Carpinus caroliniana: American Hornbeam

TN_Jim

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Carpinus caroliniana, known as Hornbeam, among others..

I collected a few today I stumbled across. They were adjacent to streams, very difficult to collect in mixed rock....trenched and mostly by hand, saw and pruners, not much shovel..

This species seems to be appreciated here, going back a decade. The posts regarding C. caroliniana lack much detail on caring for the species, and is entirely new to me as far as collecting, etc.

Should these (I collected 2, will post pics of best one (images below) ) survive, how would you approach them?
Put them in partial shade? Drench for a while?

Soil..the tree is on 2'' of mostly de, atop an upside-down pot (in this larger pot) with all holes surrounded by lava....basically its in a 6'' well drained pot..tree in mostly de..
I read these like to be relatively wet, put moss on the top? It is now in high wind, presently a thunderstorm, and full sun.

I am not planning on doing anything to this tree for a year from now unless otherwise advised..but for now, I feel like I have one from out of, or from near water in my hands and could use some advice on the species.

Ideas on the future design of the tree and whatever makes it healthy is much appreciated..thanks much
 
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TN_Jim

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M. Frary

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Seal the fits if you haven't. They die back like mad if you don't and will only sprout at the base.
They are understory trees so dappled shade should do for positioning.
They like moisture.
 
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Seal the fits if you haven't. They die back like mad if you don't and will only sprout at the base.
They are understory trees so dappled shade should do for positioning.
They like moisture.
What do you seal with?
 

M. Frary

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Duct seal when I seal cuts. I actually only use it on hornbeam. Everything else gets none.
 

TN_Jim

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Used Elmers..will reapply. Dieback is scary, I cut it close to the branch.
 

TN_Jim

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Duct seal..wow, that’s serious. I’ll grab some this morning.
 

rockm

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Carpinus caroliniana, known as Ironwood/Hornbeam, among others..

I collected a few today I stumbled across. They were adjacent to streams, very difficult to collect in mixed rock....trenched and mostly by hand, saw and pruners, not much shovel..

This species seems to be appreciated here, going back a decade. The posts regarding C. caroliniana lack much detail on caring for the species, and is entirely new to me as far as collecting, etc.

Should these (I collected 2, will post pics of best one (images below) ) survive, how would you approach them?
Put them in partial shade? Drench for a while?

Soil..the tree is on 2'' of mostly de, atop an upside-down pot (in this larger pot) with all holes surrounded by lava....basically its in a 6'' well drained pot..tree in mostly de..
I read these like to be relatively wet, put moss on the top? It is now in high wind, presently a thunderstorm, and full sun.

I am not planning on doing anything to this tree for a year from now unless otherwise advised..but for now, I feel like I have one from out of, or from near water in my hands and could use some advice on the species.

Ideas on the future design of the tree and whatever makes it healthy is much appreciated..thanks much
Pretty common collected tree for bonsai. Looong history of use. Bareroot at collection helps recovery. I hose off all the woodland soil before putting them into a pot. Typically collected not by digging, but by sawing around the root crown 5-6 inches out and then underneath. Trying to retain a lot of root mass usually doesn't give the tree much of an advantage in a pot.

Regular bonsai soil is fine for recovery. Your mix sounds a bit too lean. You will have to keep an eye on watering--which can be tricky with recently-collected trees, as they don't initially use alot of water, but progressively do. I would get some long fibered sphagnum moss at the nursery and spread it on the soil surface an inch or two deep. Wet it down. Watch the moss and keep it MOIST not soggy. The moss will help retain moisture in the top and mid-level of the soil in the pot.

Keep in semi-shade (but not full shade) in the spring. Sunlight can help the tree push new buds from the trunk.

If you don't seal the chop at the time of collection, the trunk can die back, sometimes a bit, sometimes a lot. The longer you wait, the great the chance the trunk will dry out beginning at the top and progressing down.
 

rockm

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Duct seal..wow, that’s serious. I’ll grab some this morning.
Plumber's putty will work too. Elmers glue will work too in a pinch, as long as it doesn't get wet while it sets up on the tree.
 

TN_Jim

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Thanks all, extremely helpful.

@rockm, the collection techniques you recommend is pretty spot on how I approached it, this is reassuring. I will be applying all other recommendations. The de it is in is well sifted for fines and I do not think it could get soggy if it wanted with ~6'' of large lava below it. When, you say, lean, would you recommend repotting into a different mix? It was collected/potted about 20 h ago.
 

rockm

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Thanks all, extremely helpful.

@rockm, the collection techniques you recommend is pretty spot on how I approached it, this is reassuring. I will be applying all other recommendations. The de it is in is well sifted for fines and I do not think it could get soggy if it wanted with ~6'' of large lava below it. When, you say, lean, would you recommend repotting into a different mix? It was collected/potted about 20 h ago.
Sifted coarse soil is not all that great for this species. Although it's hard to overwater such a mix, it can also wind up being too free draining. It will require close monitoring of soil moisture as the plant recovers. Hornbeam are forest understory trees that grow in soils with high water tables, like near stream and river bottoms. A bit more organics in the soil mix doesn't really hurt things, as long as it doesn't stay soggy.

I'd repot in a mix with SOME organic components, or do the moss top cover thing.
 

TN_Jim

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The habitat you describe is exactly how I found it, under dense canopy of mostly beech, located within a foot of the stream, all others within flood zone (~20') of stream. I just applied the layer of long fibered sphagnum. I am able to monitor it regularly, if watering maintenance gets out of hand in the next day or so, will repot w/ heavier organic. Good stuff..thanks much!
 

JoeR

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I collected mine from under larger trees as well however they fully tolerate full sun too. Mine actually thrives in it year round except winter. However I would probably keep it in some shade until you’re certain it’s gonna make it.
 

TN_Jim

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I think I need to adjust the trajectory of what I believe should be the best new leader on this one. I have never done this before. Was thinking of gradually bringing it up to a degree to an affixed chopstick or with wire? Any thoughts very welcome even beyond this question. @M. Frary / @rockm, you all and others have helped me tremendously in the past, any suggestions here?

Good news is this tree and its sibling(?) collected same day seem to be doing well, especially since altering or introducing new watering/pathogen treatment regimes. The new leader i'm thinking of is the highest branch (indicated with pencil). It is flexible to a degree, but not a lot of give, and I worry that it is just going to get more ridged if not acted on. Possibly, should I leave it alone?? @JoeR, any updates on yours? Much thanks.
 

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Mike Hennigan

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Just using wire should work. Running the wire up the trunk to the leader will give you the strongest anchor for the wire. Just be careful not to leave the wire on for too long, hornbeams will carry wire scars for forever.
 

Mike Hennigan

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Also o a side note, I have found American hornbeams in particular to be this most conifer like of the deciduous species, in terms of what you can do to them in bonsai culture. They’re pretty slow growing but mostly their root system doesn’t like to be messed with too much after initial collection so it’s usually best to do the hard root work you need to do right at first collection and potting. You will notice that their root system is composed of incredibly fine fibrous roots, really unlike many deciduous trees in appearance. I feel like this has something to do with their resistance to root work. In any case, American hornbeams should be allowed to become incredibly vigorous before any additional root pruning is carried out. I am going to be repotting my American hornbeams on more of a 3 or 4 year cycle than the typical deciduous 2 year cycle.
 

TN_Jim

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Also o a side note, I have found American hornbeams in particular to be this most conifer like of the deciduous species, in terms of what you can do to them in bonsai culture. They’re pretty slow growing but mostly their root system doesn’t like to be messed with too much after initial collection so it’s usually best to do the hard root work you need to do right at first collection and potting. You will notice that their root system is composed of incredibly fine fibrous roots, really unlike many deciduous trees in appearance. I feel like this has something to do with their resistance to root work. In any case, American hornbeams should be allowed to become incredibly vigorous before any additional root pruning is carried out. I am going to be repotting my American hornbeams on more of a 3 or 4 year cycle than the typical deciduous 2 year cycle.

Thanks Mike, very informative. Unlike others collected, the rock at play did not allow much remaining after bare rooting them and cutting back the extended huge roots if I recall correctly at collection.

This is where I need more photos or notes for reference..memory is a funny thing, especially when juggling several around the same time -could be a fat root in there but I don’t think so... Logbook needed.

Fat root left on, and the acceptance of chopping relatively too high to keep a branch with buds to play it safe..this tree avoided these questions some...

I think it’s alright in this pot for a spell so I’m gonna heed what you’re saying time-wise. I’m picking up what you are putting down, like a juniper is an interesting way to explain it. I can kinda see this tree, hope is present.
 

Mike Hennigan

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Thanks Mike, very informative. Unlike others collected, the rock at play did not allow much remaining after bare rooting them and cutting back the extended huge roots if I recall correctly at collection.

This is where I need more photos or notes for reference..memory is a funny thing, especially when juggling several around the same time -could be a fat root in there but I don’t think so... Logbook needed.

Fat root left on, and the acceptance of chopping relatively too high to keep a branch with buds to play it safe..this tree avoided these questions some...

I think it’s alright in this pot for a spell so I’m gonna heed what you’re saying time-wise. I’m picking up what you are putting down, like a juniper is an interesting way to explain it. I can kinda see this tree, hope is present.

Yea, the moment you collected them from the field these trees were the most vigorous they will ever be. So it’s ok you went hard on the roots. Part of what I was saying is that the best time to significantly reduce the roots to the size that would best fit the finished bonsai pot size is at the initial collection. I find this true with all deciduous. All trees enter a state of reduced vigor naturally when in bonsai culture. A tree growing in the ground will always be stronger. So it’s a good thing you went hard on the roots, it could very well save you two years of time later down the road. Nice trunks though! Lots of potential.
 
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