This has been the corner stone for my picking trees during this period of my novice beginnings...Picking subjects that are already acclimated to where I live...Great topic, narration, information and video BB...Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge...Sequim, WA...
Thanks! I had fun thinking about my trees in terms of native/non native. After making the video, I realized 6 of the 7 I presented are conifers. I need to find another deciduous native...
Native yamadori are a great way to do bonsai - 1) you can get an old tree with character for a good price (or free) and 2) they are native and therefore adapted to local climates. I really like Coastal Redwoods too, but they would need some coddling in my USDA Zone 6 climate. Thanks for watching and your comment.
Very nice Western Hemlock...Excellent points about the small needles...I have several collected and waiting for next spring to do their first root pruning...Your is really nice...
Awesome brother!!! I too came to this realization at about a year into taking bonsai seriously. I live in Texas but I travel for work, so I've been collecting material all over the Midwest & now the Northwest. Great data! Thank you!!! Keep the content coming.
Thanks for watching! Very neat that you are working with NA Natives. Do you have any species that you especially enjoy or that you'd recommend to others?
@@BonsaiNorthwest I thought you'd never ask! So, there is a white pine(pinus strobus) known as a "Blue Shag" pine. It's a dwarf evergreen conifer of the white pine family that has the softest, fluffiest bright greenish blueish needles! I first seen one at a nursery in Northern Michigan and wanted one ever since, but they're expensive if you buy one. The first one I've ever seen in the wild was here in New Hampshire, when I went hiking up Mount Chocurea. It was growing out from a rock face, between some boulders on the mountain at about 3000ft elevation. There's an amazing nursery in Dover called Wentworth Greenhouse, and they had 2 younger ones in 3gal pots. $69.98 and I bought one. I've let it grow in the plastic pot it came in for the last 3 months and it's grown very well. I use a little bit of the liquid fish fertilizer that you mix in water and have watered it with that about once a month. I'm actually waiting to bonsa it as I've learned you can propagate cuttings, so I want to do it all in one shot.
@@BonsaiNorthwest Also, I've successfully dug up maples in both Michigan & Illinois that I've brought back to Texas and only lost 2 out of about 20 I got. Crimson Maples & Northern Red Maples from Michigan 🍁 Silver Maples from Illinois. The Silver Maples grow UNBELIEVABLY fast! I do keep them in a mostly shaded spot in my back yard, as the Texas heat is brutal.
Great video! Some great background information on the trees u talked about as well 👍 hopefully using my local trees that I've started and plan to harvest will help give me valuable experience
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I'm guessing some of the species you have started with are natives, although I'm unfamiliar with the natives of eastern NA. There are likely a few besides hornbeam that are popular for bonsai - bald cypress comes to mind.
Thank you! It's a variety of sedum with a fine growth habit, a small rose, and some perennial volunteer plant that I've pruned down a couple times now.
Thanks so much for this video! I have a bunch of "weed" trees growing around my property including several varieties of maple. I go back and forth with using them as I didn't think they were good enough, nobody uses them! I need my husband to help me dig some out. I also need to do some research on native trees to North Carolina. I did this a while back but I guess I gave up on it. Thanks, you sparked me on to do this again.
Glad you enjoyed it. I kind of subscribe to the Nigel Saunder's philosophy: if you feel like doing bonsai with a species, just go for it. Especially if it's free and you have the time and space, why not? You might create something neat. Good luck with those "weed" trees.
Thanks this video. I totally agree. I've been thinking on this topic for a while and now I´m starting all over again with Bonsai, I decided to cultivate only native trees or trees that grow wild in my area. Mutiple advantages as you said: adapted to the local wheather, adapted to pests and diseases, etc. If we think about it, Chinese and Japanese when they started cultivating Bonsai they use mostly native local trees. I think the idea of cultivating certain japanase species because are "more suit" for Bonsai is mistaken. If Bonsai would have started in US or North America, probably Red Mapple would be a more popular for Bonsai than Japanese Maple :) . Thanks again, and I will save this video for future references on the species presented!. 🍻
More great trees in the PNW for bonsai. Cascade Mountain Ash is really interesting and it's easy, just keep its feet wet in hot weather. Vine maple is good, Sitka and Engelman Spruces are hardy, Mountain Hemlock is amazing but more difficult.
Thanks for the other native PNW species suggestions. You're at least the second person to mention vine maple. I've been intrigued by some dwarf vine maple cultivars for sale online; I'm sure if any of those actually popped up in a nearby nursery, I might snatch one up. The species will of course grow better, but I'm a big fan of dward cultivars. I second spruces being hardy. I've transplanted a few spruces and they handle it really well. And it's nice not worrying about them getting too cold; they handle it well. In fact, I'm guessing they likely do better when they get a nice long cold winter (at least Engelmann Spruce).
@@ie8443 pro trick to mountain hemlock is simple. You can ONLY dig them with high success rate in the Goldilocks period. This is when the buds first swell before enclosure. You have 3-10 days depending on the elevation how fast the temperature is raising at night in the earth. Typically 5-7 days is the pocket for most collectible trees. You can’t let it get over 90 degrees it’s first year being moved. You can never let it dry out. Dig deeper than you would usually think. Take time to do root work after recovery has occurred with hands off for three years or so. This trick is the big trick no one teaches when collecting trees is when the actual best time is. Fall collecting is for high mountain areas with no access during this time and just as tricky because you have to catch the tree before it sends its roots out in the fall. Black bag technique for deciduous trees works great. Conifers if strong and healthy can pop back in a few years. Kind of dicey and after care is critical. Don’t over or under water . Over watering is usually the death of most yamadori.
I loved your video and maps - so well done. Such great advice to choose species that want to perform for you given the local conditions. The only trees that I truly regret getting are the ones that are just not a good fit for my conditions despite my desire to have them succeed. I’m usually glad when they finally expire after a long slow decline. I’m looking at you Desert Rose! 😂. Again, thanks for the great content.
Thank you! I had fun making the maps, and learned some things doing so, as I do when I make most of these videos. Ha, I hear you about being relieved when those ill adapted plants finally expire. I admit that I've even nudged a few plants toward death when I've realized they just don't do well in my care. It's quite a time commitment to care for a plant year after year, so I'm really just thinking of my time when I drop trees like that.
I recently purchased a tree from a online supplier because I wanted a specific "dwarf hinoki cypress nana gracilis" and didn't realize that it would be a grafted tree. It has a crazy inverse taper, the club pro told me to plant it in the yard and maybe try taking some cuttings from it. I will give the thuja a try.
I love hinoki foliage, but yeah, usually when I take a look at the graft site of nursery trees, there is some severe inverse taper. I don't find thuja foliage as appealing TBH, but it's at least similar and to my understanding, thujas are generally tougher. And I can't say enough good about the Thuja Primo, if you're into dwarf varieties.
Ben ~ You are amazing! Thanks for picking native trees. I work in the Master Gardening community and that's all about native vs invasive trees and plants. I love that you rotate the pot. I like looking at all sides!! Can you talk more on the specifics of trimming roots to fit small pots and the medium you use to plant your trees. Does the medium differ with the tree species?
This is by far my most viewed video, so I think a lot of folks are interested in using natives for bonsai and perhaps gardening in general - I agree, it's a good trend that I hope continues. That's great that you're part of the Master Gardening community. I chatted with a master gardener for awhile recently and it sounds fun to me, albeit more demanding that I would expect. At the moment, I'm quite into bonsai, and haven't been as interesting in gardening in general. I've noted your questions about root pruning to fit trees in small pots - I'll have to do a video about that topic specifically - I'm guessing you're not the only one wondering about it (I've found the viewer suggested topics generally get a lot of views). Right now isn't the repotting season (that's March/April for me), or else I'd get a video out here in a few weeks. Anyway, you're spot on about different species having different needs. Some you need to be more careful about doing root work (e.g. pines) and some handle severe root pruning really well (e.g. maples). I use the same soil mixture for most my trees, but some bonsai folks do use different soil mixtures for different species.
Hi, I from South Africa, really like North American and European trees. Currently have young Bald Cypresses for a forest project and they are doing well, love to get any Spruce, Larch and Fir trees. I have one Coastal Redwood, still far from being a bonsai. Also the NA and Europe deciduous trees are also on my list like the hornbeams, beech and birch. Want them for group plantings. Still experimenting to germinate them here.
Hi, thanks for visiting. Glad to hear you're into NA natives. The South African climate is a mystery to me - zero experience. I'd be curious to hear how spruce, larch, and fir would do there. I'm a fan of Portulacaria Afra, a South African native.
@@BonsaiNorthwest my region in SA is very Hot and Dry does not get very cold in our region maybe max - 2C on the coldest Mornings. But other regions in SA are more wetter, colder and Humid sub tropical weather. The P. Afra or Spekboom like we call them are very adaptive and easy succulent bonsai trees.
I love growing stuff that's native to my zone 10b area. It really helps me appreciate and connect with the nature where I live imo. I just wish all of my favorite local species were suitable for bonsai haha
Great point, I think growing natives (and trees in generally) does the same for me - a greater appreciation for nature. Since starting bonsai, I think I've expanded what plants I enjoy growing - not everything has to be a bonsai, I've realized, to appreciate it.
I learned about native trees of North America when I visited Mrs. Doris Froning in Kennett Square. She had a book on the topic, might be out of print, but I guess it could be available from Amazon books in used books. I grow mostly native trees, and have done that for more than 40 years now.
Wow, 40 years of experience growing natives, I wish I could chat with you about it. Do you have any recommendations - species that work well, as well as species that haven't worked well for you?
Very good info. I have a Douglas Fir and picked up a few other native species this year. Two types of pacific crabapple and some sort of a native Hawthorne. The one that I want, but so far can’t keep them alive is pacific madrone (arbutus menziesii) I can find them 40 minutes from where I live, but they are too picky and don’t like my neighbourhood 😂
Thanks for the info about pacific madrone. I hope you can figure it out. Yes, native hawthorne look like they could be great for bonsai. I've seen some nice ones in my local forest with very interesting trunks that the deer have been training as bonsai for years.
Great topic! I'm a new subscriber here and looking forward to checking out the rest of your videos! My elms and cypress are my best-growing and headache-free trees. I'm just getting into Sweetgum!
Thank you, and thanks for the subscription! Subscription reciprocated. This has quickly become my most popular video, so I think there is some interest in NA natives. One viewer commented that this is very Northern NA centric, so you might consider doing a NA natives video as well for your region (looks like you are further south than me?)
@@BonsaiNorthwest I am in 6A ish and on the Great Plains. We get the extreme heat and the extreme cold. We joke that spring and fall around here are nice for the 7-10 days it lasts.
@@smokyhillbonsai-gerrettmor6373 Ah, so you are similar to me - I'm at USDA Zone 6B. I understand what you are saying about living inside a continent, far from an ocean - temperatures can really swing. I lived in the northern Great Plains for several years - it wasn't unusal for temps to go from 50 deg F to 20 deg F and then back again. And it still got quite hot in the summer.
I love this! Probably because I started doing this last year. :D My best success is a Myrtlewood. I am trying to get Sitka spruce seeds because I've had great success with non native Norway spruce! :D
Very neat! Keep up the good work with natives. I realized when making this video that I should look into more deciduous broad leaf natives, and might try another one of two of those. Thanks for the species suggestions.
Another positive thing is it's much easier, and more impressive to say to show off to friends and family. "This is a regular sugar maple, growing in a little pot". Instead of "This is a bougainvillea... blah...blah." then you have to explain what a bougainvillea is, and people's eyes just glaze over 90% of the time lol.
Good point, I think you're right about that. I forget that many people unfamiliar with bonsai still might think that a bonsai tree is a special type of tree or even a species.
@@BonsaiNorthwest Almost everyone I talk to thinks bonsai trees are separate, or special in some way. They are usually shocked when they find out that they're regular trees maintained small.
I live in California and I grow a native Madrone tree. I’ve been growing it for 20 years. It is really cool tree red flaking bark evergreen. The key is to grow them in native sandy soil. I dug it up as a sapling and grown it up
I'm not familar with Madrone, but I have heard it mentioned several times, usually that it can be difficult to grow - nice work, and thanks for the info that others might find useful.
@@timmywood9677 explain this madrone bonsai to me..!!!! What kind of wizardry of trees do you have going on !!! How often do you repot. What do you do for this. How do you get it to handle pruning and not kill the branch off ??? Seriously whatever magic you have going on in your bonsai garden needs to be shared. Madrone is basically impossible material to have as a container tree!
@@imcoolboi-tq6zb hello yeah its a pretty amazing and different tree. I dug it up in winter time as a sapling. I planted it in native sandy soil from the Santa Cruz mountains 🏔️ And I do not prune the branches or cut the roots in any shape or form. It been in the same pot for till last year till I slept potted it into a bigger pot. It needs full sun also All the people in my bonsai club that seen it are impressive with it. The hardest thing is to survive the transplant
Hello from Montana! Great video..ive been thinking about native collection.. i live in NW Montana.. any tips for gathering native trees?? Good time of year? Etc... I found some amazing trees up high.. but its pretty rocky... but lits of inspiration
Hi, thanks for visiting and the comment. I'm not too far away from you in northern Idaho. I've read that fall is a good time for collection, as many trees put on a lot of root growth this time of year, so that they'll be able to repair roots post collection. I've never tried it though (not that I wouldn't, just haven't ever gotten around to it). All my native collection has happened in the spring, around late April-May when snow has melted off in the forest near my home. If you go higher and colder of course, you could just collect when you can make it up there, more like May-June or even July if you go really high. You might check out some videos by Kootenay Bonsai Canada - he collects at high elevations which necessitates collecting pretty late into the spring and even summer. As for native species that I've successfully collected in April/May - Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Western Larch (although I've killed more Western Larch than I've successfully collected). Spruce seem to tolerate transplanting quite well in my experience as well. Some keys to successful collection (there more but this comment is already really long): 1) collect in spring (or fall), not when the ground is frozen in the dead of winter or during the hottest days of summer when it might be water stressed and 2) let it recover for 2-3 years before doing major work (once the tree starts growing vigorously, work can start, maybe that will only take 1 year, maybe 4 years?).
@@BonsaiNorthwest East PA is slowly changing to be much more milder than it used to be. We barely get snow anymore in the winters. So I'm actually finding the long hot humid summers can be good for a range of things. But we can keep a lot of the stuff you mentioned with success because it does go dormant. Locally we have some interesting trees but not good for bonsai. For instance we have lots of Sycamore trees but the leaves are massive. Like dinner plate size.
Researching bonsai was intimidating for me. Instead, this summer, I've been trying to collect from the various trees growing in my yard. I'm sure the sycamore maple I dug up yesterday isn't ideal for bonsai, but I'm not afraid to fail when the squirrels are gonna plant more of them this fall.
I've seen some large-leaved maple bonsai that are quite nice, and if you enjoy it, why not? I think yard material is a great source of material and like you said, it's free and there is generally an ongoing supply. I have several trees that have come from my yard, although I don't think any of them are native, all introduced species.
I have to disagree with you about faults of American hornbeam. It is not slow growing. The tree can actually grow for almost the entire growing season. When a shoot has gotten to five or six leaves, i pinch back to two leaves. The tree soon produces more shoots which i again pinch back. This encourages denser foliage and smaller leaves. 🌳 You do need to keep the tree fertilized and watered so it can produce this growth. I stop pinching in mid August to allow the tree to prepare for dormancy.
Thanks for the info, it's good to know that American hornbeam has the potential to grow more quickly than I give it credit for in the video. I haven't tried giving my hornbeam (I only have experience with this one individual) a trim during the growing season yet - just fall trims so far. It does give me maybe 6-8 inches of extension growth every year, but I do have it confined in a bonsai-sized pot. And it's great to hear that the leaves reduce - I'd love to get my leaf size down a bit. I guess when I call it slow growing, I was comparing it to my maples, which extend 2-3 times longer than my hornbeam. I've also noticed that it appreciates water. I've watered it more heavily this year than I did last year, and it seems to have grown significantly more this year. Anyway, I do appreciate the info. Thanks for your comment.
Yes, they are prolific growers, especially if fertilized regularly. One of my favorites. Here in the Southeast, I have NO problem with leaf size reduction. ...also called Blue Beech.
My hornbeams grow like weeds. I have 1 that's 2 years out of the forest, had zero branches when potted, and now has branches inches thick. Just water no fertilizer.
Ha ha, yeah, I've got American Robins in my yard year round, including during breeding season. I guess I do still kind of appreciate them - it's fun to watch them search for worms and see the young grow. However, I DON'T appreciate it when they start singing at 4 am right outside my window, which happens occasionally.
I would love a video on how to start a bonsai project from cutting (or seed?). I’m in colorado and am interested in doing a ponderosa bonsai or engleman spruce bonsai. Not quite sure how to get started or when to start (season). Great vid!
Great suggestion, thank you! I think I could talk about that for 5-10 minutes, and have a few things to say about it. I don't have a ton of experience with cuttings, but have successfully rooted thuja, juniper, ficus, elm (I think), lots of crassula, portulacaria, and most recently, just found roots on one of my Japanese maple cuttings. Anyway, I have an outline in my head for a video and will share my thoughts. I love the idea of Engelmann spruce and ponderosa pine bonsai (lots of people love ponderosa for bonsai). I really should have a ponderosa, as it is likely the tree species that would naturally occur where my house now sits.
These trees are more North North America. But I love the subject of North American trees as bonsai. Further south there are many species of hardwood: Oaks, Dogwood, Hickory, Walnut and so many more that make wonderful bonsai and garden trees.
Yes, this would more appropriately be titled "Northern North America Native Trees As Bonsai" as I'm in northern North America. I think you're absolutely right that many more NA natives could be used as bonsai, including those native to southern NA that I'm not familiar with. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks for these additional natives. I've heard of most of them but not all. You're the second or third person to mention Alder. And I recently listened to a Bonsai Wire podcast where they mention Red Maple as a promising species for bonsai.
Hornbeam is one of those species I had no idea about until I saw this tree in a nursery. I feel like I'm hearing more about them lately, but that might just be because I've been getting more involved in bonsai lately. I'm hopeful that my hornbeam will be a great tree, in maybe a decade.
I'd love to know what you think of trees with a large taproots as bonsai, such as the American Persimmon! The ones you list seem to have shallower roots
That's a great question. Admittedly, I don't have a good answer for you. I was just thinking of this question while doing fieldwork in sagebrush, which send roots deep, to my understanding, and was wondering about the success rate of transplated sagebrush. I know people have successfully transpanted sagebrush, but not sure how difficult it is. I imagine that the younger something is, the better it will handle having that taproot cut. Also, if something is started in a pot, then the taproot shouldn't be an issue. But good question, those are my simple thoughts. I have no experience with American Persimmon.
Choke cherry ,service berry, noble fir , western red cedar , grand fir, Utah juniper, San Jose juniper, osoberry tree, Sitka spruce ,ponderosa pine , sequoia, redwoods, wild pear, black hawthorn , huckleberry ,ninebark, white oak black oak red oak coast live oak , mesquite, Douglas fir , vine maple englemann spruce, Rocky Mountain juniper. Alpine fir/ cork bark Snowberry shore pine
That's wild! And interesting. What kind of an area did you find it in (natural or urban)? Although native to Western NA, it's a pretty flexible species that's now been introduced to other areas around the world, not sure to what extent it's been naturalized.
I won't admit to just how many Hinoki cypress I have purchased nor will I confirm how many have survived. But I must say, when they leave the northwest, heading southeast ,they sure are stunning. And it just hit me that as available as they are I have never seen this species in the ground around here. So I doubt planting would help. These tree's don't mind the heat or humidity of summer, it's the frozen desert that gets them. I mean I have pulled up to the nursery to replace my fallen tree only to find their remaining Hinki look worse than mine. They come at you like "oh a little snip here a little snip there, it will tree just fine". I don't think so buddy. But I'm not sure if the one mentioned would survive here either, but I wouldn't mind killing one if anyone ships them.
Ha ha, I'll admit to killing many trees, although I don't have a count. If hinoki are giving you grief, then I highly recommend a thuja, especially if you are in a more northern climate. We do have a few hinokis in landscapes around here, however, thujas are much more prevalent. I love the Thuja occidentalis 'Primo', but there are other cultivars. At least in garden centers around here (Inland Northwest of the United States), thujas are almost always available, and are also much cheaper than hinoki cypresses.
@@BonsaiNorthwest thanks, I'll let you know in 50 years how it goes! It was growing on a hill, so it has a natural bend in it making it perfectly lateral. I'm gonna try and trim it and grow a branch off the top to become the new tree. I want a bonsai growing from a log look
Yes, I started with only 3 different kinds of sedum in 3 small pots. I think I've likely increased them more than 10 fold since they propagate so easily from cuttings. I now have them all over in various parts of my yard and in many of my bonsai pots. I agree, I think succulents would do well in USDA Zone 10.
@@BonsaiNorthwest they pester the hell out of them whenever they find them. If you go to the sound the owl is usually pretty easy to find because the robins will dive bomb them repeatedly.
@@rigbreakers Hmmm, good question, the native range of most of the seven I shared here are generally from the northern US and Canada, except the hornbeam, which should do well in the SE US as it is native to there. As for the others, I don't know. I remember watching a Bonsai Supply video where Jerome worked on an Alberta Spruce, and he was in a Georgia (I think).
I really struggle growing native hemlock. We even had a 50 ft tree that died within a year after the maple blocking its light was removed. I suspect this tree prefers to grow as an understory tree in the shade, until it outgrows its competitors. Anyone with special tips for hemlock, let know.
I admit I haven't tried growing many western hemlock, just this one, which took collection really well. Here is what I did when I collected it: 1) collected in late spring (when snow allowed me to access where it was growing, 2) collected in a moist area, so I got quite a few feeder roots close to the trunk 3) didn't do any root pruning and didn't forcibly remove any of the native soil (quite a bit of the soil fell off), 4) planted it in this bonsai pot which was just big enough to accommodate the root ball, 5) filled the remaining space in the pot with a bonsai soil/sphagnum moss mixture, 6) kept the tree in mostly shade (a few hours of morning sun) for the remainder of that growing season, and 7) transitioned it to full sun the next growing season. I did some minimal wiring and pruning a year or two after collection, but for the most part have left it alone for three years. I have also been slowing replacing sections of the native soil with bonsai soil each spring since then (I've just done this twice I think, I just leave the tree in the pot, but excavate a small maybe 15% section of native soil and put bonsai soil in). I'm pretty generous with the water as well, despite still having that native soil in the root ball. I think I read that hemlocks, at least western hemlocks, are pretty okay with remaining fairly damp (unlike say a pine, where you definitely don't want to overwater). Anyway, maybe those tips might help. Best of luck!
I have a Canadian hemlock bonsai which came from nursery stock. I keep it in mid-day shade as they are understory trees. I planted it in a bonsai soil mix with some extra akadama to hold more moisture. It is usually watered daily. Canadian hemlock is not often grown for bonsai as small size weathered and naturally dwarfed specimens are rare in nature. I enjoy my tree despite it coming from nursery stock rather than a collected tree.
@@emelgiefro Giant Sequoia work for bonsai, absolutely. I was considering buying one at a local nursery last year. Nigel Saunders has a Giant Sequoia forest going right now (I think).
@@BonsaiNorthwest Yes I have a couple. They are great trees ramify easy and grow like mad around our streams. I have a cottonwood in ground as well I'm working on.
I have a book to write on why red alder resents bonsai entirely….. Many issues I could fill a whole comment section. However if kept under control and planted in a recovery area for collected trees it will nourish them. The alder bacteria will trade with the symbiotic fungus the conifers have. They work in tandem. Alder grows and then conifers come in under them and the soil is perfect for them to live in. Doug fir and hemlock will recovery way faster planted near a red alder than without it. The babies will grow better and stronger under them too. Don’t believe me you can try it. The alder and conifers have a natural exchange and the alder is the pioneer tree to kick off our pnw forest getting established. Where you find red alder you will have a forest of Doug fir and western cedar rapidly after it starts to die. Alders don’t live long either. In the wild fifty years or so on best terms a century. They bring mineral from deep to the top soil as they rot down and the conifers benefit from it vastly. When the old grow dies back alder will come in as well as vine maple and start the cycle over. It takes about 800-1200 years for the cycle to complete.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing! It makes a lot of sense - Alder indeed seems like an early successional species, whereas the conifers are late successional. You've convinced me with your short explanation - I might dig up a few Alder to plant with my next collected conifer.
@@BonsaiNorthwest use the Randy Knight recovery bed with it. Also wild vetch strawberry and huckleberry planted around your tree bed will super kick things off for you. You’ll notice mushrooms volunteering in two to three years after everything gets grown together. That’s when you know it’s really cycling well. Anything from the pacific rim area is going to do really well to stabilize after collecting. And you won’t have to dig your tree up later. Douglas fir wood shavings seem to be the best for the recovery area for yamadori. I have have thought about grinding old alder wood up and hemlock to see if it changes anything for the better but that’s years of experimenting on something that works great already. 🤷♂️. If you’re in the PNW check out the bohemian mines area of the Umpqua. The cedar and hemlocks are very different than other locations. So different they almost look like different trees. 💚. You can get fifty tags for transplant if live trees for being an oregonian and then it’s like 7 a tree. BLM permits are about 2-6 a tag. Happy huntings and I hope you fill your yard with bonsai 👍.
Love this video! Ive been getting intetested in bonsai and really like the idea of growing natives! Thank you for making this!
Glad you enjoyed it! Happy growing. 🌲
This has been the corner stone for my picking trees during this period of my novice beginnings...Picking subjects that are already acclimated to where I live...Great topic, narration, information and video BB...Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge...Sequim, WA...
Thanks! I had fun thinking about my trees in terms of native/non native. After making the video, I realized 6 of the 7 I presented are conifers. I need to find another deciduous native...
@@BonsaiNorthwest acer circinatum?!
@@chompers11 Of course! Great suggestion, thank you.
Native yamadori is what inspired me to study bonsai. The Pygmy Cypress and coastal redwoods are my favorites
Native yamadori are a great way to do bonsai - 1) you can get an old tree with character for a good price (or free) and 2) they are native and therefore adapted to local climates. I really like Coastal Redwoods too, but they would need some coddling in my USDA Zone 6 climate. Thanks for watching and your comment.
Very nice Western Hemlock...Excellent points about the small needles...I have several collected and waiting for next spring to do their first root pruning...Your is really nice...
Thanks! I hope your collected hemlock recover as well as mine did. I'd be interested to hear if they do.
Awesome brother!!! I too came to this realization at about a year into taking bonsai seriously. I live in Texas but I travel for work, so I've been collecting material all over the Midwest & now the Northwest. Great data! Thank you!!! Keep the content coming.
Thanks for watching! Very neat that you are working with NA Natives. Do you have any species that you especially enjoy or that you'd recommend to others?
@@BonsaiNorthwest I thought you'd never ask!
So, there is a white pine(pinus strobus) known as a "Blue Shag" pine. It's a dwarf evergreen conifer of the white pine family that has the softest, fluffiest bright greenish blueish needles!
I first seen one at a nursery in Northern Michigan and wanted one ever since, but they're expensive if you buy one. The first one I've ever seen in the wild was here in New Hampshire, when I went hiking up Mount Chocurea. It was growing out from a rock face, between some boulders on the mountain at about 3000ft elevation.
There's an amazing nursery in Dover called Wentworth Greenhouse, and they had 2 younger ones in 3gal pots. $69.98 and I bought one. I've let it grow in the plastic pot it came in for the last 3 months and it's grown very well. I use a little bit of the liquid fish fertilizer that you mix in water and have watered it with that about once a month. I'm actually waiting to bonsa it as I've learned you can propagate cuttings, so I want to do it all in one shot.
@@BonsaiNorthwest Also, I've successfully dug up maples in both Michigan & Illinois that I've brought back to Texas and only lost 2 out of about 20 I got.
Crimson Maples & Northern Red Maples from Michigan 🍁
Silver Maples from Illinois.
The Silver Maples grow UNBELIEVABLY fast! I do keep them in a mostly shaded spot in my back yard, as the Texas heat is brutal.
Great video! Some great background information on the trees u talked about as well 👍 hopefully using my local trees that I've started and plan to harvest will help give me valuable experience
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I'm guessing some of the species you have started with are natives, although I'm unfamiliar with the natives of eastern NA. There are likely a few besides hornbeam that are popular for bonsai - bald cypress comes to mind.
Great informative video. Thanks, keep growing
Thanks! Will do.
I love the under growth with your American Larch tree.
Thank you! It's a variety of sedum with a fine growth habit, a small rose, and some perennial volunteer plant that I've pruned down a couple times now.
Thanks so much for this video! I have a bunch of "weed" trees growing around my property including several varieties of maple. I go back and forth with using them as I didn't think they were good enough, nobody uses them! I need my husband to help me dig some out. I also need to do some research on native trees to North Carolina. I did this a while back but I guess I gave up on it. Thanks, you sparked me on to do this again.
Glad you enjoyed it. I kind of subscribe to the Nigel Saunder's philosophy: if you feel like doing bonsai with a species, just go for it. Especially if it's free and you have the time and space, why not? You might create something neat. Good luck with those "weed" trees.
@@BonsaiNorthwest Thanks!!
Thanks this video. I totally agree. I've been thinking on this topic for a while and now I´m starting all over again with Bonsai, I decided to cultivate only native trees or trees that grow wild in my area. Mutiple advantages as you said: adapted to the local wheather, adapted to pests and diseases, etc. If we think about it, Chinese and Japanese when they started cultivating Bonsai they use mostly native local trees. I think the idea of cultivating certain japanase species because are "more suit" for Bonsai is mistaken. If Bonsai would have started in US or North America, probably Red Mapple would be a more popular for Bonsai than Japanese Maple :) .
Thanks again, and I will save this video for future references on the species presented!. 🍻
@@jaherlar Glad you liked it. Yep, great point that the Chinese and Japanese started with native material.
Enjoyed this one. Yay for natives!
Thank you!
Very interesting video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I really enjoyed the video. I like shortleaf pine as potential for bonsai but never tried it when I was living in the range.
Glad you enjoyed it. I haven't heard of short leaf pine as bonsai, it'd be interesting to try.
More great trees in the PNW for bonsai. Cascade Mountain Ash is really interesting and it's easy, just keep its feet wet in hot weather. Vine maple is good, Sitka and Engelman Spruces are hardy, Mountain Hemlock is amazing but more difficult.
Thanks for the other native PNW species suggestions. You're at least the second person to mention vine maple. I've been intrigued by some dwarf vine maple cultivars for sale online; I'm sure if any of those actually popped up in a nearby nursery, I might snatch one up. The species will of course grow better, but I'm a big fan of dward cultivars.
I second spruces being hardy. I've transplanted a few spruces and they handle it really well. And it's nice not worrying about them getting too cold; they handle it well. In fact, I'm guessing they likely do better when they get a nice long cold winter (at least Engelmann Spruce).
@@ie8443 pro trick to mountain hemlock is simple. You can ONLY dig them with high success rate in the Goldilocks period. This is when the buds first swell before enclosure. You have 3-10 days depending on the elevation how fast the temperature is raising at night in the earth. Typically 5-7 days is the pocket for most collectible trees.
You can’t let it get over 90 degrees it’s first year being moved. You can never let it dry out. Dig deeper than you would usually think. Take time to do root work after recovery has occurred with hands off for three years or so.
This trick is the big trick no one teaches when collecting trees is when the actual best time is.
Fall collecting is for high mountain areas with no access during this time and just as tricky because you have to catch the tree before it sends its roots out in the fall. Black bag technique for deciduous trees works great. Conifers if strong and healthy can pop back in a few years. Kind of dicey and after care is critical. Don’t over or under water . Over watering is usually the death of most yamadori.
I loved your video and maps - so well done. Such great advice to choose species that want to perform for you given the local conditions.
The only trees that I truly regret getting are the ones that are just not a good fit for my conditions despite my desire to have them succeed. I’m usually glad when they finally expire after a long slow decline. I’m looking at you Desert Rose! 😂. Again, thanks for the great content.
Thank you! I had fun making the maps, and learned some things doing so, as I do when I make most of these videos.
Ha, I hear you about being relieved when those ill adapted plants finally expire. I admit that I've even nudged a few plants toward death when I've realized they just don't do well in my care. It's quite a time commitment to care for a plant year after year, so I'm really just thinking of my time when I drop trees like that.
Osage Orange / Bodark is a fantastic American tree for bonsai. They have very hard thorns but they grow crazy fast.
@@MidwestBriar Nigel Saunders made me aware of Osage Orange - his forest is developing nicely.
I recently purchased a tree from a online supplier because I wanted a specific "dwarf hinoki cypress nana gracilis" and didn't realize that it would be a grafted tree. It has a crazy inverse taper, the club pro told me to plant it in the yard and maybe try taking some cuttings from it. I will give the thuja a try.
I love hinoki foliage, but yeah, usually when I take a look at the graft site of nursery trees, there is some severe inverse taper. I don't find thuja foliage as appealing TBH, but it's at least similar and to my understanding, thujas are generally tougher. And I can't say enough good about the Thuja Primo, if you're into dwarf varieties.
Ben ~ You are amazing! Thanks for picking native trees. I work in the Master Gardening community and that's all about native vs invasive trees and plants. I love that you rotate the pot. I like looking at all sides!! Can you talk more on the specifics of trimming roots to fit small pots and the medium you use to plant your trees. Does the medium differ with the tree species?
This is by far my most viewed video, so I think a lot of folks are interested in using natives for bonsai and perhaps gardening in general - I agree, it's a good trend that I hope continues.
That's great that you're part of the Master Gardening community. I chatted with a master gardener for awhile recently and it sounds fun to me, albeit more demanding that I would expect. At the moment, I'm quite into bonsai, and haven't been as interesting in gardening in general.
I've noted your questions about root pruning to fit trees in small pots - I'll have to do a video about that topic specifically - I'm guessing you're not the only one wondering about it (I've found the viewer suggested topics generally get a lot of views). Right now isn't the repotting season (that's March/April for me), or else I'd get a video out here in a few weeks.
Anyway, you're spot on about different species having different needs. Some you need to be more careful about doing root work (e.g. pines) and some handle severe root pruning really well (e.g. maples). I use the same soil mixture for most my trees, but some bonsai folks do use different soil mixtures for different species.
Hi, I from South Africa, really like North American and European trees. Currently have young Bald Cypresses for a forest project and they are doing well, love to get any Spruce, Larch and Fir trees. I have one Coastal Redwood, still far from being a bonsai. Also the NA and Europe deciduous trees are also on my list like the hornbeams, beech and birch. Want them for group plantings. Still experimenting to germinate them here.
Hi, thanks for visiting. Glad to hear you're into NA natives. The South African climate is a mystery to me - zero experience. I'd be curious to hear how spruce, larch, and fir would do there. I'm a fan of Portulacaria Afra, a South African native.
@@BonsaiNorthwest my region in SA is very Hot and Dry does not get very cold in our region maybe max - 2C on the coldest Mornings. But other regions in SA are more wetter, colder and Humid sub tropical weather. The P. Afra or Spekboom like we call them are very adaptive and easy succulent bonsai trees.
@@PercyWarX Thanks for the info!
I love growing stuff that's native to my zone 10b area. It really helps me appreciate and connect with the nature where I live imo. I just wish all of my favorite local species were suitable for bonsai haha
Great point, I think growing natives (and trees in generally) does the same for me - a greater appreciation for nature.
Since starting bonsai, I think I've expanded what plants I enjoy growing - not everything has to be a bonsai, I've realized, to appreciate it.
I learned about native trees of North America when I visited Mrs. Doris Froning in Kennett Square. She had a book on the topic, might be out of print, but I guess it could be available from Amazon books in used books. I grow mostly native trees, and have done that for more than 40 years now.
Wow, 40 years of experience growing natives, I wish I could chat with you about it. Do you have any recommendations - species that work well, as well as species that haven't worked well for you?
Thanks for sharing 🙏
Thanks for watching!
I enjoyed this video. Nice work!
Thank you, Dave!
Great video bro! Keep it up!! 👏🏽 🌳 🌲 🪴 👏🏽
Thank you! I enjoyed creating this one.
Thanks for the vid! This is awesome content
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very good info.
I have a Douglas Fir and picked up a few other native species this year. Two types of pacific crabapple and some sort of a native Hawthorne.
The one that I want, but so far can’t keep them alive is pacific madrone (arbutus menziesii) I can find them 40 minutes from where I live, but they are too picky and don’t like my neighbourhood 😂
Thanks for the info about pacific madrone. I hope you can figure it out.
Yes, native hawthorne look like they could be great for bonsai. I've seen some nice ones in my local forest with very interesting trunks that the deer have been training as bonsai for years.
Great topic! I'm a new subscriber here and looking forward to checking out the rest of your videos!
My elms and cypress are my best-growing and headache-free trees. I'm just getting into Sweetgum!
Thank you, and thanks for the subscription! Subscription reciprocated. This has quickly become my most popular video, so I think there is some interest in NA natives. One viewer commented that this is very Northern NA centric, so you might consider doing a NA natives video as well for your region (looks like you are further south than me?)
@@BonsaiNorthwest I am in 6A ish and on the Great Plains. We get the extreme heat and the extreme cold. We joke that spring and fall around here are nice for the 7-10 days it lasts.
@@smokyhillbonsai-gerrettmor6373 Ah, so you are similar to me - I'm at USDA Zone 6B. I understand what you are saying about living inside a continent, far from an ocean - temperatures can really swing. I lived in the northern Great Plains for several years - it wasn't unusal for temps to go from 50 deg F to 20 deg F and then back again. And it still got quite hot in the summer.
I love this! Probably because I started doing this last year. :D My best success is a Myrtlewood. I am trying to get Sitka spruce seeds because I've had great success with non native Norway spruce! :D
Very neat! Keep up the good work with natives. I realized when making this video that I should look into more deciduous broad leaf natives, and might try another one of two of those. Thanks for the species suggestions.
Another positive thing is it's much easier, and more impressive to say to show off to friends and family. "This is a regular sugar maple, growing in a little pot". Instead of "This is a bougainvillea... blah...blah." then you have to explain what a bougainvillea is, and people's eyes just glaze over 90% of the time lol.
Good point, I think you're right about that. I forget that many people unfamiliar with bonsai still might think that a bonsai tree is a special type of tree or even a species.
@@BonsaiNorthwest Almost everyone I talk to thinks bonsai trees are separate, or special in some way. They are usually shocked when they find out that they're regular trees maintained small.
I live in California and I grow a native Madrone tree. I’ve been growing it for 20 years. It is really cool tree red flaking bark evergreen. The key is to grow them in native sandy soil. I dug it up as a sapling and grown it up
I'm not familar with Madrone, but I have heard it mentioned several times, usually that it can be difficult to grow - nice work, and thanks for the info that others might find useful.
@@timmywood9677 explain this madrone bonsai to me..!!!!
What kind of wizardry of trees do you have going on !!!
How often do you repot. What do you do for this. How do you get it to handle pruning and not kill the branch off ???
Seriously whatever magic you have going on in your bonsai garden needs to be shared. Madrone is basically impossible material to have as a container tree!
@@imcoolboi-tq6zb hello yeah its a pretty amazing and different tree. I dug it up in winter time as a sapling. I planted it in native sandy soil from the Santa Cruz mountains 🏔️ And I do not prune the branches or cut the roots in any shape or form. It been in the same pot for till last year till I slept potted it into a bigger pot. It needs full sun also All the people in my bonsai club that seen it are impressive with it. The hardest thing is to survive the transplant
Hello from Montana! Great video..ive been thinking about native collection.. i live in NW Montana.. any tips for gathering native trees?? Good time of year? Etc...
I found some amazing trees up high.. but its pretty rocky... but lits of inspiration
Hi, thanks for visiting and the comment. I'm not too far away from you in northern Idaho.
I've read that fall is a good time for collection, as many trees put on a lot of root growth this time of year, so that they'll be able to repair roots post collection. I've never tried it though (not that I wouldn't, just haven't ever gotten around to it).
All my native collection has happened in the spring, around late April-May when snow has melted off in the forest near my home. If you go higher and colder of course, you could just collect when you can make it up there, more like May-June or even July if you go really high. You might check out some videos by Kootenay Bonsai Canada - he collects at high elevations which necessitates collecting pretty late into the spring and even summer.
As for native species that I've successfully collected in April/May - Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Western Larch (although I've killed more Western Larch than I've successfully collected). Spruce seem to tolerate transplanting quite well in my experience as well.
Some keys to successful collection (there more but this comment is already really long): 1) collect in spring (or fall), not when the ground is frozen in the dead of winter or during the hottest days of summer when it might be water stressed and 2) let it recover for 2-3 years before doing major work (once the tree starts growing vigorously, work can start, maybe that will only take 1 year, maybe 4 years?).
Really nice trees you've made with N. American material. Some similar stuff for us in PA east USA.
Thank you! Any species in PA that you particularly like for bonsai?
@@BonsaiNorthwest East PA is slowly changing to be much more milder than it used to be. We barely get snow anymore in the winters. So I'm actually finding the long hot humid summers can be good for a range of things. But we can keep a lot of the stuff you mentioned with success because it does go dormant.
Locally we have some interesting trees but not good for bonsai. For instance we have lots of Sycamore trees but the leaves are massive. Like dinner plate size.
Researching bonsai was intimidating for me. Instead, this summer, I've been trying to collect from the various trees growing in my yard.
I'm sure the sycamore maple I dug up yesterday isn't ideal for bonsai, but I'm not afraid to fail when the squirrels are gonna plant more of them this fall.
I've seen some large-leaved maple bonsai that are quite nice, and if you enjoy it, why not?
I think yard material is a great source of material and like you said, it's free and there is generally an ongoing supply. I have several trees that have come from my yard, although I don't think any of them are native, all introduced species.
I have to disagree with you about faults of American hornbeam. It is not slow growing. The tree can actually grow for almost the entire growing season. When a shoot has gotten to five or six leaves, i pinch back to two leaves. The tree soon produces more shoots which i again pinch back. This encourages denser foliage and smaller leaves. 🌳 You do need to keep the tree fertilized and watered so it can produce this growth. I stop pinching in mid August to allow the tree to prepare for dormancy.
Thanks for the info, it's good to know that American hornbeam has the potential to grow more quickly than I give it credit for in the video. I haven't tried giving my hornbeam (I only have experience with this one individual) a trim during the growing season yet - just fall trims so far. It does give me maybe 6-8 inches of extension growth every year, but I do have it confined in a bonsai-sized pot. And it's great to hear that the leaves reduce - I'd love to get my leaf size down a bit. I guess when I call it slow growing, I was comparing it to my maples, which extend 2-3 times longer than my hornbeam.
I've also noticed that it appreciates water. I've watered it more heavily this year than I did last year, and it seems to have grown significantly more this year.
Anyway, I do appreciate the info. Thanks for your comment.
Yes, they are prolific growers, especially if fertilized regularly. One of my favorites. Here in the Southeast, I have NO problem with leaf size reduction.
...also called Blue Beech.
My hornbeams grow like weeds. I have 1 that's 2 years out of the forest, had zero branches when potted, and now has branches inches thick. Just water no fertilizer.
Great info! But I had to chuckle. In the background you hear that blasted robin objecting to being called "common".
Ha ha, yeah, I've got American Robins in my yard year round, including during breeding season. I guess I do still kind of appreciate them - it's fun to watch them search for worms and see the young grow. However, I DON'T appreciate it when they start singing at 4 am right outside my window, which happens occasionally.
I would love a video on how to start a bonsai project from cutting (or seed?). I’m in colorado and am interested in doing a ponderosa bonsai or engleman spruce bonsai. Not quite sure how to get started or when to start (season). Great vid!
Great suggestion, thank you! I think I could talk about that for 5-10 minutes, and have a few things to say about it. I don't have a ton of experience with cuttings, but have successfully rooted thuja, juniper, ficus, elm (I think), lots of crassula, portulacaria, and most recently, just found roots on one of my Japanese maple cuttings. Anyway, I have an outline in my head for a video and will share my thoughts.
I love the idea of Engelmann spruce and ponderosa pine bonsai (lots of people love ponderosa for bonsai). I really should have a ponderosa, as it is likely the tree species that would naturally occur where my house now sits.
These trees are more North North America. But I love the subject of North American trees as bonsai. Further south there are many species of hardwood: Oaks, Dogwood, Hickory, Walnut and so many more that make wonderful bonsai and garden trees.
Yes, this would more appropriately be titled "Northern North America Native Trees As Bonsai" as I'm in northern North America. I think you're absolutely right that many more NA natives could be used as bonsai, including those native to southern NA that I'm not familiar with. Thanks for your comment.
Other natives to consider: American Beech (for larger bonsai), Bald Cypress, Hophornbeam, Winged Elm, Red Maple, Viburnums, Itea, Hawthorne, Alder...
Thanks for these additional natives. I've heard of most of them but not all. You're the second or third person to mention Alder. And I recently listened to a Bonsai Wire podcast where they mention Red Maple as a promising species for bonsai.
Chikugo En in Los Angeles has a very old American Hornbeam, IT IS AMAZING
Hornbeam is one of those species I had no idea about until I saw this tree in a nursery. I feel like I'm hearing more about them lately, but that might just be because I've been getting more involved in bonsai lately. I'm hopeful that my hornbeam will be a great tree, in maybe a decade.
Hornbeam leaves look very similar to our Oregon Alders. :D
Alders do have a nice leaf. I was checking out the alders in my nearby forest earlier this summer, and wondering about bonsai potential.
I'd love to know what you think of trees with a large taproots as bonsai, such as the American Persimmon! The ones you list seem to have shallower roots
That's a great question. Admittedly, I don't have a good answer for you. I was just thinking of this question while doing fieldwork in sagebrush, which send roots deep, to my understanding, and was wondering about the success rate of transplated sagebrush. I know people have successfully transpanted sagebrush, but not sure how difficult it is.
I imagine that the younger something is, the better it will handle having that taproot cut. Also, if something is started in a pot, then the taproot shouldn't be an issue.
But good question, those are my simple thoughts. I have no experience with American Persimmon.
Choke cherry ,service berry, noble fir , western red cedar , grand fir, Utah juniper, San Jose juniper, osoberry tree, Sitka spruce ,ponderosa pine , sequoia, redwoods, wild pear, black hawthorn , huckleberry ,ninebark, white oak black oak red oak coast live oak , mesquite, Douglas fir , vine maple englemann spruce, Rocky Mountain juniper. Alpine fir/ cork bark
Snowberry shore pine
Great list. I think Vine Maple is now number one for being mentioned in the comments of this video.
I dug up a Douglas fir in Indiana 2 yrs ago.
That's wild! And interesting. What kind of an area did you find it in (natural or urban)? Although native to Western NA, it's a pretty flexible species that's now been introduced to other areas around the world, not sure to what extent it's been naturalized.
I won't admit to just how many Hinoki cypress I have purchased nor will I confirm how many have survived. But I must say, when they leave the northwest, heading southeast ,they sure are stunning. And it just hit me that as available as they are I have never seen this species in the ground around here. So I doubt planting would help. These tree's don't mind the heat or humidity of summer, it's the frozen desert that gets them. I mean I have pulled up to the nursery to replace my fallen tree only to find their remaining Hinki look worse than mine. They come at you like "oh a little snip here a little snip there, it will tree just fine". I don't think so buddy. But I'm not sure if the one mentioned would survive here either, but I wouldn't mind killing one if anyone ships them.
Ha ha, I'll admit to killing many trees, although I don't have a count. If hinoki are giving you grief, then I highly recommend a thuja, especially if you are in a more northern climate. We do have a few hinokis in landscapes around here, however, thujas are much more prevalent. I love the Thuja occidentalis 'Primo', but there are other cultivars. At least in garden centers around here (Inland Northwest of the United States), thujas are almost always available, and are also much cheaper than hinoki cypresses.
I dug up a little pine tree yesterday that im gonna try growing in a little pot
That's how it starts! Best of luck to you.
@@BonsaiNorthwest thanks, I'll let you know in 50 years how it goes!
It was growing on a hill, so it has a natural bend in it making it perfectly lateral. I'm gonna try and trim it and grow a branch off the top to become the new tree. I want a bonsai growing from a log look
@@4evermilkman Ha, sounds good, let me know how it goes. You might even have a respectable bonsai in more like 15 years.
Did you propagate the succulents in your bonsai pots? I live in California, Zone 10, and succulents should do well below my trees in bonsai pots.
Yes, I started with only 3 different kinds of sedum in 3 small pots. I think I've likely increased them more than 10 fold since they propagate so easily from cuttings. I now have them all over in various parts of my yard and in many of my bonsai pots. I agree, I think succulents would do well in USDA Zone 10.
I havent grown a bonsai yet, but good video
Thanks! You say yet, so I'm guessing you plan to start? If so, happy growing!
You have an owl in your woods according to those robins going bonkers in the audio of your video.
Is that why they are always so noisy? We definitely have great horned owls in my neighborhood.
@@BonsaiNorthwest they pester the hell out of them whenever they find them. If you go to the sound the owl is usually pretty easy to find because the robins will dive bomb them repeatedly.
@@Delriouss maybe I'll go looking, thanks!
So, how do these trees handle the heat? I live in the southeast, so it gets hot here.
@@rigbreakers Hmmm, good question, the native range of most of the seven I shared here are generally from the northern US and Canada, except the hornbeam, which should do well in the SE US as it is native to there. As for the others, I don't know. I remember watching a Bonsai Supply video where Jerome worked on an Alberta Spruce, and he was in a Georgia (I think).
I really struggle growing native hemlock. We even had a 50 ft tree that died within a year after the maple blocking its light was removed. I suspect this tree prefers to grow as an understory tree in the shade, until it outgrows its competitors. Anyone with special tips for hemlock, let know.
I admit I haven't tried growing many western hemlock, just this one, which took collection really well. Here is what I did when I collected it: 1) collected in late spring (when snow allowed me to access where it was growing, 2) collected in a moist area, so I got quite a few feeder roots close to the trunk 3) didn't do any root pruning and didn't forcibly remove any of the native soil (quite a bit of the soil fell off), 4) planted it in this bonsai pot which was just big enough to accommodate the root ball, 5) filled the remaining space in the pot with a bonsai soil/sphagnum moss mixture, 6) kept the tree in mostly shade (a few hours of morning sun) for the remainder of that growing season, and 7) transitioned it to full sun the next growing season.
I did some minimal wiring and pruning a year or two after collection, but for the most part have left it alone for three years. I have also been slowing replacing sections of the native soil with bonsai soil each spring since then (I've just done this twice I think, I just leave the tree in the pot, but excavate a small maybe 15% section of native soil and put bonsai soil in).
I'm pretty generous with the water as well, despite still having that native soil in the root ball. I think I read that hemlocks, at least western hemlocks, are pretty okay with remaining fairly damp (unlike say a pine, where you definitely don't want to overwater).
Anyway, maybe those tips might help. Best of luck!
I have a Canadian hemlock bonsai which came from nursery stock. I keep it in mid-day shade as they are understory trees. I planted it in a bonsai soil mix with some extra akadama to hold more moisture. It is usually watered daily.
Canadian hemlock is not often grown for bonsai as small size weathered and naturally dwarfed specimens are rare in nature. I enjoy my tree despite it coming from nursery stock rather than a collected tree.
Could you do a giant sequoia ?
@@emelgiefro Giant Sequoia work for bonsai, absolutely. I was considering buying one at a local nursery last year. Nigel Saunders has a Giant Sequoia forest going right now (I think).
👍👌
Thanks!
Have you tried growing Alder?
No, I've only gone as far as considered it. What about you?
@@BonsaiNorthwest Yes I have a couple. They are great trees ramify easy and grow like mad around our streams. I have a cottonwood in ground as well I'm working on.
@@binbin9 Thanks for the info - maybe I'll try one out. Yeah, they definitely grow like crazy.
@@BonsaiNorthwest I call the alder's the poor mans hornbeam because of the serrated leaves
@binbin9 I like your common name - collecting an Alder is much cheaper than buying a decently sized Korean Hornbeam.
I have a book to write on why red alder resents bonsai entirely…..
Many issues I could fill a whole comment section.
However if kept under control and planted in a recovery area for collected trees it will nourish them. The alder bacteria will trade with the symbiotic fungus the conifers have. They work in tandem. Alder grows and then conifers come in under them and the soil is perfect for them to live in. Doug fir and hemlock will recovery way faster planted near a red alder than without it. The babies will grow better and stronger under them too.
Don’t believe me you can try it.
The alder and conifers have a natural exchange and the alder is the pioneer tree to kick off our pnw forest getting established. Where you find red alder you will have a forest of Doug fir and western cedar rapidly after it starts to die.
Alders don’t live long either. In the wild fifty years or so on best terms a century.
They bring mineral from deep to the top soil as they rot down and the conifers benefit from it vastly.
When the old grow dies back alder will come in as well as vine maple and start the cycle over. It takes about 800-1200 years for the cycle to complete.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing! It makes a lot of sense - Alder indeed seems like an early successional species, whereas the conifers are late successional. You've convinced me with your short explanation - I might dig up a few Alder to plant with my next collected conifer.
@@BonsaiNorthwest use the Randy Knight recovery bed with it. Also wild vetch strawberry and huckleberry planted around your tree bed will super kick things off for you. You’ll notice mushrooms volunteering in two to three years after everything gets grown together. That’s when you know it’s really cycling well. Anything from the pacific rim area is going to do really well to stabilize after collecting. And you won’t have to dig your tree up later.
Douglas fir wood shavings seem to be the best for the recovery area for yamadori. I have have thought about grinding old alder wood up and hemlock to see if it changes anything for the better but that’s years of experimenting on something that works great already. 🤷♂️.
If you’re in the PNW check out the bohemian mines area of the Umpqua. The cedar and hemlocks are very different than other locations.
So different they almost look like different trees. 💚. You can get fifty tags for transplant if live trees for being an oregonian and then it’s like 7 a tree. BLM permits are about 2-6 a tag. Happy huntings and I hope you fill your yard with bonsai 👍.