My first Yamadori Beech - advice?

[ThePecha7]

Hello bonsai nuts, I’m the new guy!
Location: Scotland
Bonsai obsession: About a year
Trees added to collection in that time: About 20. All yamadori except a few pine and one larch I have grown from seed.
I am in forestry so I have plenty of opportunity to spot yamadori and can’t resist bringing them home.

This post is about the first tree I collected successfully (the first died and looking back on it wasn’t the best tree anyway) it’s a beech and it has been in this pot for a year now.

I will post pics of it’s progression. I don’t have any of it’s original form, so the first pic does show it after a bit of a prune. I then pruned it to the best of my knowledge (which wasn’t much - still isn’t) then wired it and tied it down. I took the wire off about a month ago but left the main limbs tied down as it will take longer for them to set in.

The buds are starting to swell now so I’m starting to think what my next plan should be. Do I repot it into a bonsai pot with a proper bonsai mix? I feel like all the growth is quite far from the main stem? So should I prune to encourage some growth closer to the main stem? Could it handle both?

I really am looking for advice here from some bonsai veterans. What would you do with this tree?

Thanks in advance. Look forward to sharing my other progressions

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

The Scots keep coming!

Sorce

 

[penumbra]

I can't say where to go with this but it is a beauty. This is the type of plant I would study a long time before determining a direction as there are so many paths to take. Sometimes I look at a plant for years before deciding a course. But I try to keep them at their healthiest so they will respond well to my decision, which is seldom my ultimate decision.

 

[AlainK]

Welcome to the forum.
I remember a few words like "slanjivar" (not sure if this is exactly what it sounds like what I heard in 1976-77, but in my recessing memory it sounded a little bit like what I heard in northern Ireland 2 years ago, "slainte"...

Anyway, I second what "penumbra" (the one who doesn't like full sun ) said. So far, it looks very healthy so I would repot it in a shallower container or pot so that the roots can develop more horizontally. Generally speaking, I think it's more difficult to improve the roots than the aerial part, although it's possible to air-layer beech that have developped "ugly" roots.

 

[ThePecha7]

Thanks for the reply guys, and sorry for the late reply!

I think I will do like you say and reply to a shallow container. I’ve been thinking though and I can’t quite remember if this beech had a big tap root. If it does then what’s the best way to deal with that in order to get it in a shallow pot? Is it safe to cut the tap off if there’s plenty of smaller roots?

cheers

 

[Paulpash]

Hello bonsai nuts, I’m the new guy!
Location: Scotland
Bonsai obsession: About a year
Trees added to collection in that time: About 20. All yamadori except a few pine and one larch I have grown from seed.
I am in forestry so I have plenty of opportunity to spot yamadori and can’t resist bringing them home.

This post is about the first tree I collected successfully (the first died and looking back on it wasn’t the best tree anyway) it’s a beech and it has been in this pot for a year now.

I will post pics of it’s progression. I don’t have any of it’s original form, so the first pic does show it after a bit of a prune. I then pruned it to the best of my knowledge (which wasn’t much - still isn’t) then wired it and tied it down. I took the wire off about a month ago but left the main limbs tied down as it will take longer for them to set in.

The buds are starting to swell now so I’m starting to think what my next plan should be. Do I repot it into a bonsai pot with a proper bonsai mix? I feel like all the growth is quite far from the main stem? So should I prune to encourage some growth closer to the main stem? Could it handle both?

I really am looking for advice here from some bonsai veterans. What would you do with this tree?

Thanks in advance. Look forward to sharing my other progressions
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Usually, I'd be up by the Scottish border at Kielder in the Summer. Not looking good atm