My first Rocky Mountain collecting trip

BrianBay9

I'm finally getting my feet wet in Northern Colorado bonsai. Here's some picks of my first collecting trip, in the Roosevelt National Forest. The collecting area is defined by the forest service, and, of course, I obtained the necessary permits and abided by their timing and rules. This area is almost entirely lodgepole pine. By focusing on trees growing on rocky outcroppings, I did all my collecting with a pry bar, a knife and pruners for some larger roots. If properly selected, these trees mostly just peel up off the rock. None of them took me more than 20 mins to collect. More time was spent wrapping the rootball, and packing them into the vehicle than actually digging the trees.

Some locals here sing the praises of lodgepole pine for bonsai, suggesting that they are an American substitue for Japanese white pine. I'd be interested to hear others opinions, as well as how successful folks have been collecting them in the fall.


The first two pics show the general area. Pic #3 is a lodgepole in place, and #4 shows the same tree at my house. Pics 5 and 6 are some additional collected lodgepole pines.

Cheers
Brian

Attached Images

	lodgepole-collecting-3.jpg (69.1 KB, 147 views)
	lodgepole-collecting-4.jpg (47.3 KB, 152 views)
	lodgepole-collecting-1.jpg (64.1 KB, 226 views)
	lodgepole4.jpg (67.1 KB, 229 views)
	lodgepole1.jpg (68.8 KB, 285 views)
	lodgepole3.jpg (64.7 KB, 214 views)

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Vance Wood

We had a visitor from the California area today and spent a couple of hours talking with him about many things bonsai. One subject that came up was the use of Lodge Pole Pine. It seems that few bonsai growers, at least in California, use Lodge Pole Pine. It is a sad thing that this is so. I remember when I was living there I had quite a number of them collected from the Stanislaus forest. I hope one day the natives you ran into in Colorado will take the time to post some pictures of their efforts with this tree on the NET so more people could be encouraged to use this wonderful tree in their bonsai efforts.

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Vonsgardens

Hu Brian,
Lodgepoles have great poential for bonsai. I have had one collected from near Bend Oregon for several years- it struggles in Arkansas, but the trees in the Denver area are great. Have you met Jery Morison yet? He is one of the truly grea collectors in the US. He is the collector of some many of the really nice spuce we see coming out of Colorado.
John

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BrianBay9

Vance, John,

Thanks for the reinforcement. I've never done fall collecting in a place that has a real winter, so I'm hoping to see most of these still alive come spring.



I haven't met him yet. Unfortunately, it's very hard for me to get down to Denver during the week in time for their club meetings.

Brian

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rschlafer

GREAT TREES BRIAN!!! You should meet Jerry. He is amazing!!! I'm going to have close to 30 trees that he or he and I collected up for sale within a week.

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coloradobonsai.com
Specializing in Yamadori Bonsai/Pre Bonsai.

BrianBay9

Thanks Todd. I still have permits for a few more trees, so my second trip is planned for next weekend. Maybe we can work out a trade next spring....

Brian

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anttal63

well done brian good luck with it all

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BonsaiResources

Nice collecting trip!! Did you have to pay for a permit to collect? Thanks.

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Brian Rybak
Member: Gainesville Bonsai Society
Owner: http://www.bonsai-resources.com
e-mail: Bonsai-Resources@cox.net

BrianBay9

Yes. The forest service determines if, where, and when trees can be collected from land they manage. In this case they allow collecting of conifers for $10 per tree (max 20 trees), and aspen for $6 per tree (max 6 trees). BUT, there's no refund if you can't find enough nice trees to fill the permits you buy. Still, quite a bargain.

Other rules specific to this collecting site and time....all conifers must be under 6 ft tall (no problem), and must be within 6 ft of another tree. Basically they look at this as a thinning operation to maximize lumber production.

The staff controlling Roosevelt National Forest were very nice, accomodating, and helpful. Once they understood what I was after, they spent alot of time describing the area, suggested I take a scouting trip before I purchased permits (duh), and even volunteered to call me when the permits went on sale. Contrary to many stories I've heard about difficulties with the permit process, this was a breeze. My hat's off to the forest service in Ft. Collins.

Public Service Announcement - Always get permits. Always follow the rules. Always fill your holes.

Brian

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There's a difference between taking your art seriously, and taking yourself too seriously.