+mikbonsai - Thanks for watching and for the comment!

That's a hell of a compliment! Many thanks to you for taking the time to watch!

+Will Brown - Thank you for taking the time to watch & comment! Can't wait to show what they're looking like - growing like weeds!

Glad you found us! Best of luck with your new collections, and maybe we'll have a chance meeting here in the south (Virginia here)

+MobyDicksWife - You bet! It's going to be years in the making, so you might want to grab some popcorn, something to sip on, and a comfy chair.

MobyDicksWife ii

Could you post a picture of it's current state?

+Nigel Saunders HAHA! Super sweet animals, but had to keep them from gnawing on the trees when I walked away. In fact, both trees were pruned back before either were dug up. I used the larger branches from the big tree to cover the small one until dig time. Editing doesn't show the full story!

Appalachian Bonsai Sounds like a good adventure and I hope to see many more.

So I have heard, and that it's one of the best trees you have for bonsai. Thank you for watching!

Sweet. Give it a shot next spring and see what happens!

That's the plan. Everytime I walk by it, i can't help but stop and admire it. It's gonna be a tough dig, but again, I'm sure it will totally be worth the effort and wait.

I've definitely more videos to make. Time is the only factor when I can catch a break with the rest of life!

Definitely. The green (C. viridis) are better than the cockspur.

Awesome!! I read books to my wife at night, and we've talked about recording them for another future channel. If you're interested, let me know and I'll get to it at the start of a new book!

Yeah!! Make sure you're up to date on your bonsai knowledge. It's best if you know how to take care of a tree before you dig it up!! Ha ha! Good luck!

thanks man!

Excellent! Spring is the best time with the highest survival rate

Yeah! It's buds are popping right now. Should be loads of growth this year

You always need them... both! ;)

That means so much to me! I really appreciate it. And you can call me Ben. Hello from Virginia, USA!

Thick nitrile is no match. Whew! Leather would be better for next time.... or chain mail

Ixnay on the ainchay ailmay. It's made of links, which have, wait for it, holes! Big freaking holes. I use heavy leather. Thanks again for the videos.

I think the larger trees have as good a chance at survival as smaller trees. They're just more to handle. & Definitely come & collect if you're able. Still working on permissions for an old open mine that has lots of junipers crammed in it. Will require rock climbing skills & top-roping. Should make for a fun day and interesting video! Probably late February / early March, depending on weather.

+Ben Parkinson - Many thanks! It's two months since collection, and it's going nuts! Progress video this summer.

looking forward to seeing the update.

Thank you! The Appalachian mountains are beautiful from Alabama to Maine. My section of it in Virginia is one of my favorite places.

There are some pretty trees in the Appalachian side of the state, and a rocking' arboretum with a fantastic bonsai collection. Check it out when you have the chance.

www.bonsainut.com/threads/us-national-shohin-bonsai-exhibition.25906/

If your in the area by than!! I love NC is a great environment for Bonsai!!

awesome. i will be moved by june 1st so looking forward to attending the show.

If you're in Wyoming, you're bound to find some sweet Rocky Mountain junipers, maybe some ponderosa & lodgepole pines. If you're in backcountry, and they're naturally dwarfed, you'll probably find them already with small rootballs. If that's the case, I'd keep as much dirt around as possible. Slow-growth dwarfed trees don't like their roots messed with in their first few years, especially conifers - they're not acclimated to it. Trash bag it all together. Bring a backpack, maybe even an external frame you can strap it to. Damn, I'm jealous - I'd go in a heartbeat. May I advise: summer will not be the time to collect trees. You're better off marking them, photographing location &/or making detailed notes of how to re-find them later. Then come back in the late winter or spring (I know... Wyoming's gonna be brutal in the winter, but the tree's survival chances are significantly higher). Keep my tabbed here to let me know, or, if you're on Instagram, tag me so I can check out what you find! Good luck!

Awesome, thank you so much for the information! Winter would be a better time for it too since I won't have to worry about all these rattlesnakes hiding out. It is in southern Wyoming too so it has some pretty unique geology with lots of sandstone towers and canyons, and there is some cool rugged looking trees that have pretty unique movement in their trunks. I will definitely try and keep you up to date if I find any good ones, and at the least get some good photos and inspiration from the trees that are already out there. Again, thank you for the information and such a quick response, and keep up the good work on these videos!

Timing is a big key. Late winter/early spring is the best time to collect most materials, which is the time when I collect. Keep as many fine roots as possible, because these feed the tree. Make sure the soil drains well so the roots don't rot, and only water when the soil gets dry. Protect from heavy wind and direct sun for the first few weeks. If the tree is a conifer, like pine or juniper, keep as much of the foliage as you can. I hope that helps!

abraços!

It's definitely possible.

Thanks, Mr. Grant!

I try to keep the info on top, and music as background only. Thanks for the comment

Definitely! Thank you for watching!

Fantastic!

It's a coarse mixture of fired clay (Turface) and diatomaceous earth (NAPA #8822). Some of the trees that require more moisture have sifted pine bark, which can also hold additional nutrients. I have a brief description of it in the Spring Bonsai Preparations 2016 video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qN52fpeW3N3Te40.html

They're good trees. I've got a few videos on them, but most of my updates are on Instagram. I'll have a summer update in another month or two.

@@AppalachianBonsai Ohh, you're back..Welcome back online.. I will take a look on your instagram

I'd go for the loppers. The only reason I have the portable reciprocating saw is because of construction and farm use. I don't use them nearly as often as I do the loppers. If I didn't have it, I'd be using a pruning saw (which I still use more often than the reciprocating). So, go for the loppers, and while you're at it, grab a pruning saw. You could probably buy a dozen for the cost of the other.

Just posted one, and more being edited now!

+jimijames marshall - I didn't do any more pruning of the roots on the big one, but will definitely have to in the coming years. At the moment, I wanted it to survive more than anything else, so all I did was remove the old soil. It will probably require a chainsaw during the next repot to get the root base reduced enough for a proper bonsai pot. As for soil, there's another video describing what I use. It's mostly Turface and diatomaceous earth, with some pine bark mixed in. It's looking great!

yes, survival is the first priority when digging yamadori! I have dug some largish olives (much more common here than Hawthorns) that I put into big cut down plastic pots for a couple of years to recover, have been looking for Hawthorn yamadori but not easy as most are on private land. I did watch your soil vid a little while ago and I have been using the diatomite for the last few years. Do you find that it tends to turn to dust after a while? Maybe it's just the stuff on the surface that does it? We can't get Turface here in Adelaide, South Australia so I've been using a mixture of (4-6 mm) pine bark and a blend of diatomite/pumice/gravel, depending on the tree size/type.Good luck and hope to see some progress and more collecting vids soon!

+jimijames marshall - How's the pumice working out? I know people use it, but haven't tried myself. I've thrown some lava pumice in one that I'm waiting to see what happens. Just came back from a trip to Oregon's dry side - pumice everywhere, and it looks like a good choice for substrate.

Actually, I quite like the pumice, it doesn't break down, holds water well and goes well in a mixture. I've seen vids/articles from Europe where they use pure pumice to establish newly dug material with great results (with overhead misting and protection from the weather). I purchase mine in 25kg bags which I rinse out the fine grains and then sift to grade for different sizes. In our hot summers (can get up to 40+deg. celsius/105-110 fahrenheit here) I do need to keep an eye on it as it can dry quickly but I have other materials in my mix that helps it retain moisture longer. So, yes I'm going to stick with it, not totally sold on the diatomite yet but I've seen good results with this too. Have seen big olives growing in pure diatomite that looked happy.

....the punks...

The new shoots will tell me where the diagonal cut will be. Since they often cluster up around a fresh cut, I just let them grow out first before I decide where the best new trunk leader will go. Once the tree decides that, then I can cut & carve more naturally. This one's ready for carving, btw! Hoping to get that this summer once the semester's over.

They weren't mine, but I think they were given to the landowner for free. Goats are easy to come by around here, and many people who don't know how to take care of them will give away.

I was only joking. It seemed like they wanted to steal the show. I'd love to see a basic layout of the tools you take to collect.Thanks

It's hard for me to say about Algeria. Spring is always best here in the States, as it is the start of the growing season. Whatever is the beginning of your growing season should be the time you collect. I hope that answers your question.

Thank you so much it's verry clear,I will try to collect it in this spring and see the result

+Intricatexplorer - a very well draining mix of Turface, diatomaceous earth, & pine bark. This is the first year I've tried the diatom earth in the mix, and thus far no issues. My understanding is that it's much like akadama, which has its ups & downs. It does stay moist, but breaks down over time. I'll have to wait to see what a year's use will do. In the past, I've used granite (chicken grit) instead of the diatom earth. It's heavy & doesn't hold any nutrients, so I skipped it this time. So far so good, the trees are growing well, and I'll be posting an update video soon. Many thanks for the comment!

A hard pruning cut like this removes the feeder roots, and feeder roots are really the only roots to collect water and nutrients for the tree. If there aren't any feeder roots to absorb water, then the stumps are just sitting in a pool, which can lead to rot. After the hard prune, it takes a week or so for the tree to quarantine the area and start to push out new feeder roots. But don't let it dry out! Hence, damp not wet. Good luck!

Welcome!

There are a few update videos, and definitely some pictures on Instagram. I'll try to have a good video for spring time!

The small one is a Green Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis). The other is more difficult to ID, but appears to be a Cockspur Hawthorn (C. crus-galli). I prefer the green hawthorn, as the thorns are much smaller (~.5") than the cockspur (~2"), and the green hawthorn is less susceptible to cedar-apple rust fungus.

Soil mix should be in the description. Mostly inorganic material, but 1/3 is pine bark.

That's correct. One of the major differences is in how you care for them. With autumn collections, you don't remove any of the old soil, and try to keep as much of the rootball intact as possible. Use a large pot with something very coarse, like pumice to fill in around the rootball. It can be helpful to also use poly sheet to cover the entire tree to keep moisture in. Harry Harrington has lots of info on autumn collection & winter maintenance.

@@AppalachianBonsai Ooh, great thank you. Perfect, have run out of my soil mix but have a lot of pumice still! I will check him out, thanks.

It's possible. They're called root cuttings, and it's very common with chinese elm trees.

I'm using the same as for my more mature trees - coarse well-draining soil. It's mostly Turface (fired clay) & diatomaceous earth (Napa #8822 - U.S.). Sometimes I use sifted pine bark as well. It really does a great job of holding moisture without remaining soggy. BUT, I have to water almost every day, depending on the tree's needs. I don't mind the work for the health of these trees.

Let it grow for at least a year to regain health. There are a few updates on the channel.