Good to see a fellow country boy whos interested in the art of bonsai, your videos are much more helpful to me than any other bonsai youtuber, mainly because i collect all of my materials rather than purchase. Greetings from NC.
Spot On! Man, one day i'm gone crash my car, my eyes are always searching, scanning the forest and the mountains when im driving! Nice Yamadori video... we need more of this /Bonsai Talk
Haha! Happens all the time, and being here on winding mountain roads, I end up with the occasional nail in the tire from hitting the shoulder! More coming, don't you worry! Thanks for the comment!!
My pleasure..I'm uploading a Yamadori video soon aswell from Sweden! Winter is holding on just some few more days it seems.. but soon we have all trees with swelling buds and leafs comming out!
I've enjoyed these bonsai videos more than any other. Thanks for the amazing content on your channel. My uncle, who is retired, has a beautiful mountain house and cabin up in Spruce Pine, NC and plenty of land. I know he'll let me comb over his property for some awesome yamadori which I am sure exist.
That definitely helps, there ever where in my area, so common its hard to not dip your toes in and they been sat on by cows and the like just not Christmas trees. Nick Lentz book has the most concise appraisal of vj's from my searching. I've just recently found that limestone plays a big role in there life this year, after collecting 4 this spring all drying out in to a hand full of needles. I've had success with the common juniper type that are prefered ,but never vj,s. What season do you collect them in and what soil do you suggest? Thanks
I'm right off the Blue Ridge Mountains in SW Virginia, which means late February or early March is about the right time for me to collect. The weather is on the verge of spring, but the buds haven't started swelling. Myself and another friend collect junipers during this time, and save the broadleafs (like hornbeam & maple) for mid-March/early April. We've discussed that collecting vp's earlier than later may be beneficial, as it gives time for the roots to heal before bud break. Broadleafs are much more forgiving in this regard. I've a few vp's in mind to collect next spring & will be making videos. Should be pretty good footage, they're on a rock face! I've played around with the soil mix & have had best results with free-draining substrate, regardless of what the organic content was. The organic matter is just a sponge for moisture & fertilizer, it's not doing much else. Particle size is not less than 1/16" & not greater than 1/4". Nix using sand. I used lots of sand one year, which holds plenty of moisture between the small particles, & those junipers didn't make it - they were water logged. Damp is great, wet is bad (unless you're a bald cypress). That's probably the most important thing with any tree, really - your watering schedule. Damp vs wet vs dry. The type of components in your mixture will determine how often you have to water for each tree. This year, most of my trees are in 100% inorganic substrate, which means I water almost every day. The few that still have organic material go every other day or longer. The trees with the inorganic are all healthy, especially my junipers - they're all rocking! I attribute that to particle size, watering schedule, feeding schedule, knowing when to cut roots & when to let grow. Here's a great article by Walter Pall on substrate, which may give some more ideas for your trees. walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/2010/06/feeding-substrate-and-watering-english.html
Here's another secret! Tree grows for a few months, state mows it down, tree grows some more and gets thicker, state mows it down again, and so on. End result is some nice, compact trees with decent trunks. Makes that Sunday drive just that much more fun.
I seriously love this post and it’s even fair to say that it, and your channel, has changed my life in a truly positive way over the past year, just want to send the most sincere, thank you. Please keep em’ coming. Best to you and yours kind sir.
Do you ever use sycamores? I love them, especially ones that have been shaped and battered by the river. I think they would do lovely root over rock style. Beautiful bark too.
I've thought about it, and have several on the property, but the leaves get so huge. It would probably take lots of pruning and limiting of water/nutrients to get the leaves to reduce to a proportioned size. That said, I'm still curious about them. If you nab one, let me know how it rolls!
Youd be surprised how easily they reduce! Here in uk hedgerow syxamores cit back/nibbled by sheep. Leaves jut look trident maples, but with more beautiful colours in autumn
I live in Michigan spring is just getting here for probably a month behind you in the south. Is it okay to leave some of the branches on after collecting small tree in your opinion?
Yes they are! My little fat stubby privet is a fence row tree. There's another massive one I've found, but it's grown around the tee-post and can't get it out. Also, I always thought a good band name for someone would be Fence Row Peaches.
It's definitely doable if the soil is amended well. I've got several in my wintering bed waiting for the right time. You just need to make sure that you dig it up every couple of years and prune the roots. This will help maintain a good root base and correct anything wrong. Use something flat underneath, like some old tiles, unused lumber, or stones to help restrict how far those roots will grow.
I am a recent subscriber and I love your videos so far! I am wondering if you get permission from the state to collect these roadside trees as they are most likely in the right of way of the DOT or in a space owned and maintained by the state department of natural resources. I am relatively new to bonsai and am looking to do yamadori collecting as well and was wondering if you had any advice? thanks again for all your videos!
I have had permissions before from VDOT, but it does take some workarounds. Permissions from the county can also be required, some of which have large fees. For instance, collecting in the middle of a highway median can be up to $650 when all said and done. I go for the landowner route these days. For instance, if I dig up a tree on my property near the road, I don't need VDOT's permissions - it's my property. So, I find it much easier to find the landowner, if one exists, before digging. They're usually more apt to agree, and I've never had one request monies. Always ask permissions, but some are easier (and cheaper) than others. If it's really close to the road, you might want to call 811 to come out and check for buried cables. Doesn't cost a thing. Good luck!
hello, I love your work man. Being from Ohio I can relate to a lot of what you do. I have a question for you. can you collect trees from the wild all summer long?
Hello from Virginia! To answer your question in brief, no. I would only recommend collecting from late winter (mid-Feb for me) to mid-spring (first week of April here). The best chances of success would be within this timeframe. The sugars in the trunk are loaded up for spring growth, and this sustains them until they recover from collection. During the summer, they slow down a little, then have a quick second flush around July, but not nearly as strong as the initial go-go-grow. Collecting in summer will likely kill them with high temps sapping moisture and not enough sugars to keep them healthy through the winter. Give it a shot this spring!
Do you have any tips about Virginia juniper collecting? I've been trying keep these suckers alive after collecting for close to a decade with almost no success. There almost blacklisted in the bonsai community, not much to none in in-depth info on them.tried in every season, every soil combos, different after care processes'. No hope? Any way, makes sense to ask a fellow Appalachian, to make some sense of thing.
You bet! One of the reasons VP's aren't very popular is because of their fussy juvenile foliage, which is produced by stress (from collecting, pruning, disease, looking at them wrong, etc). They take quite a long time to revert back to mature foliage, and many artists prefer to use a less-fussy juniper (like shimpaku) rather than wait forever. A way to decrease that time is to allow it to become more pot-bound (repotting all the time = stress), go easy on the pruning & pinching (which = stress), and keeping it free of disease with good tree care (good draining soil, fertilizer, sun). I love them. My avatar is actually a Virginia juniper in training I've had for seven years. With the failure & success since I first started collecting them, I've learned a few things. - Once I collect one, I do my best not to move it around much for the first year (that goes for any collected tree, really). Those new roots are delicate. - An arborist/logger friend once told me he only finds them in areas with limestone, which makes sense. Ever driven I-40 through Tennessee? Nothing but limestone & red cedar. So I add a little garden lime to my mix. - I find many in red clay soils, so I also make sure they get good iron (I use rusty nail water). - Still learning and paying attention. - If you get tired of the fuss, there are cultivars/varieties of Virginia juniper out there more suitable for bonsai than wild trees, but you have to look in nurseries. I once found one called 'Grey Owl'. There seems to be several varieties in Europe according to forums. I still go for cow fields! Hope that helps, & great luck!
What time of year would you recommend a hard pruning like John Geanangle does for an azalea...If I were to by one from a local nursery..I mean. I believe that is what I would like to do, but I want to do it at the right time of year for the plant to have the best chance of recovery.
Springtime and late fall are great times for hard prunes, though most broadleaf trees, like azalea, are done in the spring. Late fall is usually left for light pruning of all trees, and hard pruning of junipers and pines. John's got great advice for azaleas. He & Ken Duncan put together are well known for them.
I have, but not for bonsai in specific. I was briefly in the redwoods in May, then got up to see Ryan Neil's exhibit at the Portland Japanese Garden. What part of Cali? I don't have any trips coming up (that I know of), but I'll definitely keep in mind for future travel.
His exhibit was an interesting mix of his Japanese training with this personal style, along with very non-traditional displays. I liked it! I've a sister in Campbell, and it's been a loooong time since we've seen each other. With this year's travel already planned out, I'm gonna push for 2018. Now,... to convince the wife!
It's something you learn over time. I've loved trees since I was a kid, and the more I look, the more I pay attention to details. Those details sink in and hold over the years, and then you can identify as you walk through the woods. Grab a book on trees at your local library or book store or online and give it a glance. Basics like conifers vs. broadleafs, alternating vs. opposites, bark, bud size - all tell-tale signs. I love the National Wildlife Federation's Field Guide to Trees of North America for where I live. Hope that helps!
Awesome question. Permissions are so important. I've been working up my permissions for new spring digs, and filming when I can for a future video on it. It's often easier than people think. It's been a few years since I've had to worry about VDOT, and my binder with all the information is buried in a box somewhere. It generally starts with the local authority (county or district). Go to the clerk's office at the courthouse and they can get you to the proper permits. Be forewarned, permits can be expensive. I think my county was $100, and VDOT was more. The experience has been, though, this is only required for interstates and main roads where the interruption of traffic may occur. But, it can also be as simple as calling VDOT, giving them your full intentions, and asking them. I did 6 years ago, and they said just go for it, but check with the owner first - no permit needed. I'll find the info binder and get you a link to VDOT's official document (it's down a wicked internet rabbit hole if you go looking). It is so much easier to go direct and ask for the owner's permission. I can legally dig a tree off the road of my personal property without VDOT's permission, and I can legally dig on someone else's roadside property (with their permission, of course), and not have to go through county and state. If underground cables are potentially a problem, call 811 - Miss Utility will come out & check for free. As stated before, I plan on addressing this more in future videos. I think by telling how I get permission for each tree I collect, I can be more expressive & transparent about my process, and give ideas about how you, yourself, can also ask permission. Best luck!!
I wish doing this was legal in the UK. I always see smallish trees that would make perfect bonsai along our roads and canal pathways. Yet I'd be slumped with a hefty fine and probably a criminal record for collecting it.
+Nacho Nacho Don't worry, I've got more coming! I'm starting to use a different camera, and that should take some of the shakiness out in future vids. Thanks for watching!
Good to see a fellow country boy whos interested in the art of bonsai, your videos are much more helpful to me than any other bonsai youtuber, mainly because i collect all of my materials rather than purchase. Greetings from NC.
Nice one!
Spot On! Man, one day i'm gone crash my car, my eyes are always searching, scanning the forest and the mountains when im driving! Nice Yamadori video... we need more of this /Bonsai Talk
Haha! Happens all the time, and being here on winding mountain roads, I end up with the occasional nail in the tire from hitting the shoulder! More coming, don't you worry! Thanks for the comment!!
My pleasure..I'm uploading a Yamadori video soon aswell from Sweden! Winter is holding on just some few more days it seems.. but soon we have all trees with swelling buds and leafs comming out!
Im a cyclist and can relate to that! 1 way Bike trails are the worst, eyes scoping the bush n not the trail.
Bonsai Talk the same shit ) but its wonderful
I love Bonsai
I've enjoyed these bonsai videos more than any other. Thanks for the amazing content on your channel. My uncle, who is retired, has a beautiful mountain house and cabin up in Spruce Pine, NC and plenty of land. I know he'll let me comb over his property for some awesome yamadori which I am sure exist.
Amazing master
I lke.. 🇮🇩🙏
That definitely helps, there ever where in my area, so common its hard to not dip your toes in and they been sat on by cows and the like just not Christmas trees. Nick Lentz book has the most concise appraisal of vj's from my searching. I've just recently found that limestone plays a big role in there life this year, after collecting 4 this spring all drying out in to a hand full of needles. I've had success with the common juniper type that are prefered ,but never vj,s. What season do you collect them in and what soil do you suggest? Thanks
I'm right off the Blue Ridge Mountains in SW Virginia, which means late February or early March is about the right time for me to collect. The weather is on the verge of spring, but the buds haven't started swelling. Myself and another friend collect junipers during this time, and save the broadleafs (like hornbeam & maple) for mid-March/early April. We've discussed that collecting vp's earlier than later may be beneficial, as it gives time for the roots to heal before bud break. Broadleafs are much more forgiving in this regard. I've a few vp's in mind to collect next spring & will be making videos. Should be pretty good footage, they're on a rock face!
I've played around with the soil mix & have had best results with free-draining substrate, regardless of what the organic content was. The organic matter is just a sponge for moisture & fertilizer, it's not doing much else. Particle size is not less than 1/16" & not greater than 1/4". Nix using sand. I used lots of sand one year, which holds plenty of moisture between the small particles, & those junipers didn't make it - they were water logged. Damp is great, wet is bad (unless you're a bald cypress).
That's probably the most important thing with any tree, really - your watering schedule. Damp vs wet vs dry. The type of components in your mixture will determine how often you have to water for each tree. This year, most of my trees are in 100% inorganic substrate, which means I water almost every day. The few that still have organic material go every other day or longer. The trees with the inorganic are all healthy, especially my junipers - they're all rocking! I attribute that to particle size, watering schedule, feeding schedule, knowing when to cut roots & when to let grow.
Here's a great article by Walter Pall on substrate, which may give some more ideas for your trees.
walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/2010/06/feeding-substrate-and-watering-english.html
wow!!!!!! that is really impressive bro
amazing
Here's another secret! Tree grows for a few months, state mows it down, tree grows some more and gets thicker, state mows it down again, and so on. End result is some nice, compact trees with decent trunks. Makes that Sunday drive just that much more fun.
Absolutely!
I seriously love this post and it’s even fair to say that it, and your channel, has changed my life in a truly positive way over the past year, just want to send the most sincere, thank you.
Please keep em’ coming. Best to you and yours kind sir.
Means a bunch, James!
Do you ever use sycamores? I love them, especially ones that have been shaped and battered by the river. I think they would do lovely root over rock style. Beautiful bark too.
I've thought about it, and have several on the property, but the leaves get so huge. It would probably take lots of pruning and limiting of water/nutrients to get the leaves to reduce to a proportioned size. That said, I'm still curious about them. If you nab one, let me know how it rolls!
Youd be surprised how easily they reduce!
Here in uk hedgerow syxamores cit back/nibbled by sheep. Leaves jut look trident maples, but with more beautiful colours in autumn
always intrested how bonsai came into that pot. this is so refreshing..
More to come! Don't you worry!
Appalachian Bonsai Looking forward! thanks!
I live in Michigan spring is just getting here for probably a month behind you in the south. Is it okay to leave some of the branches on after collecting small tree in your opinion?
If they're small, sure. One benefit of cutting them all off is regrowing lots of them then choosing where you want to keep them.
new to bonsai very much a amateure your bids are great
vids
The majority of bonsai lovers are also amateurs, and that includes myself. After nine years, still learning. Always learning. Keep it up & have fun!
Also old fence rows are great places to look.
Yes they are! My little fat stubby privet is a fence row tree. There's another massive one I've found, but it's grown around the tee-post and can't get it out.
Also, I always thought a good band name for someone would be Fence Row Peaches.
what is your opinion when it comes to healing collected specimens in soil rather than straight into training pot /bonsai soil ?
It's definitely doable if the soil is amended well. I've got several in my wintering bed waiting for the right time. You just need to make sure that you dig it up every couple of years and prune the roots. This will help maintain a good root base and correct anything wrong. Use something flat underneath, like some old tiles, unused lumber, or stones to help restrict how far those roots will grow.
I am a recent subscriber and I love your videos so far! I am wondering if you get permission from the state to collect these roadside trees as they are most likely in the right of way of the DOT or in a space owned and maintained by the state department of natural resources. I am relatively new to bonsai and am looking to do yamadori collecting as well and was wondering if you had any advice? thanks again for all your videos!
I have had permissions before from VDOT, but it does take some workarounds. Permissions from the county can also be required, some of which have large fees. For instance, collecting in the middle of a highway median can be up to $650 when all said and done. I go for the landowner route these days. For instance, if I dig up a tree on my property near the road, I don't need VDOT's permissions - it's my property. So, I find it much easier to find the landowner, if one exists, before digging. They're usually more apt to agree, and I've never had one request monies. Always ask permissions, but some are easier (and cheaper) than others. If it's really close to the road, you might want to call 811 to come out and check for buried cables. Doesn't cost a thing. Good luck!
Appalachian Bonsai j
You've really gotta buy and learn to use a Mattock Axe. It digs , cuts , prys , chops and can even be used as a weapon.
i like this video
hello, I love your work man. Being from Ohio I can relate to a lot of what you do. I have a question for you. can you collect trees from the wild all summer long?
Hello from Virginia! To answer your question in brief, no. I would only recommend collecting from late winter (mid-Feb for me) to mid-spring (first week of April here). The best chances of success would be within this timeframe. The sugars in the trunk are loaded up for spring growth, and this sustains them until they recover from collection. During the summer, they slow down a little, then have a quick second flush around July, but not nearly as strong as the initial go-go-grow. Collecting in summer will likely kill them with high temps sapping moisture and not enough sugars to keep them healthy through the winter. Give it a shot this spring!
Thanks man! Great info.
Do you have any tips about Virginia juniper collecting? I've been trying keep these suckers alive after collecting for close to a decade with almost no success. There almost blacklisted in the bonsai community, not much to none in in-depth info on them.tried in every season, every soil combos, different after care processes'. No hope? Any way, makes sense to ask a fellow Appalachian, to make some sense of thing.
You bet! One of the reasons VP's aren't very popular is because of their fussy juvenile foliage, which is produced by stress (from collecting, pruning, disease, looking at them wrong, etc). They take quite a long time to revert back to mature foliage, and many artists prefer to use a less-fussy juniper (like shimpaku) rather than wait forever. A way to decrease that time is to allow it to become more pot-bound (repotting all the time = stress), go easy on the pruning & pinching (which = stress), and keeping it free of disease with good tree care (good draining soil, fertilizer, sun).
I love them. My avatar is actually a Virginia juniper in training I've had for seven years. With the failure & success since I first started collecting them, I've learned a few things.
- Once I collect one, I do my best not to move it around much for the first year (that goes for any collected tree, really). Those new roots are delicate.
- An arborist/logger friend once told me he only finds them in areas with limestone, which makes sense. Ever driven I-40 through Tennessee? Nothing but limestone & red cedar. So I add a little garden lime to my mix.
- I find many in red clay soils, so I also make sure they get good iron (I use rusty nail water).
- Still learning and paying attention.
- If you get tired of the fuss, there are cultivars/varieties of Virginia juniper out there more suitable for bonsai than wild trees, but you have to look in nurseries. I once found one called 'Grey Owl'. There seems to be several varieties in Europe according to forums. I still go for cow fields!
Hope that helps, & great luck!
What time of year would you recommend a hard pruning like John Geanangle does for an azalea...If I were to by one from a local nursery..I mean. I believe that is what I would like to do, but I want to do it at the right time of year for the plant to have the best chance of recovery.
Springtime and late fall are great times for hard prunes, though most broadleaf trees, like azalea, are done in the spring. Late fall is usually left for light pruning of all trees, and hard pruning of junipers and pines. John's got great advice for azaleas. He & Ken Duncan put together are well known for them.
Where are you located? I plan to go to WV to go hunting for trees
I'm nearby in the Blue Ridge of Virginia. WV will have great trees too. Just make sure you wait until early spring to collect them.
Nice!
Maybe we need to hook up this spring & play in the swamp! It's been a while since I've visited my old roots.
hey I'm in cali, you ever been out here?
I have, but not for bonsai in specific. I was briefly in the redwoods in May, then got up to see Ryan Neil's exhibit at the Portland Japanese Garden. What part of Cali? I don't have any trips coming up (that I know of), but I'll definitely keep in mind for future travel.
How did you like the exhibit? I'm in the bay area, if you ever travel this way during the season, let's go bonsai hunting!
His exhibit was an interesting mix of his Japanese training with this personal style, along with very non-traditional displays. I liked it!
I've a sister in Campbell, and it's been a loooong time since we've seen each other. With this year's travel already planned out, I'm gonna push for 2018. Now,... to convince the wife!
If you took the horn beam and juniper together would be cool.
How do you tell which plant is which without leaves?
It's something you learn over time. I've loved trees since I was a kid, and the more I look, the more I pay attention to details. Those details sink in and hold over the years, and then you can identify as you walk through the woods. Grab a book on trees at your local library or book store or online and give it a glance. Basics like conifers vs. broadleafs, alternating vs. opposites, bark, bud size - all tell-tale signs. I love the National Wildlife Federation's Field Guide to Trees of North America for where I live. Hope that helps!
Hey there, any idea what office in state dot handles permissions for roadside collecting? I have access to Virginia and Maryland.
Awesome question. Permissions are so important. I've been working up my permissions for new spring digs, and filming when I can for a future video on it. It's often easier than people think.
It's been a few years since I've had to worry about VDOT, and my binder with all the information is buried in a box somewhere. It generally starts with the local authority (county or district). Go to the clerk's office at the courthouse and they can get you to the proper permits. Be forewarned, permits can be expensive. I think my county was $100, and VDOT was more. The experience has been, though, this is only required for interstates and main roads where the interruption of traffic may occur. But, it can also be as simple as calling VDOT, giving them your full intentions, and asking them. I did 6 years ago, and they said just go for it, but check with the owner first - no permit needed. I'll find the info binder and get you a link to VDOT's official document (it's down a wicked internet rabbit hole if you go looking).
It is so much easier to go direct and ask for the owner's permission. I can legally dig a tree off the road of my personal property without VDOT's permission, and I can legally dig on someone else's roadside property (with their permission, of course), and not have to go through county and state. If underground cables are potentially a problem, call 811 - Miss Utility will come out & check for free.
As stated before, I plan on addressing this more in future videos. I think by telling how I get permission for each tree I collect, I can be more expressive & transparent about my process, and give ideas about how you, yourself, can also ask permission. Best luck!!
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Good good
Hunting trees on the side of the road sounds FUN... What kind of tools do you keep in your vehicle?
Shovel, pruners, trashbags, saw.
Might get shot at? Wtf. That's crazy. Be safe.
Trespassing is no funny business. ;)
I wish doing this was legal in the UK. I always see smallish trees that would make perfect bonsai along our roads and canal pathways. Yet I'd be slumped with a hefty fine and probably a criminal record for collecting it.
awesome vídeo, this kind of videos are not seen very often, hope to see more, like and subscribe for me!
+Nacho Nacho
Don't worry, I've got more coming! I'm starting to use a different camera, and that should take some of the shakiness out in future vids.
Thanks for watching!
+Appalachian Bonsai thanks to you for making it!
I enjoy all your videos, would you be willing to recommend or suggest video editing software?
Nacho Nach
Hi sir i have a bonasi
hi sir
Get a new mic while you're at it
+lds1970 already on it! Waiting on the box to get here!
Appalachian Bonsai what kind of soil that is good for bonsai?
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begus sakale lek marni
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