Let's talk Yamadori! (What are you collecting?)

Dr3z

Yamadori
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I've been busy collecting Yamadori so that I don't over work my collection or buy anything else. Locally I have probably another week before the ideal window wanes until till fall (this week was likely the last hard frost).

Here are two specimens that recently have sparked joy for me. While perhaps humble to many, I'd love to see what local trees you target and what features you look for.

1) While just a little guy, the features that drew me in included the natural movement of the trunk (it was growing on a slope in the understory) and the degree of ramification for a tree of this size. I was also happy with the amount of root structure I had to work, even some nebari (some of these little guys are as twiggy below as on top so 8 consider that a feat). I belive I'm working with either an ironwood (Ostrya virginiana) or hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) which I was targeting. Leaves are also similar to an Elm so that's also a option. I had it in a training pot then pivoted and potted it up as I liked it as it was in its untrained state and the pots were the same size anyways.

2) I was actually on my way to collect a jack pine that I was targeting when I literally stumbled on this fella. I'm fairly certain it's a Juniper (Juniperus virginiana). I liked the relative trunk taper and some of its natural deadwood branches that reminded me of the trees on Georgian Bay. It even has a weird double trunk feature that I think might allow me to double down on the jin. It had a nasty tap root that I had to sever but fortunately it also had a fair bit of radial feeder roots that I'm hoping now that they are free of all the dense clay muck and tall grasses will take off. It was browning in a number of areas when harvested it, but that and the deadwood I belive are symptoms of it fighting in a suboptimal setting. I think this tree has moxi. I threw in a slab of gniess as I have a root over rock vision this could possibly fulfill (the actual reason I was hunting the Jack Pine in the first place)!

Hornbeam, Jack Pine and native Juniper are mostly what I've been stalking although a wild crabapple or hawthorn would be nice too.

What have you been collecting?
What are you targeting?
What features are looking for?
 

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ShadyStump

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A little late in the season everywhere south of you...

Still didn't stop me from taking a walk in the sticks this evening.

IMG_20210513_193843_780.jpg

Alder leaf mountain mahogany, cercocarpus montanus. Grow all over around here like weeds, and I came across a couple up a ridge down the road that looked nice enough to pull out of the sand on the rocks. Wrapped the roots in a handkerchief and dipped it in puddle left from the rain earlier in the week.

I'm going to wait until the timing is better for this one, though.
IMG_20210513_185857_474.jpg
Not sure I could ever preserve the deadwood, but it'd be awesome if I can.
 

BrianBay9

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Collecting is over for me this year. Pulled 8 coast live oaks, although looks like one is not going to make it.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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@Dr3z - "Gneiss Schist Man"

I have a couple Ostrya virginiana seedlings. They seem to make nice bonsai. I like that they tolerate short term droughts better than Carpinus.

I'll be curious if you are able to collect the jack pine. They are notorious for being difficult to collect. They don't tolerate drastic root reduction.

The juniper you will learn to hate soon enough. Juniperus virginiana is often a host for cedar-apple rust, cedar-pear rust and or cedar-quince rust, which is difficult to treat. Blobs of orange or yellow gelatinous goo will erupt from the bark of twigs or stems, which is the spore mass of the rust. Mancozeb, Clearys 3336, and or Daconil are possible treatments. Neem is ineffective with the rusts.

You should also keep an eye out for Thuja. I have a couple and really like them.
 

River's Edge

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High elevation collecting beginning soon. Mountain Hemlock and Sub Alpine Fir, Waiting for snow to leave. The key qualities for Bonsai remain the same, nebari, trunk, taper and branching. For yamadori I look especially for age, character and lower branching. Depending on the species that may involve deadwood and jin material. Then a close look to see if the tree is actually collectable!
At this stage I only collect a tree if it is highly desirable. Simply involves a lot of expense, work, time and effort so to make it worthwhile the tree must be special. Other trips will focus on Shore Pine and yellow cedar. With age comes some physical limitations so the size is more of a consideration than it used to be. After all the tree needs to get down the mountain or out to the ATV/Truck/Boat depending on the location and access. My trusty back pack now has a lower weight limit than prior to my recent back surgery;)
PS: it helps if you remove as many rocks from the root ball as possible before you start back. One of my Sub Alpine Firs, the triple trunk had 12 lbs of rocks within the rootball when I explored the root ball the next day. Who says rock pockets are the best collecting sites?
But I did a good job of packing up and protecting the roots prior to departing the mountain. Tree pictured below as packaged for hike back and then four years later.
 

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HorseloverFat

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High elevation collecting beginning soon. Mountain Hemlock and Sub Alpine Fir, Waiting for snow to leave. The key qualities for Bonsai remain the same, nebari, trunk, taper and branching. For yamadori I look especially for age, character and lower branching. Depending on the species that may involve deadwood and jin material. Then a close look to see if the tree is actually collectable!
At this stage I only collect a tree if it is highly desirable. Simply involves a lot of expense, work, time and effort so to make it worthwhile the tree must be special. Other trips will focus on Shore Pine and yellow cedar. With age comes some physical limitations so the size is more of a consideration than it used to be. After all the tree needs to get down the mountain or out to the ATV/Truck/Boat depending on the location and access. My trusty back pack now has a lower weight limit than prior to my recent back surgery;)
PS: it helps if you remove as many rocks from the root ball as possible before you start back. One of my Sub Alpine Firs, the triple trunk had 12 lbs of rocks within the rootball when I explored the root ball the next day. Who says rock pockets are the best collecting sites?
But I did a good job of packing up and protecting the roots prior to departing the mountain. Tree pictured below as packaged for hike back and then four years later.
LOVE that planting.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Where should I cut this tree?

View attachment 374779

I can not design a tree from a single photo. Actually, even multiple photos it is difficult to design a tree from. You should take photos with the camera lens on the same plane as the rim of the pot. Photos from at least 4 sides. If the tree is still in the ground, the photos should be from setting the camera at ground level. You need to see up into the tree. You need to see the tree from the viewpoint where it would be displayed.

You could get help from members of a local bonsai club. Seeing the tree live in person is really the only way to design a tree.
 

Kahless

Yamadori
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@Dr3z Your deciduous tree looks like an Ostrya Virginiana. I collected 2 of these this season thinking they were hornbeams. Still haven't been able to find a hornbeam. I'm hoping the hophornbeam make good bonsai but I haven't been able to find a lot of examples.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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If you have the photo catalog books of the National Exhibits in Rochester NY, I believe there is at least one exhibited over the 6 exhibitions. I just don't remember which one. Also check K. Murata book, the Four Seasons of Bonsai. I think there is one in that book.
 

Dr3z

Yamadori
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@Dr3z - "Gneiss Schist Man"

I'll be curious if you are able to collect the jack pine. They are notorious for being difficult to collect. They don't tolerate drastic root reduction.

Juniperus virginiana is often a host for cedar-apple rust, cedar-pear rust and or cedar-quince rust, which is difficult to treat.

You should also keep an eye out for Thuja. I have a couple and really like them.
Lol geology puns rock.

Thanks for the heads up re rust. Shame as J virginiana really looks like prime bonsai material to my inexperienced eyes. I collected a few.

I grabbed a bunch of Jack's last season with good survival inspite of being fairly rough with them, albeit into the ground rather than pots so 🤞 might help that I've not been taking the oldest trees until I have more practice.

Interesting that you mention Thuja, there are quite a few around here and I've been looking for good ones. I saved a mame sized sapling from a laneway but I'm having trouble finding a good large specimen. All seem to be either way too big, too small or have trunks that sweep out. I'm hoping if I find the right tree later in the season I can reduce it and then collect it later after it recovers.

@River's Edge @ShadyStump @BrianBay9 thanks for all the shares, enjoying seeing different species people have locally to work with

@Kahless
Thanks for helping with identification. The two species have some in common so I'm hoping along with you.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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So far I have found very few differences between Ostrya and Carpinus. I have Carpinus caroliniana, C. coreana, and Ostrya virginiana. All are less than 5 years old, except one Carpinus caroliniana which is maybe 10 year old trunk I collected 2 years ago.

Techniques for all 3 are identical. Carpinus caroliniana in particular will die within hours of soil becoming dry enough to wilt the leaves. Ostrya seems to be able to tolerate nearly 24 hours of dry to wilting of the leaves. Neither is a drought resistant plant, but the Ostrya is a little bit more drought tolerant and seems to like full sun more than Carpinus. Both definitely do better with soil that never gets dry.

The main difference in general appearance without seed "hops" hanging is the Ostrya has a stringy texture to its bark. Carpinus has a very smooth bark for caroliniana, and the coreana has smooth bark when young and white with dark lenticels when more mature. Obviously the big difference is the hop like seed structures of the Ostrya, where the Carpinus have a loose structure to their seed structures (cones?) what's the right word?
 

Dr3z

Yamadori
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So far I have found very few differences between Ostrya and Carpinus. I have Carpinus caroliniana, C. coreana, and Ostrya virginiana. All are less than 5 years old, except one Carpinus caroliniana which is maybe 10 year old trunk I collected 2 years ago.

Techniques for all 3 are identical. Carpinus caroliniana in particular will die within hours of soil becoming dry enough to wilt the leaves. Ostrya seems to be able to tolerate nearly 24 hours of dry to wilting of the leaves. Neither is a drought resistant plant, but the Ostrya is a little bit more drought tolerant and seems to like full sun more than Carpinus. Both definitely do better with soil that never gets dry.

The main difference in general appearance without seed "hops" hanging is the Ostrya has a stringy texture to its bark. Carpinus has a very smooth bark for caroliniana, and the coreana has smooth bark when young and white with dark lenticels when more mature. Obviously the big difference is the hop like seed structures of the Ostrya, where the Carpinus have a loose structure to their seed structures (cones?) what's the right word?
This is quite helpful. I belive they are in the birch family so seed clusters are like "catkin" unless I'm mistaken
 
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