Yamadori advice

Hi all,

I’ve been given permission to did this Lonicera stump near my work.

It is roughly 6 inches wide at it’s thickest that is above the soil line.

I have noticed a thick root a good foot below the trunk, do I did above of below this root?

Further, the stump is on a slope, what’s the best way to approach getting this tree out of the ground without losing major roots. Should I try and get underneath the tree from the sloped side?

Unfamiliar with the species but regardless of start on the high side of the slop 1-2 feet outside the trunk excavating in looking for pockets of feeder roots coming off structural surfaces roots. Working all the way in and up under the sheen the. Pivot to the low side repeat that processes. Check out what that root has in relation to what you have saved. I don’t think any of us could tell you to save or ignore that root with any certainty based on 3 pictures. Get as much feeder roots as possible then the after care will be you make or break. You can also reference the urban yamadori video Ryan posted when he removed his Andromeda/pieres.

Some good collecting advice from @NEBeech. Lonicera is also known as honeysuckle and based upon the one we had as a kid, my guess is that it will grow even if no feeder roots are found - i.e. a large cutting.

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They are bulletproof, pretty sure large branches will grow roots when shoved in soil. Thats why they insanely invasive.

Hi all,

Thank you for so much helpful feedback!

I have done a small amount of work (around my job) to clear some more of the top soil and expose the trunk and nebari. As I go I am finding so much more trunk that its changed by idea from a twisted upright to a low, fat almost sumo style tree, think the Queen Elizabeth Oak in the UK.

I plan to collect this month and will update you!

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Personally I would just take a sawzall and cut an angled circle around it. Their roots grow rediculously fast, ive had them root up through the bottom of tubs ive had yamadori growing in to the point they had to be cut free from the ground, they were definitely not roots from the pines and spruces. The honeysuckle i collected last winter pushed branches around half an inch thick the first year. The base on mine is like 10 inches or so.

Be sure and wire movement early or the branches become brittle as can be.

Another week and I have managed a little more clearance. This thing is a bit of a beast and much larger than originally thought!

Chop stick is 8 inches long. Think the rear edge (that is buried in the hill) will be another 8 inches back will be a dinner plate sized Nebari for a stump less than a foot tall!

Can also start to see the movement in the buried section as I had 5 minutes to start that before having to stop. Hoping to find some more next week and dig by the end of the month!