SU2
Omono
[edited-in: I altered Poll phrasing from "optimal" to "OK", was my mistake - we already know optimal lol - so, "OK" is inherently subjective, for me I'd say it's acceptable to collect when I know I'll be getting a minimum of 4/5 success rate, whereas waiting to 'optimal' is more of a 19/20 success rate IE losses are pretty rare]
Poll -- You can choose 3 of the time-frames, this'll get far more precision by having the poll-choices split & allowing multiple(3) answers per poll-reply, instead of "Dec, Jan or Feb?"
[Note: dates are "for convenience", I - like most collectors - only use the calendar as rough guidance, it's the species - even the specimen themselves - and how it's "waking up" that determines optimal timing to lift a tree from the ground!]
I'm VERY much hoping @Zach Smith can kinda "put aside commercial thoughts" or 'trade secrets' because my interest here is explicitly from viewing his site the other day. It's my go-to site when showing non-bonsai folk what BC's look like "when new"(new-to-us, I mean!), at any rate I noticed the other day that there's plenty of offerings from "Winter 2020".......I googled because I couldn't be sure if that meant last winter or this winter, colloquially it means this winter and, based on your site's wording & presentation Zach, I do suspect those are specimen you've pulled this winter (ie in the past ~month)
I only collected 1 Maple last year, no BC, am certainly "making up" for it this year and already have an awesome (quite large too) area that I've got full thumbs-up on, and I know I "could" go and collect right now, I know the act of trunk-chopping some mostly-into-dormancy BC will "wake it up" and cause backbudding, but then I'm in that situation of needing to be prepared to protect all this backbudded-growth until, say, February (here in FL, longer elsewhere IE where you are, Zach!) so I'm just curious about collecting right now and "being ready for the cold days" (but otherwise having a 1-2 month head-start!!!), hell I know I've heard anecdotes of lifting BC's in the summer and them doing quite OK, but if I'm being honest I'd assume the worst window of the year to lift one would be early fall through ~early January, since timing is entirely - AFAIK - entirely based around the new buddings & the environment they'll be in. Hence, right-at-budbreaking is optimal, it's when the specimen was ready to explode vegetatively.....and, conversely, any "Before spring, subjecting the backbudded growth to spend its infancy in the coldest moments of the year", would be the the most sub-optimal....but then I see a BC-guru who's seemingly already done a good deal of his collects for this current winter so am left confused!
Heck maybe you(Zach) have an artificial setup for them (greenhouse/etc) but i'd be worried here in Tampa-area and I know you get a lot colder there, I've got some recently-budded yamma's right now and know I've gotta take them inside 2-3 nights this coming week as nighttimes hit mid-30deg's, w/o an artificial growing setup I'm left very confused about lifting trees when they're still "in early dormancy, during a time that's still many weeks from 'optimal for vegetation' phase beginning", so any insight would be appreciated
Very eager for this year, especially having learned some old, un-ID'd specimen of mine were Nyssa's (still cannot get answer on which cultivar..) so now I've got 3 species (bc/maple/nyssa) to hunt and the area I'm allowed to do this in is nearly 5 acres, sooo stoked for this year's collection season (and would be upset to find I waited too-long...I'd always thought that there's "a truly 'optimal' moment" for lifting them, this moment being right-before bud breaking on that particular specimen, and that the earlier you do it, the riskier it becomes -- even if the tree doesn't die, it can be 'stunted' a bit by the stressors and have a less-than-stellar first season of growth)
Thanks for any input (oh and Happy Holidays to everyone doing that!!!!)
Poll -- You can choose 3 of the time-frames, this'll get far more precision by having the poll-choices split & allowing multiple(3) answers per poll-reply, instead of "Dec, Jan or Feb?"
[Note: dates are "for convenience", I - like most collectors - only use the calendar as rough guidance, it's the species - even the specimen themselves - and how it's "waking up" that determines optimal timing to lift a tree from the ground!]
I'm VERY much hoping @Zach Smith can kinda "put aside commercial thoughts" or 'trade secrets' because my interest here is explicitly from viewing his site the other day. It's my go-to site when showing non-bonsai folk what BC's look like "when new"(new-to-us, I mean!), at any rate I noticed the other day that there's plenty of offerings from "Winter 2020".......I googled because I couldn't be sure if that meant last winter or this winter, colloquially it means this winter and, based on your site's wording & presentation Zach, I do suspect those are specimen you've pulled this winter (ie in the past ~month)
I only collected 1 Maple last year, no BC, am certainly "making up" for it this year and already have an awesome (quite large too) area that I've got full thumbs-up on, and I know I "could" go and collect right now, I know the act of trunk-chopping some mostly-into-dormancy BC will "wake it up" and cause backbudding, but then I'm in that situation of needing to be prepared to protect all this backbudded-growth until, say, February (here in FL, longer elsewhere IE where you are, Zach!) so I'm just curious about collecting right now and "being ready for the cold days" (but otherwise having a 1-2 month head-start!!!), hell I know I've heard anecdotes of lifting BC's in the summer and them doing quite OK, but if I'm being honest I'd assume the worst window of the year to lift one would be early fall through ~early January, since timing is entirely - AFAIK - entirely based around the new buddings & the environment they'll be in. Hence, right-at-budbreaking is optimal, it's when the specimen was ready to explode vegetatively.....and, conversely, any "Before spring, subjecting the backbudded growth to spend its infancy in the coldest moments of the year", would be the the most sub-optimal....but then I see a BC-guru who's seemingly already done a good deal of his collects for this current winter so am left confused!
Heck maybe you(Zach) have an artificial setup for them (greenhouse/etc) but i'd be worried here in Tampa-area and I know you get a lot colder there, I've got some recently-budded yamma's right now and know I've gotta take them inside 2-3 nights this coming week as nighttimes hit mid-30deg's, w/o an artificial growing setup I'm left very confused about lifting trees when they're still "in early dormancy, during a time that's still many weeks from 'optimal for vegetation' phase beginning", so any insight would be appreciated
Very eager for this year, especially having learned some old, un-ID'd specimen of mine were Nyssa's (still cannot get answer on which cultivar..) so now I've got 3 species (bc/maple/nyssa) to hunt and the area I'm allowed to do this in is nearly 5 acres, sooo stoked for this year's collection season (and would be upset to find I waited too-long...I'd always thought that there's "a truly 'optimal' moment" for lifting them, this moment being right-before bud breaking on that particular specimen, and that the earlier you do it, the riskier it becomes -- even if the tree doesn't die, it can be 'stunted' a bit by the stressors and have a less-than-stellar first season of growth)
Thanks for any input (oh and Happy Holidays to everyone doing that!!!!)
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