Ponderosa Yamadori Trip Report

[Colorado Josh]

This weekend I went out looking for some pine. I spent most of Friday getting turned around due to snow and mud. I did find a few Rocky Mountain Juniper that were of interest. I'll have to head back to those locations later this spring.

I went farther into the desert to an area where I had previously seen ponderosa on a high ridge. When I got up there I was blown away by the number of small trees in the rocks and crevices. There were a lot of Utah Juniper and Pinon Pine, but I was there for the Ponderosa. After hiking around most of Saturday I finally found a tree that I felt was the right size, shape, and potential for collectibility. The place that I was at was one of about 6 ridges that all contain pine. I can not wait to get back out there again this spring.

 

[Fonz]

Damn, if you can get those out you'll be good for a few years

 

[Woocash]

Proper yamadori. Number 5 has been attending workshops without you!

 

[Maloghurst]

Those are definitely some amazing trees. The root mass on the one you collected looks a little small, hope it recovers.
That place looks magical.

 

[jimib]

I find 3 & 4 flat out badass. Nice place to collect...

 

[Colorado Josh]

The only downside to this location is that the rock is all sandstone. Many of the roots went pretty deep and most of the trees were snug in their spot. The tree that I collected had a tap root that unfortunately had to cut. But there was a surprising amount of fine roots in the pocket. Hopefully it takes.

Does anybody else have experience collecting from sandstone?

Overall it was a pretty magical day. I even found a large cave that at appearance no white man had ever stepped into. At the least, had not been looted.

Thanks for your comments

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Those are definitely some amazing trees. The root mass on the one you collected looks a little small, hope it recovers.
That place looks magical.

It should. It has enough bandages.

 

[Potawatomi13]

EXCELLENT trees! Give good aftercare and should be OK. Rock pockets best for collecting and if tree feels solidly anchored best to leave alone.
Find anything of interest in rock shelter?

 

[Colorado Josh]

EXCELLENT trees! Give good aftercare and should be OK. Rock pockets best for collecting and if tree feels solidly anchored best to leave alone.
Find anything of interest in rock shelter?

Just some burned wood, a stone scraper, and a really old piece of antler. Im guessing Ute, possibly ancestral puebloan.

 

[Cascading-Echinocactus]

The only downside to this location is that the rock is all sandstone. Many of the roots went pretty deep and most of the trees were snug in their spot. The tree that I collected had a tap root that unfortunately had to cut. But there was a surprising amount of fine roots in the pocket. Hopefully it takes.

Does anybody else have experience collecting from sandstone?

Overall it was a pretty magical day. I even found a large cave that at appearance no white man had ever stepped into. At the least, had not been looted.

Thanks for your comments

An estwing rock hammer is a good investment for times like this. It acts as a hammer/pick/chisel and is good for for digging out chunks of rocks where the main taproot has dug down deep. I have found,in sandstone, that if the main taproot does go down deep then it resurfaces in a pocket of debris proximal to the tree. Using the hammer you can gradually bust away at the rock until the whole taproot is fully exposed. Usually this is directly below where the tree is but I have found it on the sides too.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice Ponderosa pines.

But why would you dismiss pinion pine, they can be just as good, and they have shorter needles, which means they will be better proportioned bonsai. Ponderosa never quite come into ideal proportions. We grow them because of their wonderful wild trunks. But if you can fins a good pinion pine with ancient looking trunk, it potentially could become a "better bonsai" than Ponderosa. Same with Limber pine.

I have a couple Ponderosa I love. Once they have trunks over 100 years old, they are hard to beat.

 

[parhamr]

I’ll take tree number 3 please

 

[Colorado Josh]

Nice Ponderosa pines.

But why would you dismiss pinion pine, they can be just as good, and they have shorter needles, which means they will be better proportioned bonsai. Ponderosa never quite come into ideal proportions. We grow them because of their wonderful wild trunks. But if you can fins a good pinion pine with ancient looking trunk, it potentially could become a "better bonsai" than Ponderosa. Same with Limber pine.

I have a couple Ponderosa I love. Once they have trunks over 100 years old, they are hard to beat.

There were some really nice pinon up there. I bypassed them because I haven't had any luck in the past. That and they can take a while to recover. At least that's my understanding. Have you had much luck with pinon?

 

[Nicholas Box]

Pinon have to spend nearly the entire year after collection in a protected area/raise bed/shade, in my experience.

 

[Atom#28]

I’ll take tree number 3 please

yeah that one is magic

 

[Cascading-Echinocactus]

Nice Ponderosa pines.

But why would you dismiss pinion pine, they can be just as good, and they have shorter needles, which means they will be better proportioned bonsai. Ponderosa never quite come into ideal proportions. We grow them because of their wonderful wild trunks. But if you can fins a good pinion pine with ancient looking trunk, it potentially could become a "better bonsai" than Ponderosa. Same with Limber pine.

I have a couple Ponderosa I love. Once they have trunks over 100 years old, they are hard to beat.

They make useful (aged) and interesting (flexibility) understock at the very least. There is a lot one could do with older ponderosa trunks that can't be done as easily on most other pine species.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I’ll take tree number 3 please

.

Yeah, me too . Keep shopping Randy and one will turn up.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

I’ll take tree number 3 please

Me also!!

 

[Colorado Josh]

#3 is Sexy AF! But I doubt I could find that thing again. I searched a roughly 250 acre area, with thousands of pinon, pondo, and Utah. Next time I head out im bringing a rock hammer and search the adjacent mesas. The goods are there, just gotta find the right one.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Just an idea, if you're going to the trouble of scouting large areas maybe get a GPS tracking app? then you could retrace your route.
Think there is a way mark specific locations on google maps too, although I've not tried it.