Hi,

Regarding collecting pines, two flush, as yamadori. When collecting is there anything major I should do to give me best success?

My method until now has been to keep as much of the roots as possible, keeping the roots moist while hiking the tree out and bringing along some of the trees original soil. I also take bit of the top to relive the tree of growth stress as it is growing new roots. Plant tree within hours of collecting and I also use rooting hormone powder. Plant it in a good mix of original soil and bonsai soil and keeping good ventilation though the pot. And I start fertilizing after 6 months or so, depending the health of the tree.

Is there anything anyone could add to this?

Thanks !!

it is not easy to collect yamadori succesfull, especially Pines. Even a few years later they can die. There is a good article at this site about this subject, please read it: www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/yamadori-bonsai

Yes, I had a look at this some time ago, and I must agree. We who collect should always respect the trees above all when doing work like this. But I still think there are more to be said for collecting yamadori with different aproches. What I would like to see more of is the professionals spreading out knowledge, we all see a lot of work on bonsai and the stages before, but I think there is a lack of available knowledge about yamadori and collecting potential future bonsai trees. The article left me with a sense of that I shold not collect, when the chase is that most people who do will do it through a trial and error process, spreading knowledge about just this will prevent that.