First Yamadori Dig

[ThirdCoastBorn]

I went on my first club collection dig this past weekend and had a blast (no idea what to expect), ended up with three small native species. I'm fortunate to be blessed with a great local group of knowledgeable/friendly/helpful members, but sometimes I worry of peppering them with incessant questions! So here are a few for y'all...

- For (pre-trip) planning purposes, is there any rough guideline between the number/size of trees (perhaps 'total trunk caliper of collected material') and volume of prepared soil? I thought I had MORE than enough pre-sifted, and lo and behold, was furiously sieving at midnight, just enough to be able to cover the roots and call it a night.

- How do individuals match container size to the base material ? Roped a friend into helping me pre-build two 2'x2'x5.5" and one 18"x18"x"5.5" cedar containers, which seemed way too large relative to what I collected. How large of material should I be looking at for the club's next upcoming dig? Only the Gum Bumelia has a root structure that appropriately fits in the smaller container (most of it being a large horizontal root)...

- How common/rare is it to use rooting hormones at the root ends of collected material? I'm holding off for now, but figure ~1% IBA could be helpful, particularly at chop points of major root lines?

- Two of the three trees are completely bare, whereas one has just barely started budding out. Do 'standard' aftercare recommendations of full/partial shade for X number of weeks, equally apply for them all or is as much photosynthesis as possible, ASAP, the goal?

Thanks in advance everyone, for any and all advice.

 

[ThirdCoastBorn]

Forgot to include photos of the three trees: Two Cedar Elms (Ulmus crassifolia) and one Gum Bumelia (Sideroxylon lanuginosum). I only targeted smaller trees since these are my first ones and I presume the aftercare is relatively easier.

 

[peterbone]

The pot size should be as small as possible to contain the roots. This is important because newly collected trees don't have the roots to take in a lot of water. You don't want them sitting in a lot of water. The pot can be deep, but not too wide as a wide pot will have a large perched water table and too much excess water.

You want to keep them shaded at first since they won't have enough roots for full photosynthesis at first. Some people place them in bags to keep them warm and humid. However, it really depends on how much roots you got.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

THe name Gum Bumelia threw me for a loop, never head of it. So I hit the books. Sure enough there are 8 species of Sideroxylon growing here in various parts of the southeastern and southern USA. Interesting. I will be curious as to how these grow and perform as bonsai.

The trees you collected are young. and small. You will have to grow them out for a number of years to get the diameter of their trunks up into a good range for bonsai. All your trees have movement, which is good. The elms will develop quickly, just a few years. The Sideroxylon I have no idea how fast or slow it grows.

Think about the size of bonsai displayed at your local club. Most importantly notice the diameter of the trunks of trees that club members crowd around and call ''good''. Most of these trees have trunks over 2 inches in diameter, the ones that attract attention are probably 4 inches or more in diameter. Yet these fat trunks will be on trees only 2 feet tall. Ponder this

When you are out scouting for trees, look for trees with trunks about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, and have interesting movement in the first 6 inches. It doesn't matter if the tree is 6 or even 10 feet tall, look for an interesting trunk roughly as thick as your wrist. Then see if you can dig it, usually only one or two out of 20 to 100 trees can be dug, depends on local soil and geography. Generally you cut off anything over about 3 feet tall when you collect, if you can get away with it. Point is, collecting a trunk large enough in diameter that you don't have to spend years bulking up a tree is important. it saves time, it is the whole reason to look for and collect trees.

 

[Housguy]

Welcome to the world of collecting trees in the wild, I love it, it is like prospecting for bonsai nuts. I have bonsai fever for sure, lol. Going on my 4th trip this march in the white mountains for Utah Junipers