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.

It follows a very successful find last week of 2 large oak stumps. They both had rotten branches so all that was left was a single branch or two on each. They both look quite large and impressive but being stumps they will take a good few years to get the branches looking good.

I will probably be selling some of the oak specimens I’ve found but I don’t like to sell any on until I’ve had them for a year in my grow bed. This makes sure that they have good roots and they don’t die when they get to their new owners house! I probably won’t have any oaks for sale this year, not impressive looking ones anyway. But next winter I will be selling quite a few.

I’ve been wondering why this is.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I must just be getting better at spotting them and deciding whether or not they would be good to use as bonsai.
It’s also a matter of looking in the right place. This is of course a big secret known only to me (and sometimes my fiancée who I drag along)!

The only problem is that these trees are building up in my growing beds and starting to take over the garden. So I’m going to be selling a few off this year. I plan to sell a few from my own collection in the bonsai for sale section. I can send them bare root during the winter months or they can be collected from Ystradgynlais.

Check back in a few days to see the new look bonsai for sale section.

Use leaves to help yamadori recover

With collected trees, you will most likely need to chop off a lot of the roots leaving very weak defenses. The best way to let the tree recover is to let it grow very bushy for the first year in the ground.

Less leaf growth shows a weak tree

Again the best way to let a tree recover is to let it grow on in the ground making sure it’s got water and not too much sun. Hopefully by letting it grow leaves naturally this way it will get back to health. But lack of leaf growth or brittle/wilted leaves definitely show an ill tree.

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Leaves are there to give the tree strength and you should not cut off too many or the tree will suffer.