark's river in north Florida. It was a 20 footer cut back to 16 inches or so with no branches whatsoever. I had the expectation of it breaking buds up and down the stump.....the tree had others ideas. Got it boxed up and ready for spring bud break. Spring came and went and no buds, early summer,no buds. It was using water everyday, I was baffled. Then somewhere around the middle of July, I noticed that the bark had separated from the wood up at the top cut. I looked down in the gap and saw what appeared to be scar tissue forming. Continued watering and a couple of weeks later in early August, the scar tissue had reached the light and began to finally form buds all around that cut! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I'd never heard of that happening. I should also say that the cut was a sloped cut rather than straight across. Since the original plan was gone, I just let it grow and decided to figure out something else later. It grew pretty much untouched for the next 7 or 8 years until it reached a height of about 10 feet. In that period, that sloped cut completely healed over. At that point, I began removing branches and got it moving towards what you see here. 2 more years to thicken the bottom right branch and it will be ready for a shallow oval pot. I'm never in a hurry to get something into a bonsai pot. It just slows everything down in development. Please feel free to comment, positive or negative, and ask any questions. I'll be glad to help in any way I can. Thanks..........SK

 

[JudyB]

Interesting story with a happy ending. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Vin]

That tree is making a statement for sure. "I'm big and bad and if you try messing with me you're going to get bloody!"

 

[cmeg1]

If I had an American Beech ,it would need to be big like yours!
Should really look nice with the big stature to accommodate those leaves.I would be a proud beech owner.Great job

 

[Lazylightningny]

The trunk chop healed over very nicely!

 

[sorce]

I'll be damned!

Son of a beech!

Sorce

 

[Giga]

Nice I have one too I collected last year. I plan on getting one more. Did you just prune all the leaves off and prune the branches or do you do that in summer?

 

[Steve Kudela]

Thanks folks for those kind comments. I just remembered that Hometeamrocker had asked a few things about methodology for this thing, I'll try to answer some of those questions, hope it helps. In the spring when the buds are swelling I'll take off almost all the terminal buds. That will send all the energy to the other buds further back on the branch. Except the bottom right branch, it will be allowed to grow all it wants to thicken it all little bit more. I started last year or the year before pinching buds as they open, as soon as the bud begins to unfurl, pinch it. You will still get some elongation, but it seems to shorten the nodes further back on that new shoot. And you will get a secondary resprout. sporadic but a second bit of growth all the same. that will be applied from here on in, especially in the top of the tree. Something else I've been doing is to allow the tree first flush of growth to harden off, then cut back shoots and then cut the leaves in half. I don't think that you get any reduction in size but does allow light into the interior of the tree and certainly helps strengthen the interior buds. Those are the ones we'll cut back to the next winter. And then you just have to be almost merciless with cutting back. If you notice , there are nodes as close as a quarter of an inch with most about a half an inch. Hopefully, when it goes into a bonsai pot we'll get a little more leaf and node reduction. I'm not really concerned that much with leaf size, I'm going more for winter viewing. In 50 or so more years, maybe it'll get there. thanks again.............SK

 

[Steve Kudela]

Nice I have one too I collected last year. I plan on getting one more. Did you just prune all the leaves off and prune the branches or do you do that in summer?

The tree had already lost about half it's leaves, the color was draining out of the rest. So I decided to prune the rest so I could go ahead and get this work done. I have understood that some folks do a summer defoliation but I've never been one to defoliate trees in the summer. Hope that helps. Almost forgot, it measures 30 inches tall, 26 inches wide.

 

[Steve Kudela]

Interesting story with a happy ending. Thanks for sharing it.

Hey Judy, I just noticed your Ohio location and was wondering, do you know a little town to the west of Cleveland called Wakeman? That's where my branch of the Kudela's settled after WW1. Just curious. Thanks again.......SK

 

[JudyB]

Been thru there a time or two, but just as a drive by. Pretty up there.

 

[jk_lewis]

American beech requires an immense amount of patience. Don't expect anything bonsaiable in less than 10 years. Steve gave a super description of the process you need to follow. You seldom will get more than one flush of growth out of the tree each year. Also, buts will appear exactly where you do NOT want them to be. Get rid of these immediately.

 

[Steve Kudela]

American beech requires an immense amount of patience. Don't expect anything bonsaiable in less than 10 years. Steve gave a super description of the process you need to follow. You seldom will get more than one flush of growth out of the tree each year. Also, buts will appear exactly where you do NOT want them to be. Get rid of these immediately.

Thanks Jim!!

 

[Giga]

American beech requires an immense amount of patience. Don't expect anything bonsaiable in less than 10 years. Steve gave a super description of the process you need to follow. You seldom will get more than one flush of growth out of the tree each year. Also, buts will appear exactly where you do NOT want them to be. Get rid of these immediately.

I have to disagree with this, mine gave a second flush of growth on the same year it was collected and it put out plethora of buds and it was just potted up and fertilized well. I got buds where I wanted them and I think in 2 moe years it might be ready for a training pot. Should be worth looking at too, no finished bonsai but have good bones. Maybe I'm just one in a million.


@Steve Kudela i original meant did you prune all the branches after leaf fall, much like a a maple?

 

[LanceMac10]

Stevie-boy...this tree is f'n BANGIN'!!!!

Seriously, though.....

really nice..!

 

[jk_lewis]

I have to disagree with this, mine gave a second flush of growth on the same year it was collected and it put out plethora of buds and it was just potted up and fertilized well.

I'm glad for you. My experience in a rather long lifetime in bonsai has been different.

Maybe we can see a picture of this sterling tree?

 

[Steve Kudela]

I have to disagree with this, mine gave a second flush of growth on the same year it was collected and it put out plethora of buds and it was just potted up and fertilized well. I got buds where I wanted them and I think in 2 moe years it might be ready for a training pot. Should be worth looking at too, no finished bonsai but have good bones. Maybe I'm just one in a million.


@Steve Kudela i original meant did you prune all the branches after leaf fall, much like a a maple?

Hey Giga, Yes, I got done a week or so ago. In the past, I've waited until later in the year, but I really was ready to work on this one and I've got a ton of tree work to do, so I went ahead with it. In my area, I'm able to go to work on deciduous as soon as they drop their leaves and work all through the winter. I don't envy the Northern folks in that respect..............................based on the way mine did after collection, I'd say who knows what it will do in the long term. I'd certainly say sight unseen, that your's is a very vigorous tree. Good job with your collection! Just keep watching it. The next several years will tell the story.

 

[Steve Kudela]

Stevie-boy...this tree is f'n BANGIN'!!!!

Seriously, though.....

really nice..!

Thank you, Sir!

 

[Giga]

I'm glad for you. My experience in a rather long lifetime in bonsai has been different.

Maybe we can see a picture of this sterling tree?

here's ya go

http://www.bonsainut.com/index.php?threads/american-beech.19430/

 

[jk_lewis]

Good luck with it.