Can you dig it?

ianb

Shohin
Messages
470
Reaction score
364
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
USDA Zone
10a
Yes we can.

Si Nguyen and I spent a few hours at a local nursery on Saturday and it was mentioned in passing that they had some 10 year old chinese quince and crabapple out back that needed lifting. Well, after a while picking through we tagged a couple each, planning to return sometime over the next few weeks.

Sunday morning came around and off we went, armed with all the right tools.

Si picked out this nice crab and started cutting back:
 

Attachments

  • Si_crab_01.jpg
    Si_crab_01.jpg
    47.6 KB · Views: 325
  • si_crab_dig.jpg
    si_crab_dig.jpg
    88.8 KB · Views: 316

ianb

Shohin
Messages
470
Reaction score
364
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
USDA Zone
10a
I found a crab hiding in the interior, bit more of a pain to dig but just couldn't resist the nebari and taper. A couple of hours later everything is in the bag.
 

Attachments

  • ian_crab_01.jpg
    ian_crab_01.jpg
    63.3 KB · Views: 237
  • ian_crab_02.jpg
    ian_crab_02.jpg
    64.8 KB · Views: 247
  • Si_crab_02.jpg
    Si_crab_02.jpg
    62.2 KB · Views: 302

ianb

Shohin
Messages
470
Reaction score
364
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
USDA Zone
10a
This is the quince field along with a close up of some of the trees.
 

Attachments

  • quince_field.jpg
    quince_field.jpg
    87.3 KB · Views: 201
  • quince_close.jpg
    quince_close.jpg
    73.9 KB · Views: 216

ianb

Shohin
Messages
470
Reaction score
364
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
USDA Zone
10a
Here is the quince I picked out just dug and potted. I didn't get any shots of the nice one Si picked out, maybe he can add them here.
 

Attachments

  • ian_quince.jpg
    ian_quince.jpg
    69.6 KB · Views: 234
  • ian_quince_02.jpg
    ian_quince_02.jpg
    73.3 KB · Views: 291

ianb

Shohin
Messages
470
Reaction score
364
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
USDA Zone
10a
Then I tackled potting up the crab apple, shortened the large roots by a lot and cut back the top. There are still a couple of large branches that need to go but I think I'll let it go for now.

Got a bit of sunburn (75 F and sunny last weekend - this is weird, I'm starting to miss winter - not really) and a hell of a backache but it was worth it.
 

Attachments

  • ian_crab_03.jpg
    ian_crab_03.jpg
    69.4 KB · Views: 209
  • ian_crab_04.jpg
    ian_crab_04.jpg
    74.7 KB · Views: 283

GOZTEK

Yamadori
Messages
72
Reaction score
0
Location
Malta
USDA Zone
11
very very interesting trees, how much did you pay for them?
 

Smoke

Ignore-Amus
Messages
11,668
Reaction score
20,724
Location
Fresno, CA
USDA Zone
9
Awesome finds there Ian. That crab has incredible taper. These will really be beauties.
 

irene_b

Omono
Messages
1,415
Reaction score
5
Way to go Ian and Si...
 

R_F

Chumono
Messages
758
Reaction score
10
USDA Zone
9
Fantastic material! Can't wait to see what you guys do with it. Congrats on the finds.
 

Attila Soos

Omono
Messages
1,804
Reaction score
54
Location
Los Angeles (Altadena), CA
USDA Zone
9
You've got some beauties there. Great material! Crab apples take FOREVER to gain any taper, even though they may be fast growers.

Where is this nursery?
I am itching to go there this weekend, since I live in your area as well.
 

crhabq

Mame
Messages
105
Reaction score
0
Location
albuquerque, nm
USDA Zone
7
Really exceptional finds. A crab with taper and a quince with a thick trunk! These look ready for the refinement stage. The only thing to top these finds is all you Cali cats doing lifting and transplanting now. It cold where I live. Good luck with these and keep us posted on their development.
Congrats on your great trees.
Ray
 

Attila Soos

Omono
Messages
1,804
Reaction score
54
Location
Los Angeles (Altadena), CA
USDA Zone
9
The only thing to top these finds is all you Cali cats doing lifting and transplanting now. .
Ray

It's the best part of living in California. I am already planning to start root-pruning some of my trees next week, and laying out the game plan for each tree for the upcoming growing season.

The most exciting part of the bonsai season is a couple of weeks away!
Then in February, my whole backyard comes alive....except the zelkovas, which are always the last to wake up.
 

ghues

Omono
Messages
1,554
Reaction score
3,140
Location
Campbell River BC Canada
USDA Zone
7b
It's the best part of living in California. I am already planning to start root-pruning some of my trees next week, and laying out the game plan for each tree for the upcoming growing season.

The most exciting part of the bonsai season is a couple of weeks away!
Then in February, my whole backyard comes alive....except the zelkovas, which are always the last to wake up.
Attila
It sounds like you miss Vancouver and our great white north conditions LOL. As you can recall, we are still a couple of months away.......
Cheers Gman
 

Attila Soos

Omono
Messages
1,804
Reaction score
54
Location
Los Angeles (Altadena), CA
USDA Zone
9
Attila
It sounds like you miss Vancouver and our great white north conditions LOL. As you can recall, we are still a couple of months away.......
Cheers Gman

I always miss Vancouver, and B.C. in general, I think it's the best place on Earth.
But when it comes to growing season, I take California any time...;)
 

Rick Moquin

Omono
Messages
1,241
Reaction score
20
Location
Dartmouth, NS Canada
USDA Zone
6a
Somehow my earlier post didn't get posted :confused:

Nice pub crawl, uh, nursery crawl. Some fine looking specimens indeed and I await their future with anticipation, especially the crab.
 

Si Nguyen

Omono
Messages
1,048
Reaction score
218
Location
Lake Forest, CA
Hello everybody,
It was a great weekend for a nursery crawl and some urban yamadori! Ian was good company.:D A bit too liberal maybe, but ok.;)

The digging was easy as pie, especially if you had somebody else digging for you. A nursery worker came by and dug up my crabapple for me. I never got my white shoes dirty.:D That picture of me there was just for show. Too bad I don't have a picture of Ian as he was digging. It was NOT a pretty site!:D

Here's my little Chinese quince.
 

Attachments

  • quince 1.jpg
    quince 1.jpg
    62 KB · Views: 167
  • quince 2.jpg
    quince 2.jpg
    62.6 KB · Views: 152

Si Nguyen

Omono
Messages
1,048
Reaction score
218
Location
Lake Forest, CA
Here's my crabapple. This picture is before I pruned it today. Next update should show much shorter branches. The root ball is very flat. It really could go directly into a proper bonsai pot.
Cheers,
Si
 

Attachments

  • crabapple 1.jpg
    crabapple 1.jpg
    60.8 KB · Views: 149
  • crabapple 2.jpg
    crabapple 2.jpg
    67.1 KB · Views: 152

ianb

Shohin
Messages
470
Reaction score
364
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
USDA Zone
10a
Hello everybody,
It was a great weekend for a nursery crawl and some urban yamadori! Ian was good company.:D A bit too liberal maybe, but ok.;)

Hey, I resemble that remark, between the 2 of us we can find a happy medium:D

Looking good there Si, I'm just about to cut my crab back a bit more.
 
Top Bottom