Gabler
Masterpiece
Fagus grandifolia is possibly my favorite species of tree, so when I found this specimen dwarfed by grazing animals, probably including a beaver, I couldn't pass it up. I don't live in a mountainous area, so it's rare that I find real yamadori. The best I can usually hope for is a thick trunk with a few forked branches to prune away for instant taper. Moreover, the leaves had a rich, copper color, rather than a pale beige. I don't know how much of the color is genetic and how much is environmental, but I'm hoping to get that color next winter.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a great rootball. Although the trunk and branches were dwarfed by grazing animals, the roots spread wide, and they didn't hold soil when I pulled up the root ball. I did, however, collect a large amount of mycelium to carry back and mix in with my bonsai soil. Hopefully, that helps the tree to compensate for a poor root ball. I've included a picture of the mycelium clinging to the rootball of another tree I collected a few feet away. It was about three inches of humus and fungus covering the forest floor in that area, plus another inch of leaf chunks, plus three more inches on top of that were whole leaves from the previous year. Not a smidgen of inorganic matter in the rootball.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a great rootball. Although the trunk and branches were dwarfed by grazing animals, the roots spread wide, and they didn't hold soil when I pulled up the root ball. I did, however, collect a large amount of mycelium to carry back and mix in with my bonsai soil. Hopefully, that helps the tree to compensate for a poor root ball. I've included a picture of the mycelium clinging to the rootball of another tree I collected a few feet away. It was about three inches of humus and fungus covering the forest floor in that area, plus another inch of leaf chunks, plus three more inches on top of that were whole leaves from the previous year. Not a smidgen of inorganic matter in the rootball.
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