Greetings - Up here in New England we have a lot of beech trees that are
quite common in our neighborhood and back yard.......so I decided to
attempt a transplant of some of the 3 foot tall suckers (1.5" diameter
trunk) that were clustered and growing up out of the ground from the roots
of a large 45 foot tall mature beech.

In preparation to collect this cluster of small beech trees (back in early
March), I dug until I severed the root that was connected to the mother
beech tree. I then lifted the root ball and scattered some Rooting Hormone
Powder.....and I left it right where it was in the ground for about 40
days.

Now that it is just past mid April, it's a lot warmer, the snow is gone
and the buds have fattened up on all the trees, I have removed the small
beech from the woods and planted into a one gallon pot on April 10th, and
watered with some SuperThrive Vitamin Hormone.

Now that I described my method of collecting North American
Beech.............My questions a

1) I heard beech is very tempermental to collecting - Has anyone collected
American Beech?

2) How do beech respond to pruning?

3) Anyone else have another method for collecting beech?

Thanks in advance! I'm hoping to eventually develop these beech trees
into bonsai.

david
- Massachusetts

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In preparation to collect this cluster of small beech trees
(back in early
March), I dug until I severed the root that was connected to
the mother
beech tree. I then lifted the root ball and scattered some
Rooting Hormone
Powder.....and I left it right where it was in the ground for
about 40
days.

Now that it is just past mid April, it's a lot warmer, the snow
is gone
and the buds have fattened up on all the trees, I have removed
the small
beech from the woods and planted into a one gallon pot on April
10th, and
watered with some SuperThrive Vitamin Hormone.

Now that I described my method of collecting North American
Beech.............My questions a

1) I heard beech is very tempermental to collecting - Has
anyone collected
American Beech?

Yes. The larger they are the more difficult. I'm talking about
independent trees here, having never dared (or thought of)
lifting a root sucker.

I wish you luck with these. If you had asked beforehand, I would
have recommended that you collect these over a one- or two-year
period.

I would have severed them from the parent tree this year, then
next year (assuming they survived) dug around them and filled
with new bonsai soil (WITHOUT the rooting hormone which tends to
inhibit roots on a rooted plant) and left for another year, THEN
collect them and put them in a LARGE shallow grow box for several
years while they nurse themselves back to health.

At the very least I would have waited a year to collect.


2) How do beech respond to pruning?

Beech, generally, have ONE flush of growth a year -- in spring.
On a strong, healthy tree, you sometimes will get a flush of buds
forming after heavy pruning. They seldom are where you want them
and often come out of the bark at very acute (and useless)
angles.

I hope you left a number of buds on these trees.


3) Anyone else have another method for collecting beech?

The smaller the better and it is (I suspect) better to collect
seedlings, rather than root sprouts.

Thanks in advance! I'm hoping to eventually develop these
beech trees
into bonsai.

One would assume that, since you're asking us. ;-)

Good luck, and please keep us posted. It would be nice to know
if your method will work.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

So far, so good. Getting past the first stage is the hardest. If it were
me, I'd leave the trees right where they are until the fall before
transplanting into a training box. At that time, examine the roots and, if
they have developed sufficient fine root hairs, they should be able to go
throught the winter without any trouble.
As for pruning, beeches have only one push of growth a year. The long,
complex buds will shoot out a series of leaves. To begin the training
process, remove all but two or three leaves from each cluster, making sure
that the out-most leaf is facing away from the trunk. During the season,
some of the remaining leaves will start to grow inward toward the trunk.
Remove those also. You will find that the leaves will grow quite large.
Don't try to clip them. As the trees mature and are replanted in bonsai
pots, they will grow somewhat smaller; but they never will be reduced to
finger nail size.
Good luck!
Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: "David I."
To:
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 9:43 PM
Subject: [IBC] American Beech (collecting wild for bonsai)




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++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Thanks Jim....Thanks Marty. I apreciate the reply to my questions about
collecting wild American Beech. The advise was very helpful. Dave I.

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++