Tis the season in N. Idaho.

IdahoDR

Sapling
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Well not quite yet technically as i cant obtain my collecting permit until may 1 from the forestry service, but it is collecting time for Urban Yamadori!

Here is my first project, its a neighbors. I noticed he chopped it back too late, but there is a live vein still left on the backside, and a couple spots up front where its trying to back bud. We we see ultimately what happens. Not sure if it will live or not since he left only really the one major live vein, but i think it is worth a shot, and if i dont take it he will take a chainsaw to it.

Im not real familiar with junipers so it should be interesting. Can anyone ID this juniper for me? i know the pictures aren't the greatest, but the foliage it real Pokey, and seems to grow long between nodes, if that makes sense.

pics2012.jpg


pics2011.jpg


I have alot of Yamadori hunting planed this season so i will probably be updating this thread often as the season progresses.
 
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I see one tiny sprig of foliage left and it's so tiny in the photo it's difficult to tell what you've got. The problem with conifers is that they have to have some foliage to survive collection--and yours has so little that unless you happen to be Kimura, it probably isn't going to make it:(

If you plan to collect from the wild, it helps to be an informed collector. Buy a field guide for trees in your region. Know what you're going after and you'll impress the Forest Service. Getting a permit is so much easier that way. And you really need to try to get as many roots as possible. And refrain from removing too much foliage. I have a general rule--if I have trouble stuffing it into my collecting rig, then I can remove some of the offending branches so it will fit--no more than that, though!!
 

IdahoDR

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I see one tiny sprig of foliage left and it's so tiny in the photo it's difficult to tell what you've got. The problem with conifers is that they have to have some foliage to survive collection--and yours has so little that unless you happen to be Kimura, it probably isn't going to make it:(

If you plan to collect from the wild, it helps to be an informed collector. Buy a field guide for trees in your region. Know what you're going after and you'll impress the Forest Service. Getting a permit is so much easier that way. And you really need to try to get as many roots as possible. And refrain from removing too much foliage. I have a general rule--if I have trouble stuffing it into my collecting rig, then I can remove some of the offending branches so it will fit--no more than that, though!!

Yea i have collected a few species in my region, but never a yard juniper. And the butchering of this one was not done by me. I just caught the neighbor before he chainsawed it and thought i would give it a go. It it doesnt make it then all im out is my time digging because it was going bye bye regardless.
 

mrchips1952

Yamadori
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Collecting from the wild.....

A good friend of mine says that if a tree cannot be lifted from it's home within fifteen minutes then just leave it. It would have little or no chance of survival. This is a person who has done extensive collecting in the mountains of Colorado. :cool:
 

mcpesq817

Omono
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A good friend of mine says that if a tree cannot be lifted from it's home within fifteen minutes then just leave it. It would have little or no chance of survival. This is a person who has done extensive collecting in the mountains of Colorado. :cool:

This advice probably depends on the species, time of year, etc. I've dug up landscape trees for bonsai in the past that have taken me well in excess of 15 minutes to collect that are doing just fine.
 

yenling83

Omono
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Hey IdahoDR

Everyone has to start somewhere. However this tree will not live much longer and I can say this for certain. People do go back and forth about if you should remove foliage or not from collected material. For Deciduous trees it is often correct, however with Evergreens like this juniper you must leave foliage and several experienced collectors leave all foliage or sometimes only remove the inner older growth and leave all the new growth. This is important as Junipers gain energy from their foliage and this energy will help them to recover. If you would have left foliage on this tree there would have been a very high chance of surviving(assuming good aftercare), it appears it was healthy and you got a decent root ball with it. Don't be discouraged by this or turned away from Bonsai. Everyone has to start somewhere and there's lots of amazing Native juniper in Idaho. I might recommend how to collect wild trees the DVD, which can be purchased on the Golden Arrow Bonsai website.

Make sure to do some research with collecting, ask yourself these questions and you should know the answer before collecting because if you mess one of these things up it can kill your tree:

1. Is this tree collectible?
-can you get enough roots-similar to foliage the tree needs roots to survive
-How much native soil will you remove before potting up?

2. What kind of aftercare do you have set up?
-can you mist your trees 10+ times/day
-what type of soil/substrate will you use?
-Will you use a box, or pot to put your collected tree in? How big should this be?
-will you put it in full sun, partial shade, shade?

3. How long do I keep it in after care before I can style it?
 

IdahoDR

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Thanks everyone for the great replys and advice. I appreciate it and will listen to every word.

I however did not cut the foliage off this guy, i just dug it up. The butcher job was the neighbors doing.

I dont have alot of hope for it after reading what everyone has stated, but if nothing else is was a good experiance to dig it up.
 

yenling83

Omono
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I like the attitude, you gain some experience with every thing you do in Bonsai and You learn pretty fast when you kill one of your trees, even though your neighbor actually killed this one. Now that's not to say we should be killing ton's of trees to learn. Good luck w/ your future collecting!
 

chrisbotero

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Hi IdahoDr.

Who do you call to get permits in Idaho? I grew up in Idaho Falls (now in Portland) but was never into bonsai then. I am planning a collecting trip back there within the next month and web searches arent showing much luck on permits. Any help (phone numbers, web sites, etc) would be wonderful.

Chris
 

IdahoDR

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Just go into the local state forestry offices and ask for a transplanting permit. Im pretty sure thats what they call it. I go into the Fernan lake offices. Its the closest to where i live. The permit should be free, and i beleive cover six trees. there are two times that they issue permits, this collecting period starts May 1. There is another one in the fall i beleive.
 

IdahoDR

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this is the office i go into,
2502 East Sherman Ave.
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814 Phone (208) 769-3000
Fax (208) 769-3062

this is probally gonna be you ffice if your headed to Idah Falls,

1405 Hollipark Drive
Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401 Phone (208) 524-7500
Fax (208) 557-5827
OR
499 North 2400 East
St. Anthony, Idaho 83445 Phone (208) 624-1151
Fax (208) 624-7789

If thats not correct, you could call the offices i use and im sure they can connect you to the nearest office for where you are collecting
 

IdahoDR

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double post sorry
 
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IdahoDR

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Thought i would post a little update on this juniper, with some pics of the foliage.

It is pushing new buds/growth now. It still remains to be seen if it will make it through the year, but it is also back budding in several spots on old wood! i didn't think this could happen or very rare? Im keeping my fingers crossed, and will continue to take the best care of it i possibly can.

Here are pics of the biggest area of growth...i was hoping maybe someone could give me an ID on this juniper?

pics2039.jpg


pics2040.jpg


Thanks for any help.
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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It appears to be a Fitzer Juniper, Juniperus Chinensis Fitzeriana. It should make it. Leave it alone for a couple of years and keep the foliage misted without over watering the soil. They are pretty tough.
 

mrchips1952

Yamadori
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This advice probably depends on the species, time of year, etc. I've dug up landscape trees for bonsai in the past that have taken me well in excess of 15 minutes to collect that are doing just fine.

My advice was for wild trees in a mounatin environment, not landscape trees.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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"i didn't think this could happen or very rare"

Not all that rare. If the tree is relatively healthy, it can happen. I've got a big landscape-sized juniper that I chopped several branches off with no live growth behind the cuts. The stubs popped new buds. I did, however, manage to get a lot of root with the plant.

I don't recommend, however, anyone remove all the growth on a branch. More often than not, it spells death for the branch, or the tree.
 

IdahoDR

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Thanks for the responses and advice. This was a very large yard juniper, that was very healthy before my neighbor started to chop. Im hopeful that it will pull through.

Vance-Thanks for the ID.
 
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