Collected autumn olive

[wsteinhoff]

This is my first collected tree and first tree of 2017. It's an autumn olive taken from the woods on our property where there are quite a few old ones and even more small ones but many are very large. This one I found a few days ago. It's basically all deadwood and is already opening it's buds after being dug up. Pics taken this morning after cleaning up the deadwood some with a toothbrush.

 

[wsteinhoff]

If you can see in the last pic in that hollowed out section there are a few white worms. I came across a lot of those in that area where they are eating through the wood and causing a little rot. I'm not sure what to do about that, if anything can be done.

 

[aml1014]

If you can see in the last pic in that hollowed out section there are a few white worms. I came across a lot of those in that area where they are eating through the wood and causing a little rot. I'm not sure what to do about that, if anything can be done.

Very nice find!
I'd spray those bastards with some isopropyl alcohol (don't get any in the soil).

Aaron

 

[JudyB]

They probably won't like the new drier environment that they will find themselves in. But maybe try some insecticidal soap, and keep an eye out. Nice find.

 

[wsteinhoff]

I've got some insecticidal soap I'll try and if that doesn't seem to work I'll try the alcohol (mixed with water?). It will certainly be a drier environment because this plant was near the creek that runs through the woods. It was also in an area that would be shaded most of the day so they might not like the sunlight shining on them either.

 

[aml1014]

I've got some insecticidal soap I'll try and if that doesn't seem to work I'll try the alcohol (mixed with water?). It will certainly be a drier environment because this plant was near the creek that runs through the woods. It was also in an area that would be shaded most of the day so they might not like the sunlight shining on them either.

Ive used alcohol straight only on mealy bugs, 50/50 water and alcohol for anything else.

Aaron

 

[j evans]

Nice start, it will be very interesting to see what develops. It is also nice that you have a source for material all you own!

 

[wsteinhoff]

Yes I'm excited to see what it becomes. I think the challenge will be that there's just that little twig that is alive. That will definitely need to grow out for a while. I remember reading somewhere that they don't thicken much in a pot but go crazy in the ground so hopefully that live twig thickens a little. I think it needs to stay in a pot so that the worms and the rot they are causing doesn't go out of control and kill the entire tree.

The trunk going upwards that was cut is also dead. I dug this planning to use that but further inspection in better light showed that it was in fact a 5 foot tall piece of dead wood. So I cut it down and will carve it.

I never gave a size reference, I'll try and get one tomorrow. Without looking at it I'm going to take a guess and say the base is roughly 4 inches so it's a good size for a potted plant but tiny compared to some of the other old autumn olives around here.

 

[wsteinhoff]

Thought I'd post an update. This one's growing well, the longest branches have extended around 3 feet or so and still going. It's quite a surprise how much it's grown. When I collected it there were basically no roots left on it and it was mostly dead. I have a feeling that it wouldn't be alive today if I left it in the woods.
I've found a even smaller one near where I dug this up. It's much healthier but still got a lot of deadwood. A probable candidate next season along with a very large old one that needs to be gotten rid of. It's so big I passed it up this past spring. It'd be a carving project for sure and an excuse to upgrade my dremel to a die grinder.


It's not an autumn olive but it's still a collected tree. I dug this honeysuckle which has extended it's branches just under 6 feet so far and still growing. It's currently my largest tree by far until I dug that big autumn olive. It'll be a carving project. I like the base and the way the trunks are but it's got zero taper in those trunks like all the honeysuckles seem to be and they don't heal wounds at all. Unfortunately you can't see the structure of it because they apparently sprout all over at the base when cut back hard.

 

[JudyB]

Looks like you've been busy, that honeysuckle looks about ready to eat the world...

 

[wsteinhoff]

Repotted into a 10" colander.


Highlighted in red is my planned future trunk line that will later be cut back to.


The roots had several of what I believe could be galls. A search seemed to have no solution other than burn the plant according to the university of Minnesota. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[wsteinhoff]

Another I dug today also had the "galls". I believe they are rather more likely to be nitrogen fixing nodules. I didn't realize they were nitrogen fixing plants and since they both have it on the roots I'd say it likely isn't galls.
The recent collection:

 

[wsteinhoff]

It has flower buds coming out at every set of new leaves:

 

[wsteinhoff]

Flowers are opening already. This seems awfully early. I wonder if it's possibly a stress induced bloom from the repot with the crazy weather. But then again the foliage seems to be growing fairly vigorously.They smell pretty nice though.

 

[JudyB]

We have some of these in the flat areas down by the fields. They smell great! Ours are not opening yet, don't even have leaves. They are invasive though.

 

[wsteinhoff]

We have some of these in the flat areas down by the fields. They smell great! Ours are not opening yet, don't even have leaves. They are invasive though.

The ones in the woods here have just a few leaves. This one budded out so early I ended up having it inside by the grow light for a bit when nights were still down in the low 20s. That's why it's growing so well already.

 

[wsteinhoff]

After this big guy I think I'm done collecting this year. The last tree I dug up was so difficult it had me seriously questioning why I do this to myself. Then I go digging something much larger and my largest tree yet. Granted this one had been needing to come out of the yard anyways. It's been here much longer than we've lived here. If I'm gonna be digging it up anyways I may as well pot it up. It was actually much bigger with several more trunks but I saw something in this part. It also happened to be the only part with any roots after chopping at it just below ground level with an axe. The root system was so massive I uncovered and cut all I could and it still wouldn't budge.

 

[wsteinhoff]

After this big guy I think I'm done collecting this year.

Already went back on that statement the next day. It was a nice warm sunny day and took a stroll through the woods. Not looking for anything just enjoying the day. I kicked at a "dead" rotting stump and what'd ya know it's another autumn olive. It had so little roots it popped right out of the ground and underneath the dead branches around it was some live growth. The rotted wood was cleaned up and I potted it. I already uprooted it so why not.

 

[wsteinhoff]

Cut back:

I expect I'll be able to get the rest of the trunk line finished this year and maybe some main branching at the rate these grow once established in their pots.

 

[JudyB]

Seems like you’ve caught the collection a bug hard. If you run out of stuff to dig there, I have some candidates here most likely.