How To Collect Larger Trees??

Ian Hill

This is a topic that has interested me since i saw Ron Martins collected trident maple, but i've never seen it discussed.

Most seem to understand the concept of topping "trunk chopping" a tree, my question is once you've got this 20 foot tree down to 2 or 3 feet, How does one go about removing it from the ground and into a bonsai pot when the original root system may run 20 feet away from the tree? are there different methods for different species?

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kvnharv29

A tree like that might not come out in one swoop. You may need to dig a small trench around the tree and cut up some of the roots with a shovel to encourage new roots closer to the base of the tree to grow. Do this one or two times, once per year of course.

-Kevin

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saint

I think you will find that what you do VERY much depends on the tree. I have taken a Ficus out of the ground by just chopping the roots close to the trunk. The tree is thriving today in a pot.

While I have little experience with conifers, I can pretty much guarantee you that doing this with one will just give you a very large chunk of dead wood.

It is best to get advice from someone with more experience in your conditions and possibly with the tree that you have in mind. Are there any experienced bonsai artists in your area that you can ask for advice?

Here's the ficus btw.

Attached Images

ficus citrifolia april 25th 2003 front.jpg (57.2 KB, 420 views)

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Leslie St. John
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BonsaiMon

It does depend on the species and the time of season.
The trident can be plucked in one fell swoop.. naturally the more feeder roots you have the quicker it will rebound..
Bald cypress, Am. Hornbeam, privet .. to name a few can also in the early spring before new growth appears be collected with little concern for many feeder roots.
I haven't collected large pines or junipers but I know they are not as forgiving and may require searching for good feeder roots when collecting or as Kevin suggested, doing a root prune one season and collecting the next.
The hornbeam over my shoulder in my avatar was collected in a few hours in the spring. It was 20' or more and was chopped to about 2 feet.

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Ian Hill

Thanks for the answers guys i guess the next part of the question is what sort of tools to use, shovel, chainsaw, bare hands(one scoop at a time) etc.? How would you deal with a taproot?

I'm guessing from the responses so far that some trees must have a decent amount of feeder roots right at the base and not just at the tips of the lateral root system.

thanks again

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FredL

My experience is that in the climate that I'm in, seasonal effects are huge. I've collected pines here in the Fall, done EVERYTHING right and had them die a lingering death - and I mean every one of them - late the next Spring. Something I was totally unprepared for by my experience in California. On the other hand, I've seen trees that I was POSITIVE I'd mortally wounded, pull through and thrive remarkably their second season, that I collected late Winter to mid-Spring.

There also seem to be big differences between species. Here, the local Hornbeams are next to impossible to kill. I've repotted them in mid-Summer, Fall, Spring; collected them Spring and Fall, often with major insults to their root systems, and they ALWAYS live. On the other hand, collecting our local Short Leaf Pines seems to pretty consistently result in 20 to 25% attrition, no matter how careful I am. Once potted, they're not hard at all to keep happy. But initial potting is perilous, indeed.

From what I've seen in "Bonsai Today", and from my own limited experience, collecting large specimens is not so hard if done at the right time of year with the right species.

Fred

saint

Even here in the Caribbean you have seasonal effects. I try not to do anything too traumatic on my trees after October. I don't think we get into actual dormancy but certain treees (ficuses particularly) slow right down. A drastic root pruning will kill them at this time of year.

Other trees you can collect but they take a much longer time to recover.

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Best Regards,

Leslie St. John
Barbados
West Indies


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TUNA

I'm just tryin to keep this thread going. I havent found much collecting information on the web, and I would like to hear more general guidelines.

Landscape plants seem to be easier to collect than natives here. The natives never get watered, so their roots go on forever.

steez

Anyone have any experience with chopping crepe myrtles?
How about root chops also..they seem vigorus enough to handle it. (like those wonderful olives we've seen lately)

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Steve