So Your Yamadori Died, Now What?

Last year I lost this 70 year old yamadori..



I loved the trunk's movement, so I decided to strip the bark and make a tanuki..



The final result needs a few years of refinement, but I think is a good start.




In order to fit the deadwood to the shimpaku, I had to cut off a section of the trunk. I held onto it for a year until I came home with this small stone from Austria. And so began my first attempt at a daiza.



As you can see, there isn't enough wood to make a properly proportioned daiza, but hey, the fact that it's made from an old yamadori adds sentimentality.



I wanted to preserve the lean in the stone, which required adding an extra leg. I affixed a small "shadow" stone in an attempt to preserve continuity.





And so concludes my best attempt to make the most of a sadly deceased yamadori. What have you done with your "failures?"

I really like it. Only thing that makes me curious is the very top, that branch bothers me. The way it slings back like it does, just doesn't do it for me. Just my opinion.

Yamadori? This looks like a regular garden tree to me. Again, the misunderstanding of the term.......

carlos wrote:Yamadori? This looks like a regular garden tree to me. Again, the misunderstanding of the term.......

Carlos, are you implying that simply by looking at the above photo you are able to divine the trees origin?
That's amazing. How did you do it. You must share.

Good luck with the phoenix graft. They can be a lot of fun reclaiming something lost.
We had a thread a while ago on tanukis and there are some good photos in it.

BTW, your bonsai garden seems to be the highest one around - there was a guy from Canada (Toronto if I recall) on the IBC who was up in a tall building but you seem to be higher. Good to see your devotion to green stuff in the urban environment.

Carlos is, no doubt, a fluent speaker of Japanese, and knows that "yamadori" actually and originally means a tree collected from the mountains -- though the term has loosened up quite a bit over the years to become any tree collected from the wild.

Lately, as wild-caught trees become rare in many areas, the term seems to be broadening still further (as words tend to do) to become any collected tree, no matter whether collected from a remote location or from a backyard. The oxymoronish "Urban Yamadori" might be better used for these, however.

But, let's not be pedantic.

I didn´t know that Jim.

Whatwould be the correct term for something collected from the wild (not a mountain)?

JimLewis wrote:Carlos is, no doubt, a fluent speaker of Japanese, and knows that "yamadori" actually and originally means a tree collected from the mountains -- though the term has loosened up quite a bit over the years to become any tree collected from the wild.

Lately, as wild-caught trees become rare in many areas, the term seems to be broadening still further (as words tend to do) to become any collected tree, no matter whether collected from a remote location or from a backyard. The oxymoronish "Urban Yamadori" might be better used for these, however.

But, let's not be pedantic.

Oh no! Not again! the meaning of yamadori has been subject of extensive discussion in this forum. By the way, I also believe that not all collected/dug up material qualifies as yamadori, but that's another story.

Jim,

Don't yoo think that by writing "Carlos is, no doubt, a fluent speaker of Japanese, and knows that "yamadori" actually and originally means a tree collected from the mountains -- though the term has loosened up quite a bit over the years to become any tree collected from the wild." you too are being pedantic? Just a thought.

Kind regards,

Jose Luis

jrodriguez wrote:Jim,

Don't yoo think that by writing "Carlos is, no doubt, a fluent speaker of Japanese, and knows that "yamadori" actually and originally means a tree collected from the mountains -- though the term has loosened up quite a bit over the years to become any tree collected from the wild." you too are being pedantic? Just a thought.

Hello Jose Luis,

Don´t you think that by writing what you did to Jim about his comment to Carlos in the manner that you did, you are also being pedantic?


P.D. I´m not being pedantic myself but rather, just being an ass!

What I think is that this conversation is becoming rather petty despite AK's welcome attempt to lighten it up. Can we get back to the merits of mbolos' tanuki please? After all, he is merely pointing out that you can make the best of something that otherwise you might think is a goner.

And he did ask for others' examples of what they did with their failures, so in the spirit of his post, here's one of mine:



This is the bottom half of a failed air layer on an Acer campestre. The hands in the pic above belong to another well-kent IBC member - there's a prize for guessing who.



It's going forward as a shohin and over the next while the aim is to bring the foliage in tighter, develop a crown and reduce the leaves a bit more. It'll never be a show stopper but it did seem a shame to throw it out.

Don't yoo think that by writing "Carlos is, no doubt, a fluent speaker of Japanese, and knows that "yamadori" actually and originally means a tree collected from the mountains -- though the term has loosened up quite a bit over the years to become any tree collected from the wild." you too are being pedantic? Just a thought.

Of course I was. PURPOSEFULLY!

does the uk have a mountain ????????????? i'm sure there is a film about it ? if not the native trees must be dug from a hill at best so no yamadori from this little island..........
Serously tho,
My failures are now compost - not too many thank goodness and all in the first 5 years of the hobby - 100% down to wrong soil and underfeeding - a pine, a couple of acers and a little larch, so i guess its an acceptable learning curve

I think thats going to be fantastic Fiona, Sometimes its in our attempt to raise the phoenix from the ashes that we perhaps burn the brightest.

Oh thats good..I gotta send that one to Hallmark
-Jay

My failures have ALL been from pushing trees too hard. Its the gentle touch now with me and the kids.

Rob Kempinski wrote:Good luck with the phoenix graft. They can be a lot of fun reclaiming something lost.
We had a thread a while ago on tanukis and there are some good photos in it.

BTW, your bonsai garden seems to be the highest one around - there was a guy from Canada (Toronto if I recall) on the IBC who was up in a tall building but you seem to be higher. Good to see your devotion to green stuff in the urban environment.

Fiona, thanks for trying to bring the thread back to bonsai and away from pesky definitions. Yamadori, Urban Yamadori, Bonsai Enthusiast, Bonsai Hobbyist, Bonsai Artist; Cultivator of Bonsai; "Practicer" of Bonsai; it can drive a person mad!

With regard to your comment Rob, I'm trying to make do 150 feet up. After all, wouldn't wild trees now affixed to a concrete "mountain" in the middle of a city be the quintessential Urban...Yamadori.

I keep tweaking my setup. After an incident getting a poor lady on the street wet with runoff, I've settled on this.

On the ledge I put a few trees in sturdy pots that won't be affected by wind. Just to be safe, they're all secured tight with moving straps. This way, they get a little more sun and I have something to look at while I'm in my apartment.





Then the rest of the trees are put underneath. They all sit in paint trays so no water gets out. Siphoning out the excess water from the trays is a hassle, but hey, it's a labor of love.



I know my trees look like a mess right now, but that's mainly because I'm playing Drgonzo's "gentle touch," giving the trees some needed years to fill out. I'm still a student, so I do the best with the material I can afford.

held down with RATCHET TIES - I love it! Those puppies aren't going anywhere! The gentle touch is the best way, never doubt it. Trees don't grow at human speed, so we have to slow down to Tree speed.

I'd say that takes a full measure of devotion to the sport of bonsai.

I dunno if I'd do that. I'd probably be stuck with doing tropicals, inside. (But I think that's why I don't live in a big city.)

Good for you giving it a go like that. It reminds me of the photos you see of the small houses in Japan where every ledge on the sides of the house is crammed with bonsai because the owners don't have a garden. Seems to work fine for them.

Your "garden" is awesome. you just need some big cascades going out over the ledge and your lanai would look like some cliff in Yosemite!

Arno

Very nice! I have my balcony crammed up too...my family is upset I keep bringing material all the time!

Only thing is that I have to fill up my water trays with sand or throw off the water every day and a half to avoid the mosquitoes.

Here is what I did with mine

Xuan



This first attempt failed

[img]https://i.servimg.com/u/f46/14/66/62/37/dead_w12.jpg[url=https://servimg.com/view/14666237/150][/img][/url]



The last 2 pictures are of the Tanuki still alive

I think you've posted this on another thread, gorgeous work cleaning up the deadwood! What does it look like near the "fuse" points?

Yes I did post this in another threasd but not form the begining.
What do you mean by the "fuse" points?
BTW thank for your comment
Xuan

Could you post some closer photos of the trunk? I'd love to see how you attached (i.e. "fused") the tree(s) to the deadwood.

mbolos wrote:Could you post some closer photos of the trunk? I'd love to see how you attached (i.e. "fused") the tree(s) to the deadwood.

I will post the close up pictures as soon as the weather permits, it is raining like hell since 3 days and the forecast predicts the rain wont't stop before Sunday (due to Katia storm)
But I used screws to attach the whips to the deadwood.

Xuan