The 2024 Yamadori/Collecting Thread
- Thread starter Cajunrider
- Start date
ponderingsage
Yamadori
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
Actually hartinez and I have never met in person, though we do live in the same sort of climate.
Frankly this thread is your best bet.
A couple pointers on digging:
When you're planting a tree from the nursery they say to dig the hole twice the dimensions as the root ball. Think of that but in reverse. Imagine how big the pot would be if you found this tree in the garden center, and double it.
If you're in Rocky terrain, though, all bets are off, especially if it's also dry. Some species more than others, of course, especially conifers, but in those conditions trees often send out long running roots deep in between the rocks. Many won't survive collection under those circumstances.
Be judicious. Look at the root situation first, and be prepared to quit and fill in the hole if you find you can't get enough root. Better to have cool tree in nature than a dead tree in a pot.
BonsaiManic
Chumono
Several years ago I went into the mountains to find a permanent Christmas tree. I found the perfect Piñon, dug it up, kept as much rocky soil as was feasible, brought it home and put it in the ground. Beautiful tree with picturesque form, deep green and healthy. It seemed as if it really wanted to be in its new home for months. I dug it December 2, and somewhere around early May, I noticed the color fading. A week later it was brown and crispy.
I know, now, that it was the wrong time of year for collecting. So I've decided to learn proper care of the genera/species of the trees I'm most interested in before taking any more trees from where they are happy and healthy. If they survive collection, I still need to know how to help them thrive after I bring them home. I agree that a living tree in the wild is better than a pretty dead stick in a pot.
I know, now, that it was the wrong time of year for collecting. So I've decided to learn proper care of the genera/species of the trees I'm most interested in before taking any more trees from where they are happy and healthy. If they survive collection, I still need to know how to help them thrive after I bring them home. I agree that a living tree in the wild is better than a pretty dead stick in a pot.
This is how I ended up with a leatherleaf that was entwined with a larch I collected.
BonsaiManic
Chumono
Nice! Pics?
At work, will post later. I did separate it from the Larch but now it lives with a wisteria frutescens
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Saw this button bush near a giant BC. It has a decent base.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Nice pot selection!
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
BonsaiManic
Chumono
That would be one dam fine forest!
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Progress report:
1. Live oak is thriving
2. BC is thriving.
3. ERC was put in the trash can yesterday afternoon. Although I preserved most of the roots and potted as best I could and gave it due care, it struggled mightily. In the end I dumped it because I don't like dealing with the prickly young leaves.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Meet DaPoPo
Cmd5235
Chumono
What a beauty! Nice score!
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Joe Dupre'
Omono
Funny you should post a pic of a button bush. I found one a couple of days ago on the edge of a cow pasture that had been "pruned" by a bush hog several times. The canopy was about 30" high and 30" around. I poked my walking stick under the foliage and felt a STUMP. That stump was probably 6" across but maybe composed of 2-3 fused trunks. It'll probably come home with me in Feb. '25.
Joe Dupre'
Omono
They seem to respond well to heavy wiring. There's quite a bit of foliage there to maybe wire and compress down into a more compact tree. It will probably give you juvenile foliage in spades. I don't really mind it, but some do.
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