Yew

Vance Wood

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I like it, I like it a lot. ;)
This is why I get bent sometimes when people suggest you put the tree in a colander and then plant the tree and colander in the ground. This defeats the entire concept and adds very little to the root development of the tree when plopped in the ground in this way. I also find it self defeating when you plant them colander in colander, you still have to deal with getting the tree out of the first colander meaning cutting off all the growth that has extended into the second colander. The idea behind the grow box system is to develop a root system that you can move without creating a lot of stress from cutting into the root system unnecessarily.
 

just.wing.it

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This is why I get bent sometimes when people suggest you put the tree in a colander and then plant the tree and colander in the ground. This defeats the entire concept and adds very little to the root development of the tree when plopped in the ground in this way. I also find it self defeating when you plant them colander in colander, you still have to deal with getting the tree out of the first colander meaning cutting off all the growth that has extended into the second colander. The idea behind the grow box system is to develop a root system that you can move without creating a lot of stress from cutting into the root system unnecessarily.
That was my main point of confusion last year, when I first learned of colander usage....
I totally agree.
 

just.wing.it

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My two yews are in mostly full sun, and seem to love it...
I see them locally in landscapes in full sun all the time...but I see them in shade too, and they all seem to thrive.
Just one more reason why Taxus may just be my favorite!
 

M. Frary

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It does work. The encouragement comes from the roots developing by being hindered and not actually pruned off.
And. Like I said before. Putting a tree,any tree in a colander is like putting a supercharger on your car. It allows you to pump more fuel/oxygen mix through your engine. In a cars case,gasoline and oxygen mixture. In a trees case the fuel is water and oxygen. As the roots start air pruning themselves they are putting more roots on further back. Which means the tree can pick up and use more water and oxygen. Make sense?
 

just.wing.it

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And. Like I said before. Putting a tree,any tree in a colander is like putting a supercharger on your car. It allows you to pump more fuel/oxygen mix through your engine. In a cars case,gasoline and oxygen mixture. In a trees case the fuel is water and oxygen. As the roots start air pruning themselves they are putting more roots on further back. Which means the tree can pick up and use more water and oxygen. Make sense?
Amen!
 

defra

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looking good !
thnx for te inspiration i have also a big Yew in a big container in our garden the tree was verry unhealthy but lots of New green already Next spring its getting repotted because i want to know How the trunk looks like beneath the dirt because it comes out of the ground in 3 branches (trunks as it looks now)

Yew like sun or Shade yes
only when a Yew wich grew in te Shade gets put in te full sun it Will get sunburned looks like it has two sets of foliage sun and Shade
a younger small Yew of mine wich is grown in shadow was almosth completely Brown after one day of full sun (forgot tot put it back at his place :'( )
 

just.wing.it

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Last night's repot....
I have had this tree since summer of 2015.
I never did anything to the roots, just slip potted into that big wood container...
What I found, when I started digging, was at first a little disappointing....but the more I looked at it, the more I'm actually happy with it....
No real nebari, but still interesting.
I used this green container that is actually a flower arrangement pot that I drilled holes into, because its pretty big, and it was available for use....decided to not use colander yet.
Plan is to cut off the wire asap and let it grow this season...
Considering it's new angle, I need redo the wiring and restyle in the winter.
Anyway here's the view....
IMAG2860.jpg IMAG2861.jpg IMAG2862.jpg IMAG2863.jpg IMAG2864.jpg IMAG2865.jpg IMAG2866.jpg IMAG2867.jpg IMAG2868.jpg
 

just.wing.it

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There is some dead wood showing on the trunk, which was buried before....
I'll cut a cool shari into it and connect it to the jins above, which aren't finished yet...
 

Vance Wood

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There is some dead wood showing on the trunk, which was buried before....
I'll cut a cool shari into it and connect it to the jins above, which aren't finished yet...
I wouldn't be doing that until I was certain I understood the life lines involved. Unless you know for sure what is connected to what cutting into the trunk to make jin and shari can be a dangerous step. Also----what is the logic behind not wanting to put the tree into a colander at this time, it seems you are thinking backward. I don't think you should change it now, the horse is out of the barn and you have to let it run for a while or kill it.
 

just.wing.it

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I wouldn't be doing that until I was certain I understood the life lines involved. Unless you know for sure what is connected to what cutting into the trunk to make jin and shari can be a dangerous step. Also----what is the logic behind not wanting to put the tree into a colander at this time, it seems you are thinking backward. I don't think you should change it now, the horse is out of the barn and you have to let it run for a while or kill it.
Well, I honestly love the colander usage.... but I'm always freaked out that they dry out too fast....that happened to a couple colander type plantings I had last year....
 

Vance Wood

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It'll stay in this pot for several years, until it's full of roots...
Colanders do not dry out so fast if you are using a good soil mix in the first place. I have been using this system for more than 25 years and I don't find them to dry out dangerously, that's just an excuse. The problem with having a tree in the development stage should not go into a bonsai pot or one that functions like one. Don't change it now though. What you need to look to happen is the formation of muscles along the trunk that will reveal the presence and location of the life lines connected to things. Yews are very much programed along these lines, that is one of the things that make them attractive. Too many of us throw a tree in a pot and proceed to force a tree to grow in ways the tree is not designed by nature to grow. There are trees you can get away with this concept and there are trees you really should let have their heads before you start creating dead wood so that you know what you can cut and where you can cut.
 

just.wing.it

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Colanders do not dry out so fast if you are using a good soil mix in the first place. I have been using this system for more than 25 years and I don't find them to dry out dangerously, that's just an excuse. The problem with having a tree in the development stage should not go into a bonsai pot or one that functions like one. Don't change it now though. What you need to look to happen is the formation of muscles along the trunk that will reveal the presence and location of the life lines connected to things. Yews are very much programed along these lines, that is one of the things that make them attractive. Too many of us throw a tree in a pot and proceed to force a tree to grow in ways the tree is not designed by nature to grow. There are trees you can get away with this concept and there are trees you really should let have their heads before you start creating dead wood so that you know what you can cut and where you can cut.
Thanks for the advice Vance, I really appreciate it.
I will wait to see the muscles swell before I cut into it....
I'm in no rush create the shari....
Maybe my colander was too small, as well, it was always drying out on me, but it was very small....
 

Vance Wood

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Thanks for the advice Vance, I really appreciate it.
I will wait to see the muscles swell before I cut into it....
I'm in no rush create the shari....
Maybe my colander was too small, as well, it was always drying out on me, but it was very small....
What do you consider drying out? How often did you have to water? How often do you water?
 
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