A few days ago I found a lovely looking tree which I wrote about at “Naturally Formed Hazel Bonsai“. I went for a search around the same area again today and found other nice looking specimens. I brought home two oaks and two birches which I’ve yet to do anything with yet. All of them need a bit of growing on to look good as they are a bit bare at the moment.
One interesting yamadori specimen I spotted today looks very interesting. It is another hazel tree but is larger than the other one I collected. It’s going to need a good shovel to get it out.
The problem Is I don’t know what to do with it once I retrieve it as it’s a bit of a strange shape. It looks to have had a tortured life so far! I think it’s going to need to be a lot shorter than it is at the moment, but I don’t want to lose the character that it has.
Any suggestions?
Part 2
Part 3
Today I put my yamadori ash bonsai into a training pot. I saved a large steel bucket from a skip to use as a training pot to make sure the roots don’t spread too much. As you may know, I haven’t long had the tree. Usually with yamadori you need to keep them in the ground for them to recover for a period of at least a year or so. But this ash I have has been doing so well I thought I’d put it in it’s new training pot. (more…)
Today I acquired a beauty of a tree from the golf course where I work. It was situated next to a well used path and was found growing in a very twisty pattern with natural jins. I assume golfers must have been hitting it with their clubs as they walk past getting their practice swings ready! It was also growing in a pile of rocks so the roots were quite short and had fine hairs.
As a result of all this, it has had a struggle to survive and this shows in the fascinating patterns in the branches.
It is potted in a 10″ pot.
I cannot take any credit here! All I’ve done with this one is put it in the pot and trim the branches back a bit.
On closer inspection of my log that has sprouted leaves I cannot see any roots forming underneath it. Surely a tree has got to have roots to suck up water?
My conclusions are that it is either sucking up water directly through the bark chippings underneath it into the log, or that the bottom of the log has rotted and formed roots inside.
Both conclusions seem rather strange to me so I’ve been investigating further. I am fairly sure it is a type of willow and as you might know willows grow with ease and very vigorously. I was thinking of moving it from the bark chippings where it’s sat to the earth but it’s doing so well where it is for the moment I’m afraid to change things.
I’m going to keep my eye on it and see where it goes. If it starts struggling I will move it to the soil and half bury it.
Part 1
I had a bit of a shock today. My seat at the back of my garden has come to life and sprung leaves… Quite strange you might think seeing as it has been sitting there for about 6 months, as I went to sit on it I spotted leaves sprouting from it and quickly stopped myself from sitting down. (more…)
Collecting trees is harder than you might think. As soon as a tree leaves the ground it gets stressed out and moisture loss quickly occurs. The key to collecting trees is to minimize this stress that it receives as little as possible. There are a number of different ways to do this. (more…)
Unfortunately, just before spring when the new buds are starting to open, you might find that one or two of your collected Yamadori trees have died. This is the risk that is taken when collecting trees, because no matter how much care you take to move a tree it is very stressful indeed for a tree to be dug up and moved. Remember trees are not supposed to move!
The main reason for the death is the major cutting of roots which is needed when collecting wild yamadori. The roots will often be very extensive indeed so will need a very good chopping. The tree can lose massive amounts of moisture this way so the first year is very risky indeed.
There are ways to seal a wound such as using cut paste or even tying electrical tape over the wounds on the cut roots. Myself, I prefer to adopt a natural approach and let nature take it’s course. I rarely get deaths in my collection after new trees arrive but it can happen sometimes. (And sods law is that they are the best ones that you have!). Don’t let it get you down too much if this happens, just remember that it CAN happen so to prepare yourself for a few deaths in spring if they are very new.
Many people do not know that evergreen trees actually need water during the winter also. If you have a dry week or two in the winter, it is good practice to water your tree. Don’t do this if the ground is frozen however as it won’t do any good at all. It shouldn’t harm the tree but they don’t particularly like having frozen water around their feet so don’t encourage it.
My hawthorn continues to grow now that it is in the ground. Being in the ground seems to be so much better for the tree as opposed to being in the pot. It must be a lot more stressful in a pot than being in the ground. It is probably something the tree needs to get used to in time. (more…)
Finally my old collected Hawthorn has come back to life. In the past few days a few buds have started sprouting and things are looking up for it. I think it’s helped it’s recovery having it planted in the ground. (more…)
Today I acquired a gigantic wooden box from work previously used as a base for a dog kennel. The dimensions are 36 inches by 30 inches! Alright so there’s no bonsai in it at the moment but I’m going to have fun trying to find one big enough to fit it. I told the guys at work it will be used for flowers, they would have thought I was crazy if I told them it would house a bonsai tree. (more…)
