American Hornbeam and Beech: result of the scouting

[BMV Bonsai]

I was able to go out to our farm yesterday and dig up the trees I had scouted earlier this month.

I'll post an in situ photo followed by its potted up and slightly pruned images.

First up is the American Beech with the hollow:

This thing was a beeeeeeech to dig up. Two large tap roots.

 

[BMV Bonsai]

Next up a hornbeam with nice trunk movement:

 

[BMV Bonsai]

Jumbo twin trunk hornbeam, not sure what to expect from this guy, waiting to see where the buds pop.

 

[BMV Bonsai]

Hornbeam raft that has some great potential. One of the trunks is a mini twin trunk.


I didn't have anything long/wide enough to fit the raft in so I had to canabilize a foam planter...sorry Mom!

 

[BMV Bonsai]

Last is this little guy that the top died, thought it would be fun to experiment with.

 

[BMV Bonsai]

I apologize for the blurry thumbnails, if you click on the individual photos they are not blurry.

Let me know what y'all think?

Brian

 

[Waldo Street Pottery]

Nice starters! I got that raft's big brother last year, all but the top "trunk" made it. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[aml1014]

Isn't the ground frozen where you are? How the f did you dig these things? Lol
Some really nice finds there, I'm definitely gonna watch this thread.
Aaron

 

[BMV Bonsai]

Ground was frozen last weekend, but we had some rain in the middle of the week and warmer weather Friday and Saturday. I dug them in the mid to high 40's. Whipped out the fold out saw and hand trowel and got them up relatively easy....minus the beech.

They will live in my unheated garage until this cold snap passes. Projected temps are gonna be 10-12 degrees till Tuesday.

 

[jkl2]

Good luck with these; kinda early for collecting. IMO.

 

[rockm]

It is very early for collecting. Good luck.

 

[BMV Bonsai]

Thank you both for the for the concerns, my fingers will be crossed!

I have collected the past 3 winters for American beech and have had 100% success (so far). When it gets below 32 degrees I bring the newly collected in the garage for protection. In reading other experiences with hornbeam (@Zach Smith, @JoeR ) they seem to be alright if collected in winter as well, so we shall see.

Brian

 

[Tieball]

I have winter collected American Beech also...with a 100% success rate. Most I've collected were in the 1/2" to 3/4" trunk diameter though. I collected them mid winter (West Michigan) and just put them in the ground with whatever soil and roots that were dug up. I recently, just last year, replanted them back in a wooded area to simply grow. I'm not sure the trees will have enough growth for a large bonsai tree in my lifetime. The trees will make a good contribution to the wooded area though.

 

[rockm]

There's collecting and COLLECTING. Anything under an inch in diameter can be collected with mostly intact roots, but mostly there's nothing worth collecting under an inch in diameter (collecting is mostly about getting an already developed trunk)...Digging a more substantial trunk requires removing most of the roots and large cut wounds. Early collection can be done, provided the ground isn't frozen solid and you have somewhere frost free to keep the collected trees.

Also, the longer you wait until collection in the late winter/early spring, the more energy the tree is pushing from its roots to its branches. That is why collecting JUUUST before bud break is the best way for deciduous trees.

 

[johng]

Also, the longer you wait until collection in the late winter/early spring, the more energy the tree is pushing from its roots to its branches. That is why collecting JUUUST before bud break is the best way for deciduous trees.

Hey Brian!
This is my experience as well...glad to here you have had success but I am not sure patterning your collection practices after Zach is such a great idea given the differences in the winter temps. My experience with hornbeam is that it is easy to get buds to pop but not always in the numbers and locations you want....considering this I think it is important to collect at the most appropriate time.

I may try Tony Tickles sweating method this year on couple larger hornbeam...its going to have to be a really good trunk to put that much effort into though but if it results in an aggressive bud break it will be worth it!

 

[leatherback]

up a hornbeam with nice trunk movement:

Hav eyou considered cutting down to the first branch, and using that as new leader?

 

[rockm]

Hav eyou considered cutting down to the first branch, and using that as new leader?

Not a great way to go with this species because most existing branches lower on the trunk can tend to grow more horizontally than vertically, which makes the final tree look odd. That is why most good American hornbeam bonsai have their entire branch structure grow from scratch. The bottom third of most hornbeam worth collecting mostly don't have any branching anyway. When collecting one, it should be about the nebari at soil level. American hornbeam regularly produce great fluted "muscled up" nebari and lower trunks. THAT is what to collect this species for. The trees here don't have that and frankly I wouldn't have dug them up (with the exception of the raft, which is pretty cool if the trunks are allowed to put on some heft).

 

[BMV Bonsai]

@johng
I did hesitate to put the Zach Smith tag in there knowing he was from Louisana, but I was mainly trying to reference the few others on this forum that have had some success in general during winter. I do realize "winter" means different things to different people and here in Bowling Green that usually means mid 40's.

If/when I get buds on any of them, that will give me a better idea where to chop to on all the trees in discussion here.

I do thank everyone for the responses.

Brian

 

[Hack Yeah!]

How are these trees doing?

 

[pweifan]

"BMV Bonsai was last seen: Mar 30, 2016"