First Time Yamadori Hunter with some Questions

14 years ago

Hey everyone. I own lots of bonsai but have never considered getting any of them from the wild, until I found these. Back in the woods behind my house I found a few good looking trees (to my eyes of course). I think they may be oaks, but not so sure as they are dormant. THe beavers have chopped all of them for me. Now, being a beginner with collecting wild trees, when is the best time to do this? Would now be the time? Would it even be possible to dig up oak trees since they have the long taproots (again, I am unsure if thats what these are)? And, do these trees even look like they would be good candidates for bonsai? Oh, and I know about the laws against collecting without permission, but the woods belong to us.

So, here are the trees:

Tree #1:

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Tree #2:

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Tree #3 (I like this one, it's got nice movement):

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P.S. All trees are about 1 and a half feet tall.

Thanks!

Ryan

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Comments (7)

jasoncoco
14 years ago
Even if they are not oaks, they still probably have a long tap root. You could probably get them now and be ok. I just dug up a bunch of oaks and pines that i had to sever the big taproot. Now i am no professional and i dont take much time in digging, so there is no guarantee that they will even survive. However i do put them in a greenhouse which is humid and shaded to help them. So i know you probably didnt learn much from me, but i would go ahead and dig them, just be sure that there some kind of lateral roots when you cut the tap root. I used a mattock and just whacked it. From the size of those, it looks like a task. Good luck.

Jason
ryan_tree
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the quick reply Jason! Thanks for you answer as well. Does anyone else agree that now would be an okay time to dig up the trees?
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larke
14 years ago
No - deciduous trees come up in spring, just before buds open.
jasoncoco
14 years ago
Larke may be right, but then again i dug several deciduous trees last winter and only lost one. Which happened to be a sweet gum and it died do to my lack of knowledge. All others survived. You definitely don't want to wait after spring. Probably would do you some good to search around on google or something.

Jason
ryan_tree
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks everyone! The beginning of spring is when I shall dig them up.
jeanne
14 years ago
Hi Ryan. I don't keep bonsai and don't have any experience with them but I've always been interested in them and ran across a page that might interest you. They root pruned their tree in the spring and then dug it out in the fall after it had regrown more compact roots. It makes a lot of sense. Since these grow on your own property you have a good opportunity to collect them when the individual plant is ready.

I'd also like to go out on a limb and suggest to wait at least a season on tree #1. Doesn't it need at least a little re-growth before digging it out? I'd be interested in seeing what others have to think about this.

Thanks,
Jeanne

Here is a link that might be useful: Hawthorn Twin-trunk Progression Series
tcny
14 years ago
I have seen your post on another forum as well; in my opinion these are not worth collecting as bonsai material or than as a practice case for developing your collecting skills. Whatever species...the internode length is to great...and the quality is not there. You need to look more in thickets and areas where the tree is much more overgrown; then you cut it back for a season or two and let it back bud in the ground; you need to collect with an eye for better taper and trunk movement.