American hornbeam collection and aftercare

[jacob letoile]

I am going to be digging some hornbeam this spring and I was wondering if instead of putting them into pots or boxes or something normal if I could dig, chop and plant strait into the ground in my yard. I have plenty of space, and exelecent sandy silt loam soil in full sun. I thought I could grow out after the chop to get maximum healing and growth of the new shoots. Is this a stupid idea?

 

[Soldano666]

Yes you could. Only drawback is the dense soil of the ground, potting up allows you to use better soil and create better and more roots. In the ground you may get one or two that just run and run which is good but you are still back to square one when you want to dig it up again. In a pond basket/growbox etc you will get more root and chances are from more than only one or two places.the soil can breath way better and allows for more "space" for roots. I dug a bunch last spring and put them in pond baskets They've fully recovered and have issued lots of new roots from all over the old root cut sites. I will put them back in the ground this year and let all those new roots run to help beefen up the nebari and help all those new branchlets gain some girth.... Long story short I would pot them up, let them recover then put them back in the ground if you need some serious growth or to achieve taper faster. Hope this helps

 

[jacob letoile]

Yes you could. Only drawback is the dense soil of the ground, potting up allows you to use better soil and create better and more roots. In the ground you may get one or two that just run and run which is good but you are still back to square one when you want to dig it up again. In a pond basket/growbox etc you will get more root and chances are from more than only one or two places.the soil can breath way better and allows for more "space" for roots. I dug a bunch last spring and put them in pond baskets They've fully recovered and have issued lots of new roots from all over the old root cut sites. I will put them back in the ground this year and let all those new roots run to help beefen up the nebari and help all those new branchlets gain some girth.... Long story short I would pot them up, let them recover then put them back in the ground if you need some serious growth or to achieve taper faster. Hope this helps

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

[Soldano666]

Also account for some die back from the top.

 

[jacob letoile]

Also account for some die back from the top.

Thank you, will a foot or so above the soil line be sufficient?

 

[Soldano666]

Yes well sort of, depends on trunk size and how many dormant bud "bumps" you can count. A foot seems like a lot unless it has some serious girth to the trunk, or you can't see and bumps

 

[jacob letoile]

This will be my first round of collecting, so I appreciate you taking the time to answer basic questions. How many dormant 'bumps' should I be looking to include?

Thanks.

 

[Giga]

I have 2 american hornbeam, both collected in the dead of winter. Planted in a flat, seal all chops and don't allow soil to dry out. I cut the trunk a little higher then I normally would just to ensure that I get some viable buds as they have very thin bark. They can desiccate and dry out very easily, so seal would right away. Other then that They grow very well and are great species to work with.

 

[Soldano666]

. How many dormant 'bumps' should I be looking to include?

Thanks.

As many as you can count low on the trunk. I have noticed they dont always pop there, sometimes you get buds you can even see that pop for you. At least a couple is a good safety net. And what giga said dont let them dry out. They love water

 

[jacob letoile]

Thank you both. I going to put them on an automatic sprinkler as I get really really busy in the summer. I found some that I think will be really nice someday. I'll post pictures after I dig

 

[vaibatron]

Thank you both. I going to put them on an automatic sprinkler as I get really really busy in the summer. I found some that I think will be really nice someday. I'll post pictures after I dig

Another reason to put them in the ground! If the chop is large, then ground growing would make the most sense.

 

[Aeast]

Are you taking about Ostrya virginiana or Carpinus caroliniana?

 

[Zach Smith]

I am going to be digging some hornbeam this spring and I was wondering if instead of putting them into pots or boxes or something normal if I could dig, chop and plant strait into the ground in my yard. I have plenty of space, and exelecent sandy silt loam soil in full sun. I thought I could grow out after the chop to get maximum healing and growth of the new shoots. Is this a stupid idea?

Why would you want to have to collect a tree twice? If you're collecting seedlings, then ground growing will fatten them starting about year three in the ground. If the trunks are big enough, just pot 'em up and develop them when they come out. Seal the trunk chops and any cut >1/4" to prevent dieback.

 

[jacob letoile]

Are you taking about Ostrya virginiana or Carpinus caroliniana?

Carpinus caroliniana

 

[jacob letoile]

Why would you want to have to collect a tree twice? If you're collecting seedlings, then ground growing will fatten them starting about year three in the ground. If the trunks are big enough, just pot 'em up and develop them when they come out. Seal the trunk chops and any cut >1/4" to prevent dieback.

Thank you. This is what I was planning, but the ground is frozen, and I think to much.

As an aside, my wife asks her students a question "what mistakes are the best ones to learn from?"
"other people's"

Thank you everyone who has answered. If I'm lucky, and do my research I can make totally new mistakes

 

[Zach Smith]

Thank you. This is what I was planning, but the ground is frozen, and I think to much.

As an aside, my wife asks her students a question "what mistakes are the best ones to learn from?"
"other people's"

Thank you everyone who has answered. If I'm lucky, and do my research I can make totally new mistakes

Heh heh. There are no new mistakes in bonsai, only new practitioners, Grasshopper.

 

[Aaronkslater]

but if you are trying to heal over large chops wouldn't it make sense to put it in the ground to get more rapid growth? But then of course you have to work to refine the roots sometime so maybe it is the same amount of time in the end? I've always thought chopping in place and giving it a season or two to sprout new growth is best but, the plant has to be in a spot that is conducive.

Nice to hear you are finding hornbeam out your way... I haven't found them around here, have to keep looking!

 

[jacob letoile]

but if you are trying to heal over large chops wouldn't it make sense to put it in the ground to get more rapid growth? But then of course you have to work to refine the roots sometime so maybe it is the same amount of time in the end? I've always thought chopping in place and giving it a season or two to sprout new growth is best but, the plant has to be in a spot that is conducive.

Nice to hear you are finding hornbeam out your way... I haven't found them around here, have to keep looking!

Once I found the first one, I'm seeing them a lot now. I found the same thing happend hawk watching and weed scouting. At first it's really hard to see because you have to consciously examine everything in your visual field. After you find a few you develop a search pattern and you find things before you see them if that makes sense. I find 4 leaf clovers that way. I can pick one out of a patch in a fraction of a second. Way faster than I can scan the patch. Keep looming, the not you see the easier they will be to find.

 

[rockm]

I'd agree with Zach--Big question is WHY? replanting them in the ground isn't going to speed up healing. The plant will heal as it wants to in the ground or in a proper container. Re-planting it in the ground to "heal" those big wounds would take as long as it would in a good container with proper after care. You would have to leave it in the ground for more than a couple of years to realize any benefit. During that time the plant will make NEW bigger roots which will require hard pruning to get into a container, which will have to heal too. You're not going to get any benefit collecting the tree twice.. The only reason to return a tree to the ground is to get heavier top growth--like new leader or primary branching, or to increase trunk diameter in seedlings.

 

[Aaronkslater]

looks like where I grew up in NH is out of their range but where I am now in MA is just inside their range... Probably why I haven't learned to spot them... I will be looking now! Seems like stream and swamp edges are the place to look, has that been your experience Jacob?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Carpinus_caroliniana_range_map_3.png