Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
dobbers_gw

MY First try at yamadori; collected bald cypress

dobbers
14 years ago

Let me start by saying thank you thirdyear for laying out the format here, I liked it so much I figured I'd use it myself. i've been a member of gardenweb for oh, maybe only six months or so but I use it daily... especially those posts by al over in the container soil section! I've been doing bonsai for much longer, however I recently moved from Milwaukee to Naples Florida and need some help on a collected Bald Cypress.

-I collected my cypress on 8/3 from a friend that was going to tear it down anyway, otherwise I would have waited until 'winter' to collect, in my understanding the correct season to collect cypresses down here.

-It is currently in a 14" plastic tub, transplanted carefully during/after a heavy rainfall.

-I potted it in 45% Aged Fir, 25% Peat, 20% Perlite, 10% Vermiculite (sorta a different take on fafard 3b). I not only buried the base but buried the first 10-12" of the base as well. I also saved some of the soil from the rootball and spread that on top of the soil mix. **note there are no drainage holes on the tub since cypress like wet feet and survive in swamps in most cases, as this one probably did until this area was drained.

-I treated it with Superthrive while it sat in water for about 24 hours, then made my final cuts...far enough up so it can sit in a bonsai pot some day, but careful to not mess with what roots I had.

-It currently sits under a part shade north facing porch.

The tree looks old, the front base has actually rotted away, there is obviously no foliage, but I left about 40+ inches so I can decide on top shaping later. After cutting the top off, I realized that the hole in the bottom goes all the way to the top leaving a pea sized hollow in the middle of a 1 and a half diameter trunk. Also, there wasn't as much of a rootball as I expected (because of the sandy soil?).

And here are my questions:

1. What am I doing wrong, if anything? Changes you would suggest?

2. There was a mysterious mass directly behind the tree (un-rotted side) that MAY have been connected by a couple of feeder roots. Here are some pictures.

{{gwi:15183}}

{{gwi:15184}}

Could this be a knee? I cant be sure that it was connected or not the root balls were all tangled up (and this one had a heck of a lot more than the cypress. I think there many have been a thorny vine growing out of it though, but can't remember. Im my attempt to figure out whether it was attached I basically severed it from the cypress and buried it in the ground to 'save it.' If it is a knee, is it crucial to the survival of the tree and can i reattach it through grafting or something?

I plant to grow it out in this tub for 2-3 years and see what i get, then decide on shape and form then, at which time I will also repot in my standard bonsai soil.

If requested I will post more pics of the tree, rot, and hole in the top.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. THANKS SO MUCH!!!

I have too lots of experience gardening, growing houseplants, etc, but this is my first attempt at collecting a wild specimen for bonsai. I too have the green thumb, please help me become a master.

Thanks for reading! Please post.

Comments (2)

Sponsored