Collecting Trees from the wild...

simsorbartin

I am going to collect some junipers & pines (with permission) from an uncured field. They have 2-4 inch trunks and look pretty strong. Which tools/method is the best for collecting such tree while the nebari needed for propagation is conserved. Thanks for your opinion

Advertisement

TreeBay

There are some articles on collecting in bonsaiTALK Links look in the techniques->collecting folder or just type in COLLECTING

Wolfgang had a nice article at TBE, but they are down for maintenance right now. Hope to see them back again soon.

With both these trees the root systems can be expansive rather than compact. It depends a lot on the growing conditions and soil

You're usually in a situation where you need to get all the root you can. The soil condition dictates how you dig too. I usually wind up in tough soil and have to use a mattock or hand pick to break into the soil. If it's soft and loamy, then by all means, use a shovel.

It may be necessary to reduce the treetop, possibly quite a bit to compensate for the amount of root you're able to collect. We plant juniper in very free draining non-soil like pumice and mist and water frequently. Pines can be touchy. You can't water as often and may want to get them into a cool bright location with some bottom heat on the roots.

Aftercare is at least 33% of the success equation. It's 25% material choice, 25% digging technique and the remainder seems to be blind luck.

Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

simsorbartin

Thanks for your great help Matt. I hope that those trees will stay alive after I get hold of them!!

bonsaial1

If you have the chance to dig these trees in dormacy, you will improve your chances three fold. If you can shovel cut the roots now and lift the trees next Jan., then this would be more ideal.


Regards, Bonsaial.

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.