Collecting Yamadori can be fun and very hard work.. Once you have chosen a good spot where dwarf like trees are likely to be (good choices for sites are high mountain tops, where animal graze and the weather is harsh) these condition's all contribute to dwarfing trees.
Then you will need to find out the land owner! and ask for permission to collect from that land. Once this is done you can get to work...
Heading out! searching and ready to collect.
what i normally take on my search is as follows:-
1. pruning lopers,
2. folding saw,
3. Bonsai sissors
4. Concave cutters,
5. Cut paste,
6. Hammer,
7. Root hook,
8. Water spray (bottle),
9. Little hand shovel,
10. Small axe,
11. Ball of string,
12. Thick black bags,
13. A ruck sack to carry all these small tools in.
14. Then i carry a spade and most importantly!!!! a flask of tea or coffee...
You are looking for a good trunk (with some movement) and low growing branches. If you like the trunk, but there are no low branches growing, you can still collect the trunk and grow new branches (this will take longer) but patients is the game with Bonsai.. saying that some species grow faster than other and can achieve a very nice shaped bonsai within a season. However, my only advice is to have a go yourselves, practice makes perfect!!! that is the only way you will truly learn by experimenting,
When collecting, always try to keep an open mind to what style and shape you are looking for as a future bonsai tree. Always remember, you will never rarely find a finished Bonsai, you will have to collect and train the species into bonsai (but you will have the best nature made trunk there is, grown for many years, know as Yamadori!!!
A silver Birch (An ideal situation would be to have a good thick trunk and many bottom branches
My son and myself out searching for Yamadori
Look at this wide old oak tree, can you see the natural jin in the bottom pic..
Up high in the mountains (where all the harsh weather is)
Silver Birch
Some Pines I have my eye on!
Yamador after Care
When collecting Yamadori, try to unsure to get as much as the root ball as possible. I normally take my spade about 20cm from the trunk and stick my spade down in the ground. Then making a circle of 20cm (from that point) all the way around the tree.. (Each tree is individual, so always take this into account) If in dought, measure the trunk girth for EG:- 5cm then times it by 7 =35 cm! So you will need to come out 35cm from the trunk and then stick to that diameter all the way around the tree, this is in order to gain good rootball for it to have a good chance of surviving.
Then I dig down about 10/15 cm working my way in and under the root ball. Once you are under the root ball you can level it up (with the spade) and cut the tap root (this runs directly under the main trunk and can be thick) you are aiming for good fibrous roots (the feeders) that is what makes the tree survive..
When you have lifted the tree out, give a good spray of water to the roots before wrapping it in a sand bag type of cloth to secure the roots (tie with string to secure) this makes sure the feeder roots don't come dislodged from the main trunk.. (If you have a long journey to go home, try placing some sphagnum moss in with the roots, to keep them moist)
Once you have got it home, its time to get him straight into a training pot (these can be washing up bowls, to a purpose made wooden training box. What ever you use, make sure it is big enough to hold the whole root ball and has a good number of drainage holes in the bottom)
If you have alot of feeders to play with, you can cut back the thick (enlonged) root.! Cut them back (If you can get away with it) if not! Leave it till next year..
Pot the tree in free draining Bonsai soil (50/50 compost and sieved grit) worked it in to the roots, be careful not to press hard down on the roots, as this could cause breakage of the feeders.. Once the roots are covered you may want to secure the whole tree by tieing it up.. So that wind or rain can't topple it over.
Once this is done, water the soil and tree (then press down lightly to securer once more) then leave it for ten minutes, for the water to drain through the soil.. Then go back and water again. Put the tree in a sheltered position, till its roots firm into the soil and just keep a check on it..
Collecting for Yamadori is normally done in the dormant season (winter to early spring) Some people say leave it grow wild the first year or so with out touching it!! But I have always started styling my yamadori The first season's of collection (providing they are healthy) and i have never had any trouble.. the UK Native trees are very hardy and adapt well to weather ect.. I don't molly coddle my trees, they are out in any weather, for after all they are trees which need and crave the extreme condition of weather changes, so go with the flow...