Age of Yamadori

Pappa

Hi,

I've often read about people collecting Yamadori that are 60 or 200 years old. Without chopping the trunk, how is the age of a Yamadori calculated or estimated?

Pappa

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Ian_Homer

Hi Pappa,

Very often, when I have collected, there is always some part of the tree that you need to remove to gain better access OR does not form part of the invisaged design element.
Count the rings on this disposable part and depending on its location on the trunk, you can take a fairly well educated guess on the age.

Obviously, the lower down and thicker the removed branch is, the nearer it is going to be to the age of the "rooted" tree.

Hope that helps a bit.

Ian.

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Pappa

Ah, I see. Thanks.

Bart Thomas(deceased)

Hi, Pappa.

Good question.

I have talked with Andy Smith, a professional collector, about this.

There are several ways.

A nearby, nearly identical, tree may have to be removed in the collection process. Or, it may simply not survive collection.

A major low branch may have to be removed.

There may well be nearby deadwood of the same size and species.

You can count the rings on those.

With experience (Andy collects hundreds of trees each year), you can simply make estimates. His are very accurate. He is also a professional forester.

In very difficult, or desert, growing conditions, the rings may be so small as to be nearly invisible. (As many as 200 in an inch of trunk) Sometimes it is helpful to use a scanner on the trunk section. You can then magnify the image on your computer, which will make counting much easier.

tuckerg

collecting some hawthorns a few years ago,the land owner,who was an elderly gentleman,told me"i remember my father planting those during the war".so roughly the trees were about 60 years old.

marija hajdic

At first, all my bonsais are yamadori!
I really hate sentences like this - hundreds of trees each year... it seems like he is picking up daisies?! Collecting season isn't so long.... also not every tree is good material for bonsai, it is hard to find it, .... and digging lasts for hours (sometimes) it is not just "pull - and - go"!

This is off topic, but I have to react!

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Bart Thomas(deceased)

I'd suggest that you learn the facts before starting a rant!

Visit Golden Arrow Bonsai and read Andy's piece on collecting in the American west.

Most of his trees are collected from areas that are about to be logged, which will destroy those that are left, or to be cleared of underbrush (which includes most pre-bonsai, to get rid of a fire hazard.

Hundreds of trees may be an obscene amount in Europe, but in the wilderness of the American West, it's nothing at all.

Craig Cowing

Another way is to look in the area where the tree was collected and try to find a dead one of the same species, and take back a section.

Craig Cowing

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Bonsainut

Or cut your yamadori an inch above the soil, count the rings, then glue it back.

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