LunaticTree

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Check thoose out!

As a Landscapegardener I regulary come across unwnated Trees and saplings, those two here have ben at a recent constructioin site and have ben dug up before they came with the bulldozer to eliminate whatever was left of the Trees.

As you can see they are a little bit "sad" looking, they took quite the beating at the roadside, but they seem to recover nicely.
Acording to the leaves,m bark and overall apearance it had before I cut it back, it should be a Acer pseudoplatanus. We dont have many kind of Acer here, and the other 2 kinds that are avaliable around here look diferent.

Tho I did also manage to collect a small idividual Acer Campestre, sadly my Boyfriend broke the pot so now it looks like a mess.
And yes, even tho it looks like its dead, it is very well alive! Just a little stressed out, I did collect as many roots as I could, given the circumstances.
I will need to undo the damage as soon as possible.

The Juniper was also a rescue plant that the previous owner simply neglected and forgot about.

All in all I am quite happy with the Result and could salvage some root cuttings as well.
They should turn out just fine next year in Spring when the roots have set foot properly.

Any Suggestions on the Styling that will come sooner or later?
And yes I am aware I shouldnt touch the Tree till its well settled. Landscapegardener, remember?
 

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ponderingsage

Yamadori
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This is a great way to get material. Some will die due to mistreatment before you get your hands on them, or perhaps from the work you have to do fo get them manageable. eg cutting large roots.
I will typically bare root most trees, and clear out some clutter on the top that l know will not be in the design later.
 

August44

Omono
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This is a great way to get material. Some will die due to mistreatment before you get your hands on them, or perhaps from the work you have to do fo get them manageable. eg cutting large roots.
I will typically bare root most trees, and clear out some clutter on the top that l know will not be in the design later.
Hey Boise where did you come up with that growing zone? Boise, Idaho is in USDA Hardiness Zones 6b and 7a.
 

Shibui

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There is opportunity to add a USDA hardiness zone in your profile. It gives others a better idea how cold the winters get so we can give better advice on what time of year to do certain things or when is too early or late for something like root pruning. Zone 6b and 7a are the USDA hardiness zones that cover parts of the US state of Idaho.
My map shows most of Austria compares to USDA zone 7a up to smaller areas of 7b and 8a in some places.

Back to your trees:
You are already well aware it is too early to work on the recent collections so there seems to be little point in planning any. Wait until the trees are happy and healthy. By then the regrowth may have already suggested some good ideas and may even open up further possibilities that are not yet evident.

What species are you planning to salvage root cuttings from? Neither Acer or Juniper can grow from root cuttings as far as I am aware.

Construction sites can be great sources of trees for bonsai. Neglected gardens at commercial sites often have odd shaped trunks of hardy species. Domestic gardens have more choices and many garden trees and shrubs are easy to transplant. As landscapers we are often consulted early before the trees are removed so have good choice.
There are also many species that are too difficult to transplant and many individual specimens that will take so long to convert to bonsai - tall, straight trunks, poor growth habit, large leaf, etc - so don't waste time on trees that are poor shape or species. The first acer may have potential but I would have left the others.
 

LunaticTree

Yamadori
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There is opportunity to add a USDA hardiness zone in your profile. It gives others a better idea how cold the winters get so we can give better advice on what time of year to do certain things or when is too early or late for something like root pruning. Zone 6b and 7a are the USDA hardiness zones that cover parts of the US state of Idaho.
My map shows most of Austria compares to USDA zone 7a up to smaller areas of 7b and 8a in some places.

Back to your trees:
You are already well aware it is too early to work on the recent collections so there seems to be little point in planning any. Wait until the trees are happy and healthy. By then the regrowth may have already suggested some good ideas and may even open up further possibilities that are not yet evident.

What species are you planning to salvage root cuttings from? Neither Acer or Juniper can grow from root cuttings as far as I am aware.

Construction sites can be great sources of trees for bonsai. Neglected gardens at commercial sites often have odd shaped trunks of hardy species. Domestic gardens have more choices and many garden trees and shrubs are easy to transplant. As landscapers we are often consulted early before the trees are removed so have good choice.
There are also many species that are too difficult to transplant and many individual specimens that will take so long to convert to bonsai - tall, straight trunks, poor growth habit, large leaf, etc - so don't waste time on trees that are poor shape or species. The first acer may have potential but I would have left the others.
I see, thanks for that Information!

For the Trees?
I was asking for styling for the Juniper at least , as the Juniper is not freshly cut or repotet, its ben in that pot for quite some time now and is already in my care for a good year.

As for the other trees that are not worth in your Opinion. All trees are worth the time and effort. Just depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice.
As for the Root cuttins, Many Acers can be regrown from Root cuttings, especialy the Acer campestre and Acer pseudoplatanus, it goes as far as them being called pests here, because once its grown in your Backyard, it is hard ot get rid of.
There are quite some Youtube videos out there especialy for the Field maple, which they show they grown sucesful Trees out of rootcuttings. I am well aware that some of those Trees arent well looking and arent worth in your opinion.
But they are mine now and the chance of their surwival is at 100% as I am still a Landscapegardener with Decades of Work experience. Hard to kill them anyway.

It is very hard around here to get your hands on a small Field maple, as they usualy grow on open fields or Flatland, while here, we are at the edge of the Alps, So I snatch what I can get when the oportunity arises.

I have quite some Austrian blakc pines, collected from a Friends Forest, they have grown very nicely as well and rooted well throughout the Pot. Some of the Red Beech Trees I colected also grew well and rooted pretty good.
Some of them I will style soon, tho I do need help on the timing on when to actualy put the wire on, so maybe you can help me there?

As for the Winter, it can be very mild or quite the oposite, depends on the Year I guess.
All trees have the luxury of an unheated Glasshouse during Winter, to protetc them from hard Frost and to much Snow.
 

Shibui

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This is the first time I have heard of any acer sp grown from root cuttings. Good to add that to my knowledge bank. Maybe I will try some as I have one Acer campestris in my collection. I have tried a number of times to get roots of Japanese maples and trident maple to grow. They can stay alive for several years but I have never seen or heard of any that actually grew shoots.
It is very hard around here to get your hands on a small Field maple, as they usualy grow on open fields or Flatland, while here, we are at the edge of the Alps, So I snatch what I can get when the oportunity arises.
I understand that you take what you can get as the opportunity arises. What you see as 'good' may change over time. I know my ideas of what is worth collecting has changed a lot over the time I have been growing bonsai. Experience has taught me that some trees will take way too much work and way too much time to convert to the sort of bonsai I want to own or sell so I pass on those and just take the ones I see having potential.

I have quite some Austrian blakc pines, collected from a Friends Forest, they have grown very nicely as well and rooted well throughout the Pot. Some of the Red Beech Trees I colected also grew well and rooted pretty good.
Some of them I will style soon, tho I do need help on the timing on when to actualy put the wire on, so maybe you can help me there?
Wiring and bending most trees can be done any time of year. Most bonsai growers avoid bending junipers while they are actively growing because sometimes sections can die after bending. It is assumed that at that time the bark can separate from the wood causing the death of affected sections. Does not always happen but often enough to be wary so most just don't wire junipers in summer.
Deciduous trees are usually wired in winter but that's only because there are no leaves to get in the way and easier to see what you are doing. Wiring in spring and summer there is a higher risk of wire marks on the bark as trees are growing rapidly and thicken faster than anticipated but if you are prepared to check often any time is OK.
Wire pines any time of year but be careful not to damage growing tips if wiring in spring.

As for the juniper it is very young. Bonsai means many different things to different people. Beginners usually have very different standards from experienced growers but there is room for all ideas and standards. What ambition do you have for that tree? Due to its age and size it could be grown into almost any shape and size. There seems to be no features that would make one style or shape better or worse so right now it can be anything you want.
 

LunaticTree

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This is the first time I have heard of any acer sp grown from root cuttings. Good to add that to my knowledge bank. Maybe I will try some as I have one Acer campestris in my collection. I have tried a number of times to get roots of Japanese maples and trident maple to grow. They can stay alive for several years but I have never seen or heard of any that actually grew shoots.
Japanese Maples arent working with rootcuttings, but you can still "breed" thwem with certain techniques where you bend down a twig and cover it up with soil to make it root.

The Fieldmapple however, make sure the Rootcuttings are around the lenght of your hands to maximize the chance of a shoot forming. Obviously this isnt always 100% sucess rate and you will lose some root cuttins on the way.
I don tknow if it is allowed to post youtube links here, propably not. So simply put this "herons bonsai rootcutting" on youtube and you will find Herons Bonsai as he explains how you can grow fieldmaples and other species from rootcuttings.

As for the Juniper, I thought about a Tanuki, as I really love how they look. Got my hands on some nice Driftwoods we foun don the Riverbench, would have to see which one works best.

The Pines, there is on especific pine that I could propably make into a Shohin bonsai, it is already very tiny and bent in a nice way. The other ones are mostly long single Trunks with one havign a tripple trunk, which is quite rare to find around here.

I don tmind checking the Trees throughout the year, as they stand in my Garden and I walk past them every single day. Hard not to look!
 

Shibui

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Japanese Maples arent working with rootcuttings, but you can still "breed" thwem with certain techniques where you bend down a twig and cover it up with soil to make it root.
I understand the technique we call layering. Again the material needs to be good shape and size to make the process worth while. I have plenty of access to smaller seedling materials as they grow wild in our garden.
As for the Juniper, I thought about a Tanuki, as I really love how they look. Got my hands on some nice Driftwoods we foun don the Riverbench, would have to see which one works best.
The juniper is still very thin and has very small branching so tanuki would be a good option. Tanuki can be good or can be really terrible depending how good your technique is and how good the driftwood is. We won't know which it will be until you try. The other option I would suggest is a larger pot or in the garden for a few years until the trunk is thicker to show some character.
 

LunaticTree

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The double Trunk Maple I collected grows pretty nicely and already prepares for Spring. First cutting will happen this Spring, I made a drawing to try and figure out if I keep the double trunk or if I go and try to make 2 seperate Trees.

The Idea was to keep both as it builds a very nice curve, things that speak against it. is the same thiccness of the Trunk.
It shouldnt be an issue to get some Moss and get it seperatet if it doesnt look good in the long run.

Any thoughts here?
 

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LunaticTree

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Little update on the Roadside collection trees!

Sadly the Fieldmaple died, I am still watering it in case someof the roots decide to shoot through! You never know with those maples.

The Acer Platanoides is doing pretty good! Lots of new growth, so Its safe to say hes gonna pull through.
 

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