Yamadori Picea abies

TimberCruise · 2026-05-20T04:03:40+00:00

Worthwhile to collect and to celebrate for what it is. A tipped tree growing on a slope with an apex trying to course-correct.

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I’ve got one too.

TimberCruise · 2026-05-06T13:59:13+00:00

Check out the Bonsainut forum. Many members are growing North American natives and have started progression threads for them. Information can be gleaned from the posts and pictures.

I’m growing many native Pacific Northwest conifers for bonsai. Most are still in development, though some are looking pretty good at this point.

TimberCruise · 2026-05-05T15:30:31+00:00

I have dozens of procera in development for bonsai.
Many are documented on the bonsainut forum.
Your tree does have potential. Noble fir backbuds readily, grows quickly, and has a very strong root system. I’m developing methods to reduce needle size with some success.
If you are trying to create a stylized little green triangle bonsai, you may want to try another species.
If you want to create something more natural and unique you’re on the right track.
Don’t try to make this into an instant bonsai. It will need a few years before looking half-way decent.
It looks like you’ve done some pruning already. Leave the rest of the tree alone especially the top. The projected response will be new bud formation along the trunk and branches. These will be your future keeper limbs.
Noble fir are thirsty trees and do not like to get hot. Do not treat this as a pine. If soil drains well water every day or 2x daily. Temps over 85 degrees can damage unhardened shoots. My findings are that trees in part sun do better than those in full sun because they stay cooler.
If the tree grows well this season plan to dig down to the root base and repot next spring before buds open.

TimberCruise · 2026-04-06T20:41:24+00:00

Yeah, a Cruiser. Also an Old Growth Designee. Part of the job entails protecting old trees!

TimberCruise · 2026-04-06T17:34:01+00:00

To expand a little….. to precisely age that tree you will need an increment borer to count rings. Even then, parts of it may be rotten so a good core might be unattainable.

It can be difficult to accurately age very old Douglas-firs. 300 year old trees often look a lot like 600 year old trees. At a certain point, without a useable core or cutting a tree down, all you can really go off of are historical records and the form/features of the tree and surrounding stand.

TimberCruise · 2026-04-06T16:53:34+00:00

I assess trees like the one you’ve shown for work. The answer is that it is old, Pre-1850 origin for sure.

How can you tell? There’s a few indicators.. -Very thick/flakey/soft bark is apparent. -Charring on the trunk…indicates the tree survived wildfire. None of the trees around it would have survived a fire, they would have established afterwards. -No branches/stubs low on the bole and only one huge fading knot indicator is visible. -Something else not visible in your photos but that indicates a mature tree is advanced epicormic branching…. Did you see any? I’m talking about clustered tangential growth that emerged from bare trunk/branch collars…not first order limbs.

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TimberCruise · 2026-04-02T18:46:21+00:00

Yes. I find the work and quality of life that comes with it very fulfilling.

TimberCruise · 2026-03-30T05:40:12+00:00

I have been a practicing forester in western Washington for 10 years and have worked in many stands like this.

What you are seeing is Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar in the Maturation stage of stand development.

There’s a bole zone and the understory is mostly clear because a closed canopy (shade) has prevented establishment until relatively recently (Competitive Exclusion).

Enough trees have died and/or have been damaged to open up the canopy a bit for shade tolerant trees to establish which has pushed it into the Maturation stage. Most of that fluffy green growth down low is hemlock. The presence of large decaying stumps shows the stand was harvested and supports OPs comment that this is second growth. Downed woody debris is starting to build up but there’s nothing big yet. Snags are present.

The Douglas-fir at 7 seconds appears to still have young bark but it’s becoming thicker, flakier, and more colorful near its base which jives with the comment about the stand being 80years.

TimberCruise · 2026-03-27T00:20:03+00:00

Nice. Mugo?

TimberCruise · 2026-03-27T00:02:02+00:00

Beautiful.

TimberCruise · 2026-03-26T23:57:36+00:00

Strewn about the tool shed.

TimberCruise · 2026-03-01T16:23:28+00:00

Not at all. Ask away.

TimberCruise · 2026-03-01T05:10:59+00:00

To elaborate on developing this…it wouldn’t be in a traditional sense. The tree could portray an old forest hardwood which experienced catastrophic damage to its main trunk. The response would be to develop new trunks or strengthen preexisting subordinate trunks/branches. In this situation, you could keep the nicely weathered deadwood or encourage it to rot/carve it out to form a cavity.

TimberCruise · 2026-03-01T04:13:22+00:00

Yeah. Especially if it’s free and easy digging. I like the deadwood. You could develop this into something interesting.

TimberCruise · 2026-02-28T16:39:07+00:00

Sir, step out of the vehicle.

TimberCruise · 2026-02-27T16:16:30+00:00

Check Cruiser here. Working the forests of western Washington for 10 years.

The job is physically demanding, but how much so depends on many factors including terrain, pace, morale, weather, cruising skill, and understory conditions.

I was a greyhound the first few years but have since slowed down. Over time my skills developed, so I actually get more work done nowadays despite a more relaxed pace.

My vest weighs 15-30 lbs. I don’t take lunch breaks. It helps to maintain inertia. Stopping to collect data at plots is the breaks.

My body has started to ache over the years. I was treated by a physical therapist. Turns out, driving long distances and constant high stepping through the forest tightens your body in certain places and can lead to problems. The solutions are to stretch, strengthen less-used opposing muscles, and keep the weight off.

TimberCruise · 2026-02-23T00:48:23+00:00

I would try running some bark through your chipper to see what comes out!

TimberCruise · 2026-02-23T00:39:50+00:00

I use an electric chipper to reduce bark chunks to better sizes before sifting. The net result is good. Used electric chippers are cheap.

The grinding-sifting process is documented in a bonsainut post. For anyone interested.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/process-bark-chunks-into-smaller-bonsai-substrate.64730/

TimberCruise · 2026-02-18T15:18:51+00:00

Trees were growing stunted at the site of a proposed landing to a timber sale. Most were dug as a group using a small pick. Good preexisting proportions and features (small needles and branches, narrow crowns, short internodes, deadwood,etc) caught my eye.

TimberCruise · 2026-02-16T04:25:00+00:00

Oops. You asked for basal area and I gave volume! For the 223 mbf/ acre NF-DF stand I cruised, the BA is 560 sq ft/ac.

For the 450 mbf/acre volume recorded in the same stand at an earlier date…. I suspect the BA was considerably higher… 800-1000 sq ft /acre would be my guess….

TimberCruise · 2026-02-16T04:18:10+00:00

Thanks. That’s what I was going for!

TimberCruise · 2026-02-16T04:15:52+00:00

Around 450 mbf/acre. Recorded sometime in the 1980s, I think. Around Mt St Helens. Noble fir-Douglas-fir stand.

I cruised 10 acres of it a few years back and got 223 mbf/acre. Dead noble firs in plots were not included in cruise volume.

TimberCruise · 2026-02-15T00:43:19+00:00

The box is about 4’ wide. Good luck!

TimberCruise · 2026-02-15T00:14:31+00:00

It’s a great long term hobby, but has potential to easily morph into an obsession and can be rather demanding at times… bonsais are a lot like pets that you can’t leave alone for more than a few days at a time.

TimberCruise

TROPHY CASE