Yamadori, A Question

mskovan

I saw a bumper sticker once that read:

"LIVE SIMPLY so I Can Have the Stuff You Don't Use".


Life is for living, nothing more, nothing less...If you want to live a life of self denial and sacrifice go right ahead. Just don't call your congressman because I won't join in.
....Mike

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hack

Great, very interesting thread.
I post in along the lines w/ [i:a1919a322f]Nipper[/i:a1919a322f].
Of course these trees are a limited resource, it's all about responsible management. I would think a good yamadori man should provide an overall benefit to the groves that supply him. Through educating the public & developing their appreciation for trees/nature, through re-planting or by many other means, a good, ethical tree harvester should give back to his community more so than take.
It's like fishing & hunting.....in today's day & age, it must be done responsibly. I look forward to the day I harvest a century old model, but it will only be done when I think I am worthy of the task, when it is time.

I'd say your basic bonsai cat has so much more appreciation for all this type of stuff than John Q Public any way, he's miles ahead (in that department).
cya

Earl

I happened to look at my copy of the Sept/Oct, 2000 issue of Bonsai Magazine and read the article by Jerry Vlcek on his collected Jack Pines.
He has this wonderful comment that puts a great slant on this question:

"Adopting trees from the wild and raising them as bonsai preserves and prolongs their life by providing them with secure and healthy living conditions. Recongnizing and appreciating the artistic anatomy and potential in a collected tree and developing if further into an art form that evokes beauty and harmony and admiration and joy in many people is an examply of a wonderful relationship we can have with nature."

Moni

This is a very complex question that can only be answered by the individual. As is evident in all of these comments, we have all put some thought into this. That alone is of great gratification to me. While I do not presume to use manifest destiny as justification for collecting trees, I do believe that your basic bonsai enthusiast has enough awareness to do what is right for them. Personally, I would hesitate to collect a 100 yr. old tree mainly because I do not think that I could do it justice. But I have seen many a 100 yr. old tree that, in the hands of the right person, has left me in awe.
I guess my only caution is for the people who collect these trees only for the sake of making a buck on them. There are already many plants that are endangered and can only be bought through nurseries that propagate them as opposed to collecting them in the wild.
As for the fact that if a plant is gone, something else will take it's place.........We are continuing to discover plants that can be beneficial to human health. Many of them are endangered and cannot be replaced. Does it matter that this is due to human encroachment? Maybe.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the Black Forest mentioned. I lived there for 4 years. That forest is disappearing because of pollution, plain and simple. If and when they get that under control, the forest probably will reestablish itself.
I am in Oregon, too. There are so many trees here that it is very hard to imagine that collecting trees could possibly become a problem. That's what the cod fishermen out on the east coast used to think when it was first suggested they limit their catch. Since then they have gone through a period of no fishing, hence, no livelyhood, to replenish the stock. It DID work. Now they are all on the same page when it comes to limiting their catch. I believe there is an analogy here.
Sorry this was so long..........
Moni

shaun22

As I said, It is my opinion.

Jay

Hi all, I've been away for a few days and now that I'm back I'm glad to see the action this thread has generated. There are over 130 "reads" and quite a few thoughts given. Still being at the beginnings of my Bonsai Education, I wanted to hear the thoughts of those I am in contact with. I am not trying to move anyone to a different point of view but felt it was a good thing to at least bring this subject up, thanks for your thoughts!

__________________
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

Sandi

It is very interesting to hear all the opinions. I have a collected tree that I purchased from someone who has a lot of success at collecting. I just know that whenever I look at the tree, I think about how it was surviving up there on that mountain when our country was in a civil war and world war II and when kennedy was shot. I feel I have a great responsibility to care for it. Part of me thinks that it would have been better for the tree if it were still in it's mountain home. It was obviously doing well there. I just hope I can care for it properly and hope that I will be able to find someone to care for it after I'm gone as I hope it will live hundreds more years. It would have if it had been left on the mountain.

bonsaial1

Hi Sandi, Just who you tryin to convince about feelin better? You or the tree? The tree has no central nervous system, and therefore does not know it posesses beauty. Whili if the tree receives the utmost in care, future generations will be able to gaze upon its clipped and pruned branches. Of course if it dies the point is moot. Should we hold the same feelings about horses, dogs, cats, tropical fish, tropical birds, monkeys, rat, mice, snakes, etc. When taken out of the wild these creatures have feelings. Of course we say that we provide the best home possible for all these pets. We feed them, give them love, clean up after them, take them to the vet when they are hurt. The anology is the same. My wife keeps conures, a small tropical type parrot. It does not live in a cage in the wild. But the bird is very happy here. It squawks to let my wife know that it want to be handled. True, that it would be much happier in the wilds of Austraila, but our whole family has expieranced something that would not be possible without removing that bird from the wild. ( Just so you know its a captive raised bird) So let your freinds see your tree, be proud of its heritage, point out that it may have been alive during the Cival War, or Kennedy's Death. Who knows, it may have been struck by lightning in the wild next winter and die anyway, would you feel better?

Best regards, Bonsaial

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

Sandi

bonsaial
I am definately trying to make myself feel better. I'm just one of those sappy people who tend to project human feelings to even my car. Oh well. I wasn't saying trees shouldn't be collected. I was just expressing my own feelings about my tree. Thinking I may have saved it from being killed by lighting does make me feel a little better. Thanks bonsaial