Intro and Wild Tree Identification Question

jasonpg

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My name is Jason, and I'm from Michigan. My wife and I are currently setting up a small Japanese-style garden area and I've been looking around our house for material to work with to create bonsai. I came across this tree, but I'm having trouble positively identifying it.

jcmP5BR.jpg


BQ7HjuU.jpg


I like the shape of the trunk, and would have to do an angled chop to create taper eventually.

Does anyone know what this is?
 

BrianBay9

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Looks like an American elm. Can be a good choice for species, but looks like you'll have a pretty challenging dig with a tree this size.

Brian
 

Poink88

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Looks like Brian IDed it correctly.

IF this is like my local (cedar) elm)..it is fairly easy to dig and good survival rate too even w/ very little fine roots...IF done in the right time which is in spring before bud break.

I collected & trunk chopped several CE w/ trunk from 2" - 5" (much wider at the base) and most survived.

Nice trunk but the leaves are much bigger than CE. Hope it reduces well.

Good luck!
 

Vance Wood

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My name is Jason, and I'm from Michigan. My wife and I are currently setting up a small Japanese-style garden area and I've been looking around our house for material to work with to create bonsai. I came across this tree, but I'm having trouble positively identifying it.

jcmP5BR.jpg


BQ7HjuU.jpg


I like the shape of the trunk, and would have to do an angled chop to create taper eventually.

Does anyone know what this is?

It's growing in a beautiful bed of Poison ivy. Unless you can amply protect yourself I would leave it alone.
 

M. Frary

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Welcome. What part of Michigan? That tree looks like a hophornbeam. I got one. Is it in the middle of the woods. Or is it along the edge. The elms like to be in the open. The hophornbeam likes to be under other other trees such as beech, ash and maple.
 

Poink88

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It's growing in a beautiful bed of Poison ivy. Unless you can amply protect yourself I would leave it alone.

I thought so but I wasn't positive so did not mention it. That could be a deal breaker...it is for me.
 

jasonpg

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Welcome. What part of Michigan? That tree looks like a hophornbeam. I got one. Is it in the middle of the woods. Or is it along the edge. The elms like to be in the open. The hophornbeam likes to be under other other trees such as beech, ash and maple.

I was leaning toward hophornbeam. I'm in Mid-Michigan .. near Lansing.

It's in the middle of the woods under the canopy of the trees. I haven't seen any/many hophornbeams that have been used in Bonsai ... do you have a photo of yours?

Regarding poison ivy ... there are many three leafed plants around, but none of them that I've come across yet are poison ivy.
 

Vance Wood

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I was leaning toward hophornbeam. I'm in Mid-Michigan .. near Lansing.

It's in the middle of the woods under the canopy of the trees. I haven't seen any/many hophornbeams that have been used in Bonsai ... do you have a photo of yours?

Regarding poison ivy ... there are many three leafed plants around, but none of them that I've come across yet are poison ivy.

I hope you are right. Three years ago when my wife and I were trying to clean up and sell my mother's house, apparently there was a patch of it my wife got into. I cannot tell you how miserable she became and she still has the scars to show for it. I do not seem to be allergic to it ----yet, and I did not have a problem but you never know when that immunity will wear off due to overexposure.
 

M. Frary

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It's just a stump at the moment. With a couple buds. Regular hornbeam works so maybe these too? I'm giving it a try. Looks to be a real slow grower. The cool thing is that it had a lot of feeder roots at time of the dig. I'll get a picture when I get home. It's in this forum somewhere but I can't remember the name of the thread.
 

GrimLore

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I hope you are right. Three years ago when my wife and I were trying to clean up and sell my mother's house, apparently there was a patch of it my wife got into. I cannot tell you how miserable she became and she still has the scars to show for it. I do not seem to be allergic to it ----yet, and I did not have a problem but you never know when that immunity will wear off due to overexposure.

It does not bother me either but my Wife really has to avoid it. Her Dad was a Landscaper years back and if she did the laundry she would break out if her Dad was working on it or in it from just handling his clothes. I mention that so people do not accidently expose loved ones.

Grimmy
 

coh

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Most of that stuff on the ground doesn't really look like the poison ivy I'm familiar with, but admittedly it's hard to tell from the photo. I know there are variations in the exact leaf shape/size, and that there are other similar plants (poison oak, etc) that are similar. In any case - if it is poison ivy, be aware that the roots are also poisonous...so be careful when digging and cleaning out the tree's root system.
 

jkd2572

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I weed eated a large area that had poison ivy in it. Unknowingly.... I was wearing shorts and flip flops. It got sprayed all over my legs, feet and arms. It was miserable.
 

johng

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difficult to tell from the pic but this could certainly by hophornbeam. I have several seedlings but none that are really bonsai. I was part of team that put together this Hophornbeam slab planting for the NC Arboretum. I think we put this together in 1999....this photo is from 2009

Hophornbeam%2520landscape%2520e6%252C%252010-15-09.jpg
 

BrianBay9

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Could be hophornbeam, but most I've seen have a bit stringier bark and smaller leaves.

As far as three leaf plants go, I spent one day convinced I'd wandered into a massive patch of poison ivy - until I learned to tell the difference between it and box elder seedlings. Box elder, like all maples, have opposite leaves. Poison ivy leaf stems are alternate.

Hope that helps
Brian
 

Vance Wood

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Could be hophornbeam, but most I've seen have a bit stringier bark and smaller leaves.

As far as three leaf plants go, I spent one day convinced I'd wandered into a massive patch of poison ivy - until I learned to tell the difference between it and box elder seedlings. Box elder, like all maples, have opposite leaves. Poison ivy leaf stems are alternate.

Hope that helps
Brian
I would check out a google search and see what comes up. The photo in the beginning of this thread has Poison Ivy in the picture. Not all of it but it does not take that much does it?
 
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