Some collected "Eastern" trees to discuss

[Tachigi]

Not to let Jason show off the wests gems. I thought I'd represent for the east coast . These English yews were collected about 8 weeks ago. For the exception of the big twin trunk which was collected last fall and the yew in the Erin Pottery container which was collected 2 years ago. The newly collected stuff seems all happy as they are all throwing buds on extremely old wood. These yews are a minimum of sixty years old. If anyone wants to discuss these trees and would like a another angled shot feel free to ask and I will be more than happy to post them.

The first yew is probably my favorite out of the 20 I collected. It has an extremely wide flair at the bottom almost like a linebackers shoulders. I think this will be an impressive piece a few years down the road.

The second yew has a very large trunk and don't be fooled there is size able nebari on the right side. When potted it was not exposed for some reason, will have to talk to Taylor about that one. I think there are a lot of possibilities for this trunk.

The third is not as majestic a piece but is a solid tree in its own right. I like it for its flared meaty tush

 

[Tachigi]

This twin trunk in my experience is pretty rare in these parts. You seldom get a yew of this size with two large trunks. This as I said in the last post was collected last fall and barely had any foliage when collected. It has responded beautifully and put of copious amounts of new growth. I jokingly call this tree Fat man and Little boy because I think it will be Da Bomb one day when completed.

The dead wood on this tree is really the the feature. It was touch and go for a while because of a root that protruded out the back side midway up the tree. It need to be removed when potted in this Erin pot. Needless to say the tree didn't like that much as it was a root about the size of a quarter. I lost the apex and a back branch due to it. The tree has recovered and is growing vigourosly and a new design style that maybe better is just in the offing.

 

[JasonG]

Hey Tom,

You are representin' the East pretty good!! Were these Yews collected from a landscape or the wild? We have a ton of yew around here, mostly landscape diggin' to be done and some in the woods. I have yet to collect or add one to my collection, one day perhaps!

I really like the deadwood on the last one that you posted. It has a nice natural feel to it, no makita marks!!! I think all of these are going to make very good trees in the future, the trunks and nebari are great on all of them.

Am I correct in my thinking that they back bud very well, almost like a redwood right? Good trees, and thanks for sharing. I think Taylor needs to be put on weed pulling duties to remind her to plant on the correct angle, lol!

Thanks for sharing!

Jason

 

[Tachigi]

Hiya Jason

Were these Yews collected from a landscape or the wild?

That question is like the statement is a glass half full or empty I have a spot that used to be a nursery/growing ground. Way back In the early sixties they shut the doors with all this material in the ground. Nobody has touched it since except the deer. So I think the fair thing to say is that its wild with urban roots

Am I correct in my thinking that they back bud very well, almost like a redwood right? Good trees, and thanks for sharing.

If healthy they bud back to a fault. Old wood doesn't hinder them at all. I have some Dawn Redwoods in the field cooking and I personally feel that yews bud back more prolifically than the redwoods. I know people say that a juniper is great starter material for someone entering bonsai. I think yews have junipers beat hands down. Unless you pour bleach on them or cut off a quarter size root , they are extremely forgiving and easy to work on.

 

[rlist]

Tom-

These are some great trees! I too love the one in the Erin pot. I wonder if our British friend Tony Tickle ever visits the site - he could give us some great input on styling the yew.

I collected a shohin yew this winter. It was growing wild on the side of the road and looked like it had potential. I knew it would never be a great tree, though I hoped that I would come across one like you show above someday - so it became an expiriment. It was way overgrown, so I cut 70% of the foliage and 100% barerooted it. Just wanted to see what would happen. Well... It has somewhat responded by pushing new growth and backbudding all the way down the trunk. I still give it 50/50, but I am holding out hope.

Can you give a little insight on the collecting tollerance these have to add to the finite sized database of dark matter in my skull???

 

[Dwight]

OK , I'll have to agree with the Oregon gang on this. The second shot in post #2 is killer. Too bad it's to hot for those varmits down here. They remind me of my beloved Junies

 

[Rick Moquin]

Nice stock Tom! I like the fluidity of the twin trunks (pic1) and well number five well it just sucks but I would volunter to take it off your hands, as not to detract the rest of your collection.

 

[BONSAI_OUTLAW]

Nice stock Tom. I have a question for you. If one were to fnd one of these could they be cut back to zero green foliage in the late winter/early spring if they are healthy?

 

[Tachigi]

Can you give a little insight on the collecting tollerance these have to add to the finite sized database of dark matter in my skull???

LOL...dark matter? Sure Rich, I'll tell you what I've learned in the last 8 years of collecting these for what its worth. In Pa these grow in a heavy red clay. When I started I would strip about half the root ball and and leave the rest in its native soil. Well, recovery was slow and made the pot really heavy. So after about 3 years of that nonsense I decided that a change was in order. I brought a pressure washer in from work and bear rooted these guys so that I had nothing but a river of red clay in the yard and a bundle of white spaghetti for a root base. When collecting I always cut back to the inner most buds/shoots leaving about three on each branch, not only does this help with new buds breaking further in lateron. It also makes it a lot easier to hump these guys out to the truck....did I mention that the red clay was heavy. In the spring when we get the first flush of buds. Right as they are opening I'll pinch the new shoots and needle pluck some of the old foliage. This produces a unbelievable second flush which enhances the buds from the first flush that broke on old wood. These guys as I said in the beginning are very accommodating and really easy to work with. Don't know if that answered your question but I hope it helped. Thanks for the comments.

 

[rlist]

LOL...dark matter?

Yeah, you know: Unknown substance, you're sure its there, you don't know what it really does, kinda heavy, etc, etc, etc... Did I mention my sister is a physicist and she has great analogies???

Anyway, thanks. It does help. It gives me inspiration and makes me lean towards the first 50% of its chances...

 

[Tachigi]

Dwight glad you like. That tree has had that said about it before I posted an older pic to show you where it was headed before the dreaded root came of and the tree had a tantrum.

well number five well it just sucks but I would volunteer to take it off your hands, as not to detract the rest of your collection.

Thanks Rick .... LOL ... its nice to have friends that will watch out for your best interest

If one were to fnd one of these could they be cut back to zero green foliage in the late winter/early spring if they are healthy?

Hey Jase, I know of a person that has done it successfully at that time of year. I have cut them down to a small shoot about the size of your little finger. I didn't have the cojones to commit to a no foliage trunk chop. As I said above, if you wait, it will throw a bud low on old wood. Let it grow and when you have a small shoot chop away.

Thanks guys for the comments

 

[Taylor Brown]

I think Taylor needs to be put on weed pulling duties to remind her to plant on the correct angle, lol!

I thought you were a friend Mr. Jason, besides my sister and I already do that This tree is aas almost as big as me it was really hard to pot. Dad said I was to do this on my own. In return I got this one which is much lighter. We collected this one last year. He kept the good stuff for the business I like this one its small and easy to work with. I have already started wirng branches and working on the deed wood.

 

[irene_b]

In return I got this one which is much lighter. We collected this one last year. I like this one its small and easy to work with. I have already started wirng branches and working on the deed wood.

I agree with you Taylor! Much lighter is better! Good job so far
Irene

 

[tom tynan]

Tom's collected Yews are great...and although finding an overgrown landscape Yew is possible here on the East Coast- it almost never has foliage in tight to the trunk - so it takes some work to move Yew foliage three to four feet from the perimeter down to the base. I have never seen Yew back-bud on a branch stripped of all foliage....

The other problem with East Coast Yews is that they always seem to be clumpers or "hedge-hogs" with 20 branches coming from a central stump - not easy to work with. Tom's Yews all have a nice powerful trunk with good movement.

Hey Tom...do you think it is better to dig out the Yew and then prune to induce tighter budding or is it better to work with it still in the ground over time pruning back the branches?

My own experience with digging up Yews is that washing off the native soil is key to preventing root root. They have very white fleshy roots. Get your crow bars and pry bars ready because the tap root can be a monster to find and cut. It is good to do this work on a Saturday so you can lay on the couch on Sunday and recover for Monday's return to work...

Tom

 

[Anonymous User]

I love Yews.

Tom, do you find the habit of branches wanting to grow straight up and return after wiring as annoying as I do? How do you get around this?


Will

 

[Tachigi]

Hey Tom...do you think it is better to dig out the Yew and then prune to induce tighter budding or is it better to work with it still in the ground over time pruning back the branches?

Hi Tom, Really depends on the size if its like this one (see picture) with an approximate 19 inch nebari then some prep work in the ground is always best. In fact I have 6 of these uber size guys in the ground all cut down with a partial root sever. They should be ready for the pot next spring. If it is smaller like the ones pictured above I do a hack and wack to the three inner most buds or shoots when I pull them. They will pop like crazy on the next flush. To tell the truth I really have never had a hard time getting them to bud back on old wood where I needed buds. In this case, I will usually wire the branch and bend it after a season I can almost bet on the fact that I'll have bud pop in that tight bend.

Thanks for the comments Tom.

 

[Tachigi]

Tom, do you find the habit of branches wanting to grow straight up and return after wiring as annoying as I do? How do you get around this?

Will, not sure if i understand your question. If you are referring to a branch with memory, I would suggest heavier wire and to leave it on longer. To be honest I have never really experienced that problem since most my branches are grown from shoot or bud, or the wood is carved and then takes a set.

 

[Jay Wilson]

Tom,
This is some really good looking material and the dicussion about them is even better.
I have no experience with stock this nice and no experience with yews either, so I can't really contribute much.

I do very much like the last tree with the deadwood.... Beautiful!

Thanks for sharing,

Jay

 

[Dale Cochoy]

These are some nice stock.
Yews have long been one of my favorite trees for bonsai and I'm glad to see them used more and more here in the USA.

The Europeans seem to have some primo stock.

The best yews I have ever seen as bonsai ( and biggest) were at the Seoul, Korea 3rd. World Convention in '97.
Heres a bad picture of one at the entrance with my translator.

Just today I was doing a cutback on one I saved for "Dale" out of many I had collected for demos and workshops such as here :
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/f14/ibs-i-hope-see-ya-there-13904.html

To answer Wills question. Will, The problem you have with shoots wanting to grow straight up as they come out probably lies in the variety. I have noticed this with pyramidal growth varieties. The more globular varieties don't do this. My favorite is "Wardii" which is a cross of euro yew and Japanese yew.
Regards,
Dale

 

[Tachigi]

First of all let me say that the picture of the yew at World Convention in '97 is outstanding and the translator aint half bad either.

Dale, the Yews you displayed are they baccata?