Apple Yamadori Suggestions

[Fluke365]

2nd year novice here, scored today with this amazing little apple tree that the cows have done a good job on. I'm just curious how long I should leave in training pot, it had a surprisingly good root structure with fibrous roots. Soil mix is organic soil with pumice.

 

[Shibui]

If it is newly collected you should leave it in the training pot for a minimum 1 year to recover and adjust to life in a pot. If the tree grows well this summer it could be repotted next spring. If it is slow to recover from the transplant it would b best to leave it another year.
Everybody does it differently but My approach is to keep trees in training pots until they are almost fully trained. Branches develop better and faster, chops heal quicker, etc while the tree has some root run and can grow a bit.
The branches are wild looking but are long with little taper so I would want to shorten them and try to get better ramification and more fruiting spurs in closer to the trunk so I would still be doing more development with this tree.
If you like the look as it is then by all means go to a bonsai pot sooner.

 

[rockm]

I agree with everything Shibui said. Apples are pretty tough. They recover quickly, BUT a minimum of two years in the training container is probably a good way to go.

I would also keep a close eye on that soil mix while the tree is in it. It looks far too dense to me--even with the addition of some pumice. Root recovery is aided by faster draining soil and the air exchange it provides in the root zone. I pot collected trees in regular bonsai soil that has only about 10-15 percent organic. Combined with such a deep pot, that soil mix is likely to stay pretty soggy down where the roots are developing and keeping it properly watered is going to be a challenge.

 

[Fluke365]

I agree with everything Shibui said. Apples are pretty tough. They recover quickly, BUT a minimum of two years in the training container is probably a good way to go.

I would also keep a close eye on that soil mix while the tree is in it. It looks far too dense to me--even with the addition of some pumice. Root recovery is aided by faster draining soil and the air exchange it provides in the root zone. I pot collected trees in regular bonsai soil that has only about 10-15 percent organic. Combined with such a deep pot, that soil mix is likely to stay pretty soggy down where the roots are developing and keeping it properly watered is going to be a challenge.

I have akadama, thicker grain pumice and lave rocks in the mail as we speak. in the mail as we speak. Unfortunately didn't have any on hand and I had to collect the tree then couldn't wait till I had the proper soil. Would it be better to repot next year(in a training pot still) with this mix or could I do it this year still? The current mix definitely holds water more than it should...

 

[HorseloverFat]

Interesting find! I love pasture trees!

Everything stated is good info.

I'm in the "two years in collection container" school of thought... EXCEPT for potentilla and Salix. (There have been, to me, some cases that the tree had a VERY productive first year.. like @Shibui outlined, which have warranted a 1-year repot)

I agree with @rockm about the substrate mix being potentially problematic.

Just keep an eye on it.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I also agree with @Shibui about my trees spending most of their lives in big training/chopped nursery containers...

You don't smaller pot until the roots are "where you want them" AND you are beginning to "pump the brakes".

 

[BrianBay9]

I have akadama, thicker grain pumice and lave rocks in the mail as we speak. in the mail as we speak. Unfortunately didn't have any on hand and I had to collect the tree then couldn't wait till I had the proper soil. Would it be better to repot next year(in a training pot still) with this mix or could I do it this year still? The current mix definitely holds water more than it should...

How long has it been in this pot? If a day or two you might be able switch out the soil mix. Looks like it's leafing out already though. If you watch your watering you'd probably be better off waiting until next spring's repot.

 

[JudyB]

You will probably want to get a different training pot, one that is wider than deep, so you can get the roots to grow out instead of down. If you don't do a repot now, (if it's been more than a couple three days, you might want to wait.) then if it grows wildly well this summer, you could do a careful repotting this fall. Trees do produce new roots during the cooler fall season.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Nice find. Go cows!

 

[Fluke365]

If it is newly collected you should leave it in the training pot for a minimum 1 year to recover and adjust to life in a pot. If the tree grows well this summer it could be repotted next spring. If it is slow to recover from the transplant it would b best to leave it another year.
Everybody does it differently but My approach is to keep trees in training pots until they are almost fully trained. Branches develop better and faster, chops heal quicker, etc while the tree has some root run and can grow a bit.
The branches are wild looking but are long with little taper so I would want to shorten them and try to get better ramification and more fruiting spurs in closer to the trunk so I would still be doing more development with this tree.
If you like the look as it is then by all means go to a

How long has it been in this pot? If a day or two you might be able switch out the soil mix. Looks like it's leafing out already though. If you watch your watering you'd probably be better off waiting until next spring's repot.

Only been in this pot for 2 days, new substrate should be here Sunday. We've had a weird spring, 3 weeks ago it was 80 degrees F then the following 2 weeks snow and frost. Gotta love MN!