To cut Yamadori or not

[The Warm Canuck]

I see many people who cut the tops of the trees of when they collect Yamadori, but I also see others that leave the foliage, saying that the leaves will help create new roots.

Let's say one is collecting a tree in ideal conditions, like spring at bud break. I understand that it may be easier to transport a tree in this manner, but does it also help in survival of the specimen?

Is this different from Conifers to Deciduous? (obviously Juniper is in a category of it's own, due to the energy mostly being in the foliage).

 

[August44]

I COLLECT A LOT OF YAMADORI CONIFERS AND DO NOT CUT OFF ANY FOLIAGE THAT IS ALIVE UNTIL I SEE THAT THE TREE IS HEALTHY AND GROWING, AND THEN NOT VERY MUCH UNTIL 2ND YEAR OR SO. I THINK ONE CAN DO MORE WHACKING ON DECIDUOUS THATY CONIFERS.

 

[Gr8tfuldad]

For me, any tree I dig up I see what comes up for roots and that dictates what I do up top. I see it is a mirror between the top and bottom. Not a lot of roots, I will remove foliage to prevent the tree from transpiring too much. Lots of roots, I’ll leave it be and let it get settled in it’s new home.
Last fall I chopped a few trees in the ground. I will collect this spring or next spring depending on the tree and health.
I am not a fan of chopping a tree when collecting. I feel it might be asking too much.

 

[PonderingSage:]

This l would say is really dependent on the type of tree. I hard cut the top and
bottom of most deciduous trees l collect.

Something like a juniper with only a few roots, l leave all the foliage to fuel root growth. In short time the tree will decide what to keep and what to shed if the roots are not there to support a certain branch.

 

[Ohmy222]

If I can keep some foliage then I do. Obviously a conifer has to have foliage. For deciduous I like to have foliage but you often don't since the foliage will be higher up. Most of the time you have to cut it all off but if there is a low branch I will cut back to that. For some like Hornbeams I find they often die back alot when chopped so I will chop high and asume some die back. If there is a branch I will cut back to that. Normally if there is a branch then it will not die back past that branch.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Foliage dropping conifers can be hacked, but in larch you'll need to leave a lot of buds. Cypresses, I believe, can be entirely bare trunks.
Pines can be hacked if enough foliage is left on to aid recovery.
Junipers, same as pines.
Spruce, rather keep everything.
Yew, hack away whatever foliage you like.

But it's all dependent on what the roots are like; a couple inch rootball will support less foliage than a bucket full of roots.
Every species of tree will demand a different approach.

Removing less of anything is always better. Most plants will drop whatever they can't support and it's pretty confronting to see a plant drop the only branch you've kept.
If it doesn't fit, try a bigger shoe instead of shrinking the feet.
Collecting trees is a sport in the sense that the results matter most, the way to get the absolute best results is to be flexible in your approach. Cheat where you can, take as long as the tree needs you to take, and accept that everything you've set up (like grow boxes, soil) might need a big overhaul after the plant comes out of the ground.