Flex's Article on Collecting

Bonsai Society of South Jersey:
Yamadori Collecting Techniques
Flex Houvig

Background:
Collecting wild trees is one way to enhance ones’ collection. Mother Nature can do some very awesome things to a tree, giving it wonderful attributes which are enhanced when the tree is styled as a bonsai. However, there are many cases of folks trying to collect wonderful trees, only to have them die later.

One of the most common causes of this “yamadori death syndrome” is lack of knowledge of proper collecting techniques.

Basic Tools Needed:
The collector usually does not need a long list of tools to collect, and the list will vary, depending on where collecting is performed (mountains, back yard, or Pine Barrens), and how far one needs to travel from car or truck.

For the Pine Barrens-type environment (sandy loamy soils, some small rocks) the following should suffice:
• Thieving shovel or folding shovel
• Razor saw
• Clear packing tape
• Sharp pocket knife
• Heavy-duty (2 mil or thicker) black contractor garbage bags, one for each tree to be collected
• Root cutters
• Small backpack (for carrying tools)
• Shoulder sling (optional, for carrying collected tree back to car or truck)
• Heavy gloves
• One or more bottles of water
• Depending on time of year, bug spray may be needed. Long sleeved clothing and proper terrain shoes should be worn, as ticks may be present.
• Sunscreen (for very sunny days) and a ball cap, or rain slicker (for rainy days). Damp weather may also dictate use of Muck Boots, which are waterproof, yet comfortable to walk in.


Collecting Notes:
The following technique, when applied properly, will maintain the health of the tree for the short time it takes to collect and transport the tree to a location where it can be potted into a grow pot.

The basic technique requires wrapping the rootball tightly in a heavy black contractor garbage bag. The top of the bag is wrapped in a circular fashion up around the base of the trunk, and the clear packing tape is used to secure the bag in place. The reason a heavy plastic garbage bag is used is to keep the existing
moisture and micro-environment present in the roots intact. This will help ensure the survival rate of collected trees.


Note: when selecting a candidate tree, be mindful of whether the tree can actually be collected…some wonderful trees are better off left in place. A good example is a Virginia Pine, located on the side of awashed-out sand pit, whose roots go very deep into the soil. This tree will most likely die if these roots are cut so it can be removed. This points out that a sound assessment must be made of the "collectability” of the candidate tree.

DO NOT bare-root the tree when collecting…this will most likely kill the tree. DO NOT use burlap to wrap the roots; too much moisture will be lost, as well as fine soil.

Technique:
• Scout the area to find candidate trees. Look for trees which exhibit all or most of the attributes most valued in material suitable for bonsai. Also, and very importantly, verify that the candidate tree is healthy! If you collect a sick tree, it may either die shortly after collection, or transfer any disease present to your other trees…not very desirable;
• Assess collectability of candidates;
• At the first candidate, figure out where the “drip line” is located. Measure in 30% closer to the
trunk, and mark out a ring around the tree;
• Dig a trench at the ring, around the tree. Go down anywhere from 1 to 2 feet, depending on soil
consistency, so you can get below the rootball, and base of the tree;
• While trenching, you will find heavy roots, and lighter ones. Cut the heavier roots with the razor saw; try to keep the lighter roots; these will later be rolled up into the rootball;
• Once the trench is complete, insert the shovel at an angle under the rootball, and locate any stubborn roots located there. Large ones are cut, and smaller ones are kept. Work around the whole diameter of the tree, loosening the rootball;
• Lay out one of the heavy garbage bags flat on the ground, just next to the tree, and as close as possible. You will be placing the rootball ON TOP of, NOT IN the bag. This provides two thicknesses of the bag material to hold the rootball. Place the packing tape and knife close by;
• Verify tree and rootball are loose. Try to keep rootball intact, as this maintains the microenvironment around the roots;
• Tilt the tree and rootball to one side, and slide the bag under the rootball. Rock the tree to the opposite side, and rotate the rootball & tree so it is fairly centered on the bag;
• Starting at one corner of the bag, bring the corner up to the trunk, and wrap the roots at that side of rootball tightly into, around, or under the rootball. Wrap the corner of the bag around the trunk;
• Working around the bag, continue tucking the roots tightly into the rootball, and bringing the bag up and around the rootball, then around the trunk. The rootball should be held very tightly by the bag. The rootball cannot be loose within the bag, or the fine roots present there risk being broken off, resulting in major damage to the tree.
• Secure the wrapped bag tightly in position using the packing tape. Start at one of the ends wrapped around the trunk; fix one end of the tape there, and wrap the tape down over the rootball, and around the rootball, coming back up on the other side.
• Finally, once the rootball is tightly secured in the bag, move it out of the trench area, and fill the hole in, and smooth over.

The tree is then carried back to the vehicle, and transported to a site where it can be put into a nursery pot. When the tree is potted, keep as much of the original soil as practical, around the rootball. It is OK to put into a very large pot, as you really want the tree to recover from the collecting ordeal.

Place the tree in a semi-shade area for recovery. Water well, so the whole inside volume of the pot is soaked. Mix in some Super-Thrive and some vitamin B root stimulator to help with root regrowth.

The tree should be watched carefully, and kept watered, and left to recover for a complete growing season. Attempt no work on the tree right after collecting. The work may begin the next year, if the tree has recovered its’ health and vigor.

Woodstock IV: Walter Pall International Bonsai Academy

This weekend Walter Pall and Jim Doyle hosted the Woodstock IV workshop at Natures Way nursery, near Harrisburg, Pa.

The focus of the workshop is on Naturalistic Bonsai, and Walter has a large batch of old collected trees brought to Natures' Way, so that bonsai enthusiasts can touch, feel, smell and work on his old trees.

Walter insists that sound horticultural techniques be used on every tree, and teaches how to move way beyond the cookie cutter bonsai seen in so many magazines, and on the web. As every student tries his / her hand at working on Walters' old trees, he maintains a watchful eye, so the tree is not taken too far.

Today Walter started work on one of two very old trees which have been in the nursery for 4 years.
This tree is a Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus Scopolorum), that is very likely 2200 years old. The trunk is massive, and the image is powerful.
Walter forged ahead, first with a discussion of the tree and its' history, then outside the studio to actually perform work on the tree.
Here is the tree last June, in the nursery, and this year, just before starting work...
Tom & Connie Kruegl were enthusiastic listeners of Walters'...
Walter moved the group outside to discuss the old RMJ...
Clearly this is a massive old tree. The group is speechless! Walter...you are going to do...what to that tree?
Walter, after discussing the various options available in the tree, starts right in to "clean up the tree"...
...and then moves on to discuss the next steps, so they are clear to those who will next work on the tree...
So, once the group is comfortably started working on the various details of tree cleanup, Walter can relax, still keeping a watchful eye...
Eric, all the way from near Cleveland, steps right up to the carving suggested by Walter. A really neat face mask is provided by Jim Doyle for protection...
All who watched this work were amazed someone would attempt to style a tree that was already "old" when Christ was born. In actuality, Walter was showing that there is no difference in the techniques, or in the care given, between a young 200 year old and a 2000 year old tree!

It was fun to watch old wood chips fly...
Flex

Japan Disaster: Relief Fund For Isao Omachi, Bonsai Artist

All...I am sure you all know of the crisis in Japan.

There is a wonderful bonsai artist living there who has been sadly affected by the disaster: Isao Omachi, and his family.
Isao Omachi is the rising star of Bonsai in Japan. He used to live and work in Yamada-cho in the Iwate prefecture with his wife, 2 daughters and his parents.
The recent tsunami didn't take their lives but EVERYTHING ELSE they own is gone.
They lost EVERYTHING including one of the most amazing bonsai collections in Japan.
They need our help. They need it now.
The best we can all do is to donate money.
Marco Invernizzi and Doug Paul (of the USA Kennett Collection) have set up a relief fund to help Omachi-san and his family.

Here in the USA, donations can be made payable to Omachi Relief Fund, and mailed to:

Omachi Relief Fund
P.O. Box 22
Yorklyn, DE 19736 USA

For those of you who are into Paypal, donations can be made:

http://www.paypal.com/
Omachifund@aol.com

I'm sure that the Omachi family will share whatever we will be able to collect.
Help us to help them.

Flex

Walter Pall at His Best...Again!

Walter has a wonderful large Hornbeam forest he has cared for over the years.
A friend constructed a new pot for him, into which the forest was moved. Both construction of the new artificial pot, and moving the forest were mammoth jobs, but in the end, the result is certainly worth it.
Have a look at what a world-class artist does....

http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/

...and click on the Monday March 14 entry of "Huge Hornbeam Forest Gets New Pot".
Flex

BSSJ Bonsai Progressions: "Ugly Betty" Chinese Elm

This small Chinese Elm was purchased about 6 years ago, and studied for a year before work began.
My teacher and I both made sketches of what the tree could look like in 5 years. Teacher made a more feminine fuller image, while I chose the dark side, and went for the Sleepy Hollow look.
Over the years the plan was followed. The tree was repotted several times, and the yearly haircut back to 1st pair of buds out from last years branch division yielded nice ramification, as can be seen in these shots from March of 2010.

Miss Elm was taken to several BSSJ lectures, and was nicknamed Ugly Betty. She has few of the distinguishing characteristics which make nice material really suitable for bonsai, but the things she has, she has in abundance: class, and lots of love from her owner!

So I dressed her up this year in a new Erin pot, and off to the Philly Flower Show we went. Betty loved the attention, and all of her companions in the Pennsylvania Bonsai exhibit booth.
Here she is, just after leaving the Show...you can see the tiny leaves just starting to pop. What a Lovely Lady!

Betty has "a few" more years with me. Will work more with the ramification, so that in another 5 years, Betty should have about 30 times as many small branches as she does today.

Given that the root mass that feeds the tree, and the leaves that handle photosynthesis must balance each other, it will be interesting to see how small the leaves on all those tiny branches actually become in 5 years!

Hope you enjoyed...
Flex

BSSJ March 2K11 Repotting Workshop

BSSJ Had our first workshop of 2011. Had about 12-15 folks there, at various times. The workshop was held at the Clover Gardens Nursery on Church Road in Marlton, N.J.

Some members wore their new embroidered clothing with the club logo...these turned out very nice!

Our host Paula was happy to see the group, as it meant Spring is actually here, and her business would start back from Winter slumber.

Karen brought several small trees...a Serissa in bloom, and a small Maple.
Doc had a nice little starter Maple...
Rob had his vine and the pine he has been working for several years...

JW Burton was helping with a nice tropical...
Tom & Connie brought a shohin pine which has been worked for several years now, and a new find, a garden Juniper...

Everyone helped...and all benefitted from the help. Several trees which have been in the works for a few years are showing nice progress. This helps to bolster ones' confidence that what they are doing actually works...what a concept! It also allows us to take the next harder steps in starting to think out of the box about our trees, as the Europeans have been doing this last decade. This sort of thinking will help all of us in making our trees the best they can be.
Flex

Japanese Earthquake in the Land of Bonsai

It is with great sadness that we witnessed the destruction of many square miles of this fine country.
My heart goes out to those people who have struggled so valiantly to build their wonderful culture, which was partly destroyed today.

Considered by many to be the major heart of bonsai ideals, Japan has never had an easy go of it, and today was no exception.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake which shook the island nation was the strongest recorded in the past 300 years.

May the Japanese people find some rest.

For me, watching this suffering I concluded that my own personal issues are nothing compared to losing everything in 10 seconds, including family members. One's life can never be the same.
Flex