A couple small larch

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Chumono
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I collected these both last year, and thought i'd start a thread to start documenting the progress.
I've got a bunch more of these that I am just letting grow, but I've tinkered with these two a little bit this year.

Dave
 

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bonsaiTOM

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Hey Dave, Yeah it's me. Great to see you last week. Hope you enjoyed the Rochester symposium as much as I did. And, OK, one more time - HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! :D

I like your trees. Will be interesting to see how they develop. The tree in photo #3 - I probably would have reduced the heavy upright branch on the right side, back to the first secondary branch. BUT that's just me, and my first reaction. Perhaps you plan to keep is as your future main trunk and cut-back and jin the current trunk?

Got a plan?

The jinned trunk on your first larch reminds me that there were others like it in the exhibit. Nice.
 

grouper52

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I like that first tree quite a bit.

I assume they grow indigenously there - have you considered growing it over a tile in the ground for 5-10+ years? Sounds like you are already doing that with a bunch of others, but this one would produce some very interesting possibilities if wired carefully into shape as it grew thicker and developed new leaders.

Even as it is though, I like what you've done with it so far. Keep us posted as these two progress.

G52
 

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Hey Dave, Yeah it's me. Great to see you last week. Hope you enjoyed the Rochester symposium as much as I did. And, OK, one more time - HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! :D

I like your trees. Will be interesting to see how they develop. The tree in photo #3 - I probably would have reduced the heavy upright branch on the right side, back to the first secondary branch. BUT that's just me, and my first reaction. Perhaps you plan to keep is as your future main trunk and cut-back and jin the current trunk?

Got a plan?

The jinned trunk on your first larch reminds me that there were others like it in the exhibit. Nice.

Tom, yeah the symposium was great! Glad you were able to make it. I don't really have a "plan" yet for the tree you mention. It actually reminds me very much of a tree I grew up with as it is now. I'm gonna wait till the needles drop and then do some wiring and pruning. The apex will be reduced a good bit, and I have thought about shortening that weird second trunk. Mostly, I'll just take my time, and as you know these larch develop like gangbusters.
 

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I like that first tree quite a bit.

I assume they grow indigenously there - have you considered growing it over a tile in the ground for 5-10+ years? Sounds like you are already doing that with a bunch of others, but this one would produce some very interesting possibilities if wired carefully into shape as it grew thicker and developed new leaders.

Even as it is though, I like what you've done with it so far. Keep us posted as these two progress.

G52

G52, glad you like it. This is a little project in abuse. Mostly, I'm just getting first hand experience as too what the tree will tolerate, and this is the result as of now. I haven't considered ground growing because I can collect many many more, and I don't really ever expect this to be a great tree. It's like my little guinea pig.

I'm also planning on starting a couple grow beds at base camp where i collect. That way I can round them all up, and then develop them over the years in the ground. I'm thinking about starting some clumps with varying trunk thickness, as well as some hack-back then twist and grow. In 25 years, I think I might have some killer material.

BTW, keep up the good work, your trees ROCK!!! The book looks good too!!!

Dave
 
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Found a pic of that "inspirational" tree I had mentioned.

Dave
 

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Redwood Ryan

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An Eastern White Pine. Beautiful trees.
 

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Another one that i gave an initial styling to the other night. There are some issues, but it is a good start I think. Left extra branches for now. The main goal was to set the branches with a downward angle early on. The trunk was ramrod straight before the wire was added.

Dave
 

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bonsaitodd

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Nice work. Good movement in the trunk line.
 

bonsaiTOM

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Dave, Oh yeah - nice start, love your larches. Thanks for the tour. It was great seeing your full collection. The spruces (not my favorite trees) really knocked me out.
 

tanlu

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I recently became interested in larches and found a strand growing wild in my area (Greater New York City Area). I want to collect them but I don't know how to do it without causing the tree too much stress.

Can anyone WITH EXPERIENCE recommend a clear, sound method of collecting them? How should they be taken care of in the winter? What kind of soil should they be in when collected? How long before I should move them into bonsai soil?
 

Brian Van Fleet

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First, you should wait until spring if at all possible. When the buds are swelling, it is safe to collect. You'll risk losing the trees if you collect now, you'll cut through roots and won't be able to handle freezes well.

Second, if you MUST collect now, I'd dig them out with as much soil and roots intact as you can get away with, then take them home and plant them "as is" in your yard and leave them alone until spring of 2012.

Third, if they don't have the size of trunk you're looking for, leave them in the ground for a few years and let them grow unchecked.

If the trunks are already good, you can dig them up in spring of 2012, and carefully remove every trace of field soil; even wash the roots with a good blast from the hose. Then you can plant them in shallow containers using bonsai soil. You should always use some formula of bonsai soil (non-compacting, freely draining) when you're growing trees in containers.
 

tanlu

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Brian,

Thanks for the info on that!

So I should wait until mid-March or so, then collect? Is it safe, at that time, if a few of the roots are accidentally ripped off in the process?

I found a few living in a bog with nice trunks! Should I completely remove all of the old soil when I bring the larch home? A few months ago, I collected some of mychrozzae(white fluffy fungi) under a large Eastern White Pine and stuffed it in a zip-lock bag. It's multiplied since then. Would adding that at the time of repotting be beneficial to the larch?
 

rockm

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Also, you must get permission to dig them, unless you own the land they're on.

If you are interested in collecting trees to use as bonsai, this is one of the first things you have to get used t--Ask before you dig. If you don't and you're digging on someone else's property it is stealing.

This can sound moralistic, but it's really for the good of bonsai. Collecting without permission from landowners can result in bad things not only for the digger, but for others as they may be denied future access.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Yes, Mid March or whenever they're just coming out of dormancy (with permission, naturally). You should make every attempt to get a good majority of the roots, but at least time will be on your side in spring. Then, be sure they don't freeze until next fall.

If they're going in a pot, you must remove all field soil. If they're going in the ground, I wouldn't remove any of it.

Mychrozzae won't hurt, it's beneficial and present in most soils, but most closely associated with pines because that type is quite visible and also symbiotic with the health of pines. I've read that it's even airborne, and will develop around pines without our inoculation. I have 2 red pines grown from seed that have pots just full of the stuff, and I never added any!
 

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For the record, mycorrhiza is not a fungus, nor is it a plant. It cannot be collected or stored. You can't eat it or touch it or even see it. It isn't a tangible "thing." Hope that sheds some light on things for you guys. This is a common error don't feel bad.

Dave
 

tanlu

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Hotaction,

Then what is that white stuff that I collected and multiplying in my zip-lock bag? I already added some to one of my Japanese White Pines and it has multiplied. It even smells like mushrooms you purchase in a grocery store.
 

plant_dr

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THe stuff you have collected in your bag IS a fungus, but the fungus isn't called mycorrhizae. It is called a mycorrhizal fungus because it provides the symbiotic relationship between the plant's roots and itself. You can google it or look it up on wikipedia for more info.
 

Klytus

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I was worried i had simply imaged a whole order of lifeforms and more importantly had been ripped-off by the grocer.

I have some difficulty innoculating some specimens,it doesn't always take.

Certainly these hyphae work in mysterious ways.
 
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