mf148954

i am dealing with a few different kinds of trees all deciduous, and my question is whether the dormancy rule applys to most (or all) deciduous trees? evergreens? and i read the yamadori articles on bonsai4me.com and am left puzzled as to why they made the process so complicated.. I am new to the world of bonsai, and much like brad have been studying for the past couple months straight. i have always been inlove with nature and am planning to make a crareer out of working with plants (hopfully specializing in bonsai) any help would be greatly appriciated.

-Matt

mf148954

wow so i posted this in the wrong section... CURSE MY FATHER FOR BEING AN OLD HIPPY AND TEACHING ME NOTHING ABOUT THE VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY!! bare with me guys.. ill get this internet thing down eventually..

treebeard55

The deciding question, when it comes to dormancy, is whether there is a regular climatic event that the plant can better survive dormant (or can only survive at all while dormant.) In the Earth's temperate zones, that "regular climatic event" is a cold winter. (Granted, some areas are less cold than others. --Apologies to George Orwell. ) In some areas of the world, it's an annual drought.

What does that mean in practice? Look at a tree's native range. If there is a regular cold winter, the tree will be adapted to it, and will go dormant to one degree or another. If not -- if the plant is native to, say, Central America -- then you can almost always assume it needs no winter dormancy.

Deciduous trees, both broadleaves and conifers, go completely dormant in winter. They need no light or fertilizer, and minimal water.

Evergreens, again whether broadleaves or conifers, are generally believed to grow a little bit, during winter, whenever the temps rise high enough for a day or two. I say "are generally believed" because, to my knowledge, this belief has yet to be conclusively proven. But it is generally accepted by bonsaiists, and it seems reasonable to me (barring proof otherwise.) That's why I, and most others, don't overwinter evergreens in darkness.

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Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

mf148954

im sorry! my question was tremendously vague! in fact i failed to ask the question i wanted answered at all! my question is when is the best time to collect yamadori and put into a box. there is a beautiful chinese elm and a few memosas with very interesting nebari and i beleave the first real freeze has yet to hit here in central oklahoma. any advice?

treebeard55

OK, understood. The best time, especially with yamadori, is late winter/early spring, as they're getting ready to push new root growth. Best time of all is when leaf buds are just beginning to swell.

If, for whatever reason, you simply can't wait until then -- if they're going to be bulldozed out for a new shopping mall, say -- then you need to take as big a rootball as you practically can, disturbing the roots as little as possible; wrap the rootball in plastic; and let the tree finish out the winter in a sheltered spot. Once spring comes, then you put it into a box.

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

mf148954

very good! thank you much!

Mattbonsai

Although, just to throw a spanner into the works.

You can start buying Bare-rooted hedging materials, roses and trees from November through to February, these are dug up from the field from late October, and loose a fair chunk of root in the process, yet 90% of the time they grow away happily. Although hedging is usually younger and smaller than the average yamadori, commercial tree nurseries buy in some very large specimens, which come with no soil and the roots cut down to fit into a polythene bag, these are potted and then thrive the next year.

I think although it is better to collect at the right time (as TB said late winter / early spring). It is possible to collect them earlier, and to have a little root loss in the process, provided they are given correct after-care: Potted, Lots of water etc. It also depends on the species, Acer platanoides are generally more forgiving than say Acer palmatum.

Cheers

-Matt-

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mf148954

excellent. thank you for the tip!