What shrubby plant is this?

[QuantumSparky]

I'm seeing longtitudal stripes on the foliage, so my first guess is communis.
But.. Communis is pretty woody on the branching and this looks crispy green like young J. Virginia.

Pretty hard to tell this time.
I'd wait until the end of summer and see how it looks. If the new branches stay green and soft, it's ERC. If they go woody, it's communis.
Communis is notoriously hard to collect though, so if it's that, mentally prepare yourself for some dieback or sudden death. Not your fault, it's just their suicidal nature.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm not really discouraged by failed attempts at this point because I consider it a learning opportunity. But I'm batting 0 for 1 right now with digging up small trees I ordered some Japanese maple/Korean hornbeam seeds recently so maybe I'll have better luck playing the long game and starting from scratch

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Foemina!

Sorce

 

[PA_Penjing]

I'm also in Eastern PA and I can tell you that I have never come across a communis in my life. The area around me is very built up and then is sprawls. ERC will be the first trees to sprout when land is cleared so they are prolific by me. Just collected one this spring, but I do see them in wooded areas as well. it looks like an ERC to me but like others have said it's a bit early to know for sure.

 

[PA_Penjing]

i was wondering, walking a campus the other day, saw a small (3" tall, 10" long, COMPACT FOLIAGE) tree. can an ERC be compact foliage and that small? if its not an ERC i want to snag it before the lawnmower claims it

ERC are just like RMJ, some of them have awful limp stringy foliage and some of them can have tighter foliage wads.

 

[BrightsideB]

You should look up the term mycorrhizae. You will better understand why you need native soil in tact with the roots of the tree you are removing. Try to just remove enough soil that is the mass of the seedling. A strong mycorrhizal relationship between tree and mycelium keeps trees healthy they also combat parasitic fungus that can attack tree roots. There is a pine nut farm in Canada that found a mycorrhizal fungus that caused their pines to mature years earlier as well as produce more cones. Some of the pines I collected have bone dry soil for weeks yet the saplings are still alive. And they have been growing much more compact and are just in native soil and pine bark.

 

[QuantumSparky]

You should look up the term mycorrhizae. You will better understand why you need native soil in tact with the roots of the tree you are removing. Try to just remove enough soil that is the mass of the seedling. A strong mycorrhizal relationship between tree and mycelium keeps trees healthy they also combat parasitic fungus that can attack tree roots. There is a pine nut farm in Canada that found a mycorrhizal fungus that caused their pines to mature years earlier as well as produce more cones. Some of the pines I collected have bone dry soil for weeks yet the saplings are still alive. And they have been growing much more compact and are just in native soil and pine bark.

So here is the question then - I've already potted it in the non-organic substrate that I use for Bonsai, should I remove the tree add the original soil in with the mix? I had removed just about all of the original soil from the roots when I potted it. It's been 1 day since it was dug up and about 15 hours since I potted it.

 

[BrightsideB]

So here is the question then - I've already potted it in the non-organic substrate that I use for Bonsai, should I remove the tree add the original soil in with the mix? I had removed just about all of the original soil from the roots when I potted it. It's been 1 day since it was dug up and about 15 hours since I potted it.

You can’t go back really. Just leave native soil attached to the roots in the future. It could live still.

 

[SC1989]

Looks like a yew

 

[just.wing.it]

ERC

 

[QuantumSparky]

Here is a better photo of what I'm working with, if it helps at all

 

[sorce]

I found this growth on my ERC a while after I saw this thread.

I must have toyed with the foliage of over a thousand ERC and I never recall foliage like this.



Had this for at least a few years now too.

Sorce

 

[QuantumSparky]

I found this growth on my ERC a while after I saw this thread.

I must have toyed with the foliage of over a thousand ERC and I never recall foliage like this.

View attachment 379520View attachment 379521

Had this for at least a few years now too.

Sorce

That's odd to you? My entire tree looks like that, perhaps it's not ERC after all

 

[QuantumSparky]

I found this growth on my ERC a while after I saw this thread.

I must have toyed with the foliage of over a thousand ERC and I never recall foliage like this.

View attachment 379520View attachment 379521

Had this for at least a few years now too.

Sorce

Also, I don't want to be an off-topic bother but you seem knowledgeable. Do you have a recommendation for type of soil to sow seedlings/cuttings in? I'm only familiar with akadama/pumice/volcanic rock mixes for mature bonsai. I'm always afraid of using the wrong mix for young trees and rotting the roots out. I fight with myself to be patient and not pot them in 'bonsai soil' right away but I don't have alternatives right now

 

[sorce]

That's odd to you? My entire tree looks like that, perhaps it's not ERC after all

I think it's definitely ERC.

I think this is what very vigorous and healthy juvenile growth looks like.

This is all I got for soil.

J. Virginia Crack Cuttings Repotted

These are some cuttings of my J. Local that kicked it winter 2013/14. A three group and one I bent up. We'll see if they make it. I threw a piece of wire from the root base to the first curve and was able to bend it in as tight as the second bend. Forgot the after pic. Oops. 3...

www.bonsainut.com

I yoinked a couple more crack joints this spring and they're doing OK in a terracotta pot with an old dead elm in it.

Sorce

 

[JackHammer]

So here is the question then - I've already potted it in the non-organic substrate that I use for Bonsai, should I remove the tree add the original soil in with the mix? I had removed just about all of the original soil from the roots when I potted it. It's been 1 day since it was dug up and about 15 hours since I potted it.

I have a bunch of pines growing in my back yard and lost a few transplants by removing the local clay soil from the roots. If I leave the full shovel of clay attached, they do great.
I also had some pine seeds sneak in on the clay and sprout. Not expected, but i'll take it! As for the clay, it will break down and bonsai soil will replace it over the coming years.