First Yew Dig

[pwk5017]

I have been trying for awhile to find an opportunity where someone wanted old landscaping ripped out, and I think I finally found it. 3-4 yews of varying sizes, with this one being the biggest with the best picture of it. Ive never collected a yew before, and this one looks to be about 8' wide and 4-5' high with a 8-10" trunk. Its a whole lot of tree. I will be doing this solo, so I need to get it down to a size where A) I can carry it. B) I can fit it into the trunk of my hatchback. This is where you all come in. I can see very few interior buds, but some exist. Do I have to cut back to foliage, or can I treat these like a deciduous tree and expect prolific backbudding after chopping way back? Two, how much of a rootball do I have to capture? I am thinking a 20-24" diameter rootball is all im going to be able to lift and carry by myself. That alone will weigh 100+ pounds. It looks like a nice opportunity to get some big chunky material with a little bit of elbow grease. I guess before I go ahead and dig these, if I cut back and dig a rootball as I have diagrammed, what are the chances of survival, and having a usable piece of material? Anyone see a tree in that mass of multiple trunks?

Patrick

 

[michaelj]

Do these bud back easily? If these bud back well, this is a really nice find.

 

[Poink88]

No Yew experience so I will just cheer you on. That looks awesome and I wish you luck!

There are several people here who knows Yew collecting...BVF is one of them IIRC.

 

[berobinson82]

The yew I've chopped have budded back profusely. Even on a trunk that had no remaining foliage believe it or not.

 

[edprocoat]

Firs yew dig, then yew plant ......




ed

 

[mcpesq817]

I dug up a few landscape yews a few years ago. One thing I found was that they tend to have multiple planes of radial roots and really no tap root. You'll cut through the first plane, and then realize that you have to dig deeper to find the true base which is often much bigger. The wood isn't as hard as some trees, but a good saw helps. Since they don't seem to have tap roots, once you cut through the radial roots, I found it was pretty easy to rock the tree back and forth and eventually pop it out. That big one in your picture looks like a backbreaker, so hopefully you have some help

I've tried to keep as much root as practically possible, but I hacked the rootballs back pretty hard after collecting them, and tried to bare root them as much as possible. I even used a hose to get as much of the field soil out, as it was clay and incredibly heavy. Others say to mist and keep in shade, but I've left mine in mostly full sun with no misting and never had a problem.

Not sure about whether these will bud back on old wood. I always left some green at the ends of branches as I didn't want to take the chance.

Good luck!

 

[Poink88]

Others say to mist and keep in shade, but I've left mine in mostly full sun with no misting and never had a problem.

No experience with yew but I do the same on most trees I collect...especially the ones that have very little to no leaves. I find that the new growth when treated this way are much hardier than those that were protected under shade.

The heat exposure probably help hasten root growth too.

I always reduce leaves volume proportionate to the root ball (note I haven't done juni & will treat that differently if ever) and chop the trunk down as much as possible (to increase my root to trunk ratio). So far my survival rate is good using this formula.

 

[mcpesq817]

I always reduce leaves volume proportionate to the root ball (note I haven't done juni & will treat that differently if ever) and chop the trunk down as much as possible (to increase my root to trunk ratio). So far my survival rate is good using this formula.

The only thing that I would note here is to make sure you keep plenty of extra trunk to turn into deadwood. That can be a bit tricky when you bring home a multi-trunk shrub, but you just want to give yourself options down the road.

 

[Poink88]

The only thing that I would note here is to make sure you keep plenty of extra trunk to turn into deadwood. That can be a bit tricky when you bring home a multi-trunk shrub, but you just want to give yourself options down the road.

I agree. It is difficult to say everything in a message but I do leave everything that I may need later, be it for deadwood or other applications.

Some trees need it more than others and conifers (yew included) in general can use lots of deadwood.

 

[pwk5017]

It sounds like there is a pretty high chance of survival. I knew they were tough, and near bulletproof, but its nice to hear from some people who have dug one. Im not sure if I will have help or not. I need to see what the other 3 look like, and maybe ill be able to bribe another young guy from the bonsai club to help and take 2 for himself. If not then it will be a 14 round fight between me and the bush.

Yes, I assume there will be a ton of carving to make this a decent tree. I plan on leaving 2' of every branch to account for dieback and future carving.

 

[fore]

I dug 3 huge ones last yr. http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?11179-Anyone-interested-in-Chicago-Yew-Yamadori I might've lost one, the worst of the 3 fortunately, this winter. I'll find out in a few weeks? 20F today...unbelievable! Anyway, I did all 3 myself, a lot of work, but doable. Good luck!
Chris

 

[BonsaiRic]

Dug 10 Yews in 2006. Lost one a year after being dug. Will be able to style some this year and wait on a few to recover more. See HERE

 

[pwk5017]

Rid, your pictures are pretty informative. If you only lost one, I feel comfortable taking a root all on the medium/small side. I see huge yews everywhere, this first dig might really open up an area of material expansion!

 

[lordy]

Any pics of the victims here? We need updates! Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[pwk5017]

I am ready to dig them this weekend or next, but I am hesitant to dig them this weekend, because we have forecasted lows for next week around 29-30. Also, this winter and cold spring really have things behind, so I was wondering if I don't want to wait another week to let the plants kick into life. Any opinions on when to dig yews? I wouldn't mind advice on digging boxwoods either, I have 5 big ones I am going to dig.

Patrick

 

[Poink88]

I wouldn't mind advice on digging boxwoods either, I have 5 big ones I am going to dig.

That's around my alley.

Boxwood roots are close to the tree and usually near the surface. Only problem is sometimes, you can have multiple layer of roots IF the tree is constantly mulched. In this case the main nebari/root flare may be deeper. I am ruthless with my root chops on boxwood, fitting even (used to be) 8 feet tall trees (probably 50 years old) in relatively small containers like chopped 10 gallon pots or dish pans.

Here are the roots on an averaged size collected piece after 2 years
http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?14534-Roots-in-Turface-Potting-soil
and the progress...
http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?9218-Another-Boxwood-I-am-working-on

Just one of many I collected. As brutal as I treated them, I have not lost one yet (knock on wood).

You can also chop the top aggressively BUT LEAVE some leaves at the ends of branches you want to keep. Unless there are latent buds on it...it may never bud back and you can lose that branch.

I put mine in direct sunlight after collecting, no protection whatsoever. The new growth seem to be much healthier this way. They do love some afternoon shade and you can get greener leaves if you can provide that. Note that I am in Texas.

It is not particular with soil mixes either...as long as it is free draining.

Good luck!

 

[mcpesq817]

One option might be to dig them up, keep the soil on the rootball, and then heel them in the ground under mulch until you can get to them. I dug up a couple in October or November of 2012, and didn't have time to bareroot and put them in a container. So, I sat them on the ground, and put a bag or two of mulch over them. In spring 2013, I removed as much field soil as possible and repotted them into Anderson flats. They are still alive today - last weekend I flattened the rootball even more, got rid of the remaining field soil pockets, and put them in training pots.

Good luck!