Mojave Junipers (A Dig)

bonsaial1

An invite to go on a juniper dig with Harry Hirao is not to be missed. I left Fresno at 2:30 A.M. to drive to Mojave. Everyone met at Denny's to have breakfast. They were not ready to have 45 people decend on them, they were not staffed for this crowd. We met in the parking lot and loaded in the vehicles for the drive to the dig site. It is in Jawbone Canyon, on the Neveda side of the Tehachipe mountains. The junipers grow at the 3500 foot range and in a narrow belt. You have to dress in layers. I had about three t-shirts on and then a jacket. At six am it was about 35 degrees. The dig site takes about half an hour to drive to. There were 24 cars full in all. Clubs represented were Kofu Kai, Descanso, Fresno Bonsai Society, Hanford Bonsai Society, and the Sacramento Bonsai Club. At the site we were treated to a beautiful sunrise, and you can see that the terrain is fairly rough. Harry was in a 4-wheel drive vehicle and got seperated from most of the groups, due to the loose and rutted nature of the road. There had been some rain in the last few weeks and that was good for digging but bad on roads.

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Experience is fundamental

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bonsaial1

In the last pic above those are Cal. Junipers in the pic. They are quite large probably 30feet in diameter, and about 3-400 years old.

I paired up with my buddy, Gary Biggs, from the Hanford contingent. You have to hike with a buddy. If you don't and you fall and break a leg you may never be found. We loaded are packs with bags, moss, pruners, digging tools, and a spade and headed for the hills. You spend most of the day looking for plants with the character to make good bonsai and small enough to pack out. You also hope it has roots. First clue is to shake it. If it is solid thats good. If it is loose, it probably has a single tap root that is near the surface and about 4 feet long, not good for bonsai. This is a group shot of part of the Hanford group. Thats me, second from the left, and Gary Biggs, second from the right. Thats Harry left of Garry, not to hard to spot, the only old Asian.

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Experience is fundamental

bonsaial1

I finally found a tree to dig and set out to rip it out. I dug a trench around the tree and founf lots of roots. This is just not usually the case with these junipers. I really don't know how they grow with such a meager root system.
In the second frame you can see me on my belly digging the tree. You can't tell in the foto, but the place whwere I am is on a 40 degree incline. I had to lay on my belly or roll down the hill. In the last frame you can see some of the root structure. Trust me when I tell you thats pretty good roots for one of these junipers.

The plant was free, and I encased all the roots in B-1 saturated spahgnum moss, and used three inch shrink wrap to encase the roots. I helped Gary free the tree he was digging on, and got his roots ready for the hike down the mountain. These mountains are made entirely of decomposed granite, and are as slippery as grease on sheet metal. I went down the mountain for about 150 feet on a slide of granite covered with a thin layer of decomposed. We made it back to our trucks and rested and told stories of how we prized our trees from Mother Nature's clutches. After a short rest, it's back up the mountain for another look. I found one other juniper, but it was small, and I will probably make a shohin clump style out of it.

__________________
Experience is fundamental

bonsaial1

I left the dig site at 1:30 pm. With a 4 hour drive back home, that would leave me time to get my tree in a pot.

In this shot, you can see the way the tree was wrapped. I intended to use that wooded box to plant my monster in.

__________________
Experience is fundamental

bonsaial1

While I prepared the box and soil, I soked the tree in a bucket of B-1 water to help reduce shock. The tree was planted in mostly pumice with some sand and a little bark.
80% pumice, 10% sand, 10% bark. This will give the juniper the dry enviornment that it is used to, while still providing a mixture that will water the tree suitably.

The left pic of course shows the tree potted up. The tree measures 6 inces across the trunk, 35 inches tall, and about 36 inches across. There are still some branches to be pruned off, but I will get some opinions here and from my bonsai freinds at home.

__________________
Experience is fundamental

bonsaial1

The pic on the left was taken today in front of my garage. You have to tie these trees in their pots real good and solid. If there is any movement it will cause the roots to die.

The last photo is of the other tree that I dug. This is what a lot of the smaller trees look like out there. They tend to be more bushy, and have not developed great trunks. I would estimate the big tree at about 150-200 years old. If it dies I will tell you exactly. All in all this was a great trip. I learn alot every time I go, being exposed to people that become personal freinds.

Best regards, Bonsaial Al Keppler

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Experience is fundamental

Jay

Al......W O W !! Thank you for sharing your trip. The tree is wonderful with a look!! It's nice to see and learn from your pixs and dialogue. Jay

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

hack

Awesome!
I too, thank you for posting your story. Good luck & I hope your California beauty does well.

I love wild trees & hike around SoCal but have little I can harvest. Are permits or anything required to collect trees in this area?

bonsaial1

The digs are set up by Harry Hirao. He knows the land owner where we dig. You pay Harry 10.00 bucks for all the trees you can dig. He gives the money from all tree hounds to the land owner. If you join Harry Hirao's club, Kofu Kai. for a measily 10.00 a year, it will entitle you to all the digs. There is a web site, you can find it at the GSBF site, or maybe in Matt's new link thing. Good luck, and hope to see you on the next dig, Al Keppler.

__________________
Experience is fundamental