Mavis, my yew

[Dav4]

This is a yew, Taxus cuspidata (I think), that I collected from my In-laws front yard outside Rochester, NY 4 years ago. I named it "Mavis", in honor of my Mother in law. Here is a pictureof the tree right after collection.

 

[Dav4]

Here is the tree 2 years ago. I spent alot of time working on the deadwood during the summer of '09'. Early in 2010, I re-potted in this Dale Colchoy drum.

 

[Dav4]

Here is the tree today. I've done a little more carving over the last 6 months. I'm hoping to start wiring the canopy out soon. I'd say that yews don't mind the summer heat we get in the SE as this tree has continued to grow nicely, though perhaps a bit slower.

 

[Dan W.]

Great material! And I really like where you're going with it.

Thanks for sharing the progression. Please keep us posted as you continue working on it.

 

[JudyB]

Dav4, I just hope you never have a spat with your in-laws!
It's a very nice progression, shows what taking your time with something can achieve.

 

[Alex DeRuiter]

Absolutely amazing carving job! That yew has an awesome base, too. Great material.

 

[Dav4]

Thanks Judy. For the record, I've never had a spat with my mother in law...can't say the same for her hubby, though.

 

[Dav4]

Absolutely amazing carving job! That yew has an awesome base, too. Great material.

Thanks Alex. The the original carving on this material was completed almost entirely by hand, using either jin pliers or hand chisels and carvers. Yew deadwood is VERY hard and quite difficult to reduce by tearing at the fibers (I learned that the hard way). Eventually, I busted out the die grinder and dremel to create some of the hollows. Just like the canopy, the deadwood portion of the trunk isn't finished...portions still need to be cleaned of old bark, reduced, etc.

 

[Ron Dennis]

Really like the tree and the pot.

Your said the yew is doing well in the SE and I see you are in N. Georgia. I have wondered about a yew and this gives me incentive to go ahead. Have you been to Plant City Bonsai in Clermont? Great place if you have not.

 

[Dav4]

Thanks Ron. I was concerned about bringing my yews south back in '09', but it appears to not have been a concern worth worrying about. Yes, I have been to Plant City Bonsai and need to get back up there soon.

Dave

 

[crust]

Very nice stuff. Wishing I had some yews.

 

[Alex DeRuiter]

Thanks Alex. The the original carving on this material was completed almost entirely by hand, using either jin pliers or hand chisels and carvers. Yew deadwood is VERY hard and quite difficult to reduce by tearing at the fibers (I learned that the hard way). Eventually, I busted out the die grinder and dremel to create some of the hollows. Just like the canopy, the deadwood portion of the trunk isn't finished...portions still need to be cleaned of old bark, reduced, etc.

I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the long run. Deadwood on yews always seems to have a distinct look to me. I hope I can create something half as good when I start working on deadwood carving. Thank you for the inspiration!

 

[Dav4]

I finished the initial wiring about a month ago, but only got around to taking a pic this am. The tree is pushing alot of lush new growth this year.

 

[mcpesq817]

Looking really good. I'm working on a few collected yews myself, and am really impressed by how well they respond to bonsai techniques. They are like a poor man's juniper

 

[Dav4]

Looking really good. I'm working on a few collected yews myself, and am really impressed by how well they respond to bonsai techniques. They are like a poor man's juniper

I couldn't agree more...I'm always surprised at the relative lack of interest in this species for bonsai material, at least here in N. America.

 

[fore]

Dave, this spring, I bought a lg. field grown yew with some nice deadwood at the base, but not as nice as yours. Looks awful now though with three trunks with big ol' 'pom poms' LOL. Since it was dug up, I'm treating it like a collected one and just potted it up in a wooden training box of Turface, Lava, and grit. Going to leave it untouched the rest of the year to stabilize it. Though, it's already pushing new growth out, which is very nice to see.

Since this is a new species for me, I read up on them a bit. They do backbud on old wood, and one article said to use an ice pick to punture the live vein where you want the new buds to be. Has anyone heard or used this technique? Sounded very strange to me.
Also read they like the shade, yet mine is out in full sun and thriving. Do you keep yours in the shade?

I really like what you've done with this yew Dave! I'm with Alex, Fantastic job carving out those huge trunks into realistic looking deadwood! I'd love to read about your thinking process of the carving, like what you did first, why, and did you simply try to emulate the new deadwood finer carvings with the existing deadwood...like following grain? When I 'try' to carve, tools/dremel or die grinder, I always am unsure what to do when, how aggressive I want to be (turns out never enough when I look at work like yours), and how to make it look real. Anyway, love where you're going with this yew and look forward to seeing it's progression!

Chris

 

[mcpesq817]

I couldn't agree more...I'm always surprised at the relative lack of interest in this species for bonsai material, at least here in N. America.

Me too. There are lots of people looking to remove old landscape yews, often for free. I collected two last year, one with a 4" trunk and another with a 6"+ trunk for free. I can't afford a similarly priced juniper Yews might not look like much above the ground, but the true base is usually several inches under ground. So, you often get a nice surprise when digging them out. The main roots tend to flare out as well, rather than go straight down, which makes for a great base and relatively easy collection.

I do like juniper foliage more, but prefer the reddish yew bark. The really great thing is that you can almost treat them like deciduous material when working the tops and root mass. On recently collected yews, I've taken them home, cut back old thick roots and hosed off all the field soil without any issues, which I would never do with a juniper. I'm also shocked at how much root growth you can get out of them if you put them in a 100% inorganic mix.

 

[mcpesq817]

Since this is a new species for me, I read up on them a bit. They do backbud on old wood, and one article said to use an ice pick to punture the live vein where you want the new buds to be. Has anyone heard or used this technique? Sounded very strange to me.
Also read they like the shade, yet mine is out in full sun and thriving. Do you keep yours in the shade?

Mine seem to backbud on old wood all over without resorting to methods like using an ice pick. With plenty of sun and cutting it back, it seems like you usually can get very good backbudding.

I heard the same thing about keeping them in shade, but mine seemed to respond a lot better when I moved them to full sun, where I've kept them ever since. I also heard they like it dry, but I water mine every day - it probably helps that I have them in a 100% inorganic mix.

 

[fore]

Mine seem to backbud on old wood all over without resorting to methods like using an ice pick. With plenty of sun and cutting it back, it seems like you usually can get very good backbudding.

I heard the same thing about keeping them in shade, but mine seemed to respond a lot better when I moved them to full sun, where I've kept them ever since. I also heard they like it dry, but I water mine every day - it probably helps that I have them in a 100% inorganic mix.

That's great to hear you don't have to insult the tree to get back budding! With that in mind, I'm more at ease having the pom poms lol Also, interesting you're keeping yours in sunlight too. Maybe they should say they thrive 'also' in the shade?
(You've got some great trees btw Dave, this one, and that RMJ are really quite nice!)

 

[Dav4]

Dave, this spring, I bought a lg. field grown yew with some nice deadwood at the base, but not as nice as yours. Looks awful now though with three trunks with big ol' 'pom poms' LOL. Since it was dug up, I'm treating it like a collected one and just potted it up in a wooden training box of Turface, Lava, and grit. Going to leave it untouched the rest of the year to stabilize it. Though, it's already pushing new growth out, which is very nice to see.

Since this is a new species for me, I read up on them a bit. They do backbud on old wood, and one article said to use an ice pick to punture the live vein where you want the new buds to be. Has anyone heard or used this technique? Sounded very strange to me.
Also read they like the shade, yet mine is out in full sun and thriving. Do you keep yours in the shade?

I really like what you've done with this yew Dave! I'm with Alex, Fantastic job carving out those huge trunks into realistic looking deadwood! I'd love to read about your thinking process of the carving, like what you did first, why, and did you simply try to emulate the new deadwood finer carvings with the existing deadwood...like following grain? When I 'try' to carve, tools/dremel or die grinder, I always am unsure what to do when, how aggressive I want to be (turns out never enough when I look at work like yours), and how to make it look real. Anyway, love where you're going with this yew and look forward to seeing it's progression!

Chris

Yews are understory trees and will tolerate a fair amount of shade. Having said that, they grow equally well with more sun. Down here in GA, all my trees are in full midday sun for about 3 to 4.5 hours, plus or minus a bit. As far as getting back budding, particularly on old wood, I think the key is to aggressively cut back on strongly growing branches...I'm not familiar with the "ice pick" method, but I have heard injuring the bark might cause adventitious buds to pop...never done it myself.

I appreciate your comments about the carving...I honestly am surprised at how well it turned out. A few things concerning the carving should be mentioned. The base of the trunk (to the right) was originally done by carpenter ants, and I think they did an amazing job (you can see what I'm talking about in the first picture above). My job was to continue what the ants had done and make it look as seemless as possible. I started by using a chisel and jin pliers, slowly removing wood an pulling fibers with the grain, basically extending what the ants had started into the upper trunk. This took a LONG time, and I was never quite sure of the outcome. Trying to reduce and carve the branch stubs with pliers was inneffective and unrewarding, so I decided to break out the die grinder and do some hollowing. Over the subsequent two years, I've used various bits with the die grinder and dremel to refine the superficial carving as well as to deepen and add character to the hollows. All of the carving I've done on my trees has been done over a period of YEARS...it evolves, along with my understanding of what is needed, over time. Overcarving a good piece of material can ruin it, so taking your time is warranted