BC #2, BC #3

[Appliance Guy]

I had the opportunity on New Year's day to hike some property and collect. Can't pass that up! Pickings were slim but hey, I take what I can get.

River view





Old Cypress





Hollowed BC




Knees




Tall knees

 

[Appliance Guy]

Collected a decent tree, decent taper and buttress. Was in a sandy area, so it harvested well. The other tree has no taper, a very slight line, and looks like nothing. But that's why I'm excited about it, I'mm hoping to make it more of a formal tree with elegance and class.

Sooo, for now they sit and wait. I expect I'll be watering all year with no signs of life, but will see some in 2021 spring push. If all goes well.

 

[Appliance Guy]

Here's thread to BC #1 collected six years ago. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/cypress-advice-please.27028/

 

[AlainK]

I think I'm not the only one to find these trees, and the landscapes fascinating.

When I see such pictures, there's a soundtrack that instantly comes to my mind, "Born on the Bayou" (CCR), and images of convicts trying to escape from a labour camp in the swamps (can't remember the title of the film though, Saint Alzheimer, pary for me...)

They can grow here too, but the ones we can get are from nursery stock, nothing to compare. There also big ones that were planted in the early 20th century, some of them really spectacular, and for 10 years or so, I've seen several places where some were planted as street plantations, the oldest ones on the banks of the river Loire, others along the... tramway, in the city center, with Sequoia sempervirens. Big ones over 15 metres tall, they must have cost an arm and a leg!

Lucky you!

 

[Adair M]

Nice Showa avatar!

 

[Appliance Guy]

Nice Showa avatar!

Ah, someone knows Koi! Yes, Koi is my passion. I am still in the Koi and Koi Show circles, although I don't compete as much these days. That Showa I aquired as sansai, it won Young Champion a few timesas nisai and sansai, and Mature Champion at some point. More youthful days gone, he now resides happily in the pond.

 

[Joe Dupre']

No worries about having to wait for growth. If it lives, you'll be getting buds in a few weeks. You can expect 2-3 FEET of growth on a couple of dozen branches this summer in your zone. Hard as it may be, just water and feed it for the first year to grow a good root system.
I can't tell how tall it is, but I would suggest you chop it off now 24" to 28" above the soil level.....depending on your design plan.


This is one of mine at only 7 months of growing in the first year. I only trimmed a couple of branches back because they were getting in the way. The longest branch on this tree was 41" long.

 

[Mike Hennigan]

No worries about having to wait for growth. If it lives, you'll be getting buds in a few weeks. You can expect 2-3 FEET of growth on a couple of dozen branches this summer in your zone. Hard as it may be, just water and feed it for the first year to grow a good root system.
I can't tell how tall it is, but I would suggest you chop it off now 24" to 28" above the soil level.....depending on your design plan.


This is one of mine at only 7 months of growing in the first year. I only trimmed a couple of branches back because they were getting in the way. The longest branch on this tree was 41" long.

View attachment 278282

Daaaaaaaaaaaang son

 

[Joe Dupre']

Mike, that's what double strength Miracle Gro twice a month does.

 

[Toraidento]

Collected a decent tree, decent taper and buttress. Was in a sandy area, so it harvested well. The other tree has no taper, a very slight line, and looks like nothing. But that's why I'm excited about it, I'mm hoping to make it more of a formal tree with elegance and class.

Sooo, for now they sit and wait. I expect I'll be watering all year with no signs of life, but will see some in 2021 spring push. If all goes well.

View attachment 278169


View attachment 278171


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Shouldn't those trees be in a container that does not drain? Every thing I've read and what I've found is for them to be wet. NO Drain holes!!!!! That one is in a pond basket. Peat Moss, composted pine bark, and fines from bonsai soil. Put that and the tree in a container with no holes. Fill with water, let it get slightly dry, and repeat. Leave it alone except maybe some light wiring before branches get to thick to shape for about 2 years or till it's vigorous before doing much else. That pond basket is gonna be too dry isn't it???????????

 

[Appliance Guy]

Shouldn't those trees be in a container that does not drain? Every thing I've read and what I've found is for them to be wet. NO Drain holes!!!!! That one is in a pond basket. Peat Moss, composted pine bark, and fines from bonsai soil. Put that and the tree in a container with no holes. Fill with water, let it get slightly dry, and repeat. Leave it alone except maybe some light wiring before branches get to thick to shape for about 2 years or till it's vigorous before doing much else. That pond basket is gonna be too dry isn't it???????????

My approach is that each tree should be looked at individually and not as a 'one size fits all' generality, especially newly wild harvested trees. BC's can do just fine in damn near dry sand. Not saying that's prefered, but I certainly wouldn't say that they belong in pots with no drain holes. And yes, indeed I want the small tree in a pond basket. I had the benefit of seeing and knowing that that tree has little to no roots- (this particular tree looked promising, but as I was digging I discovered that it was buried in white beach sand about three feet down with a poor root system) and in fact it may not survive. My idea is get water and prenty of oxygen to what remains, and in this particular tree I would say that keeping submerged right now would not be beneficial.

As for drying out- nope. I use about 2000-3000 gallons of water each week for my water changes on my Koi ponds. Man, I have more poop water than I know what to do with.

But yes, should I find that I can't keep up with the water, and you're right it could be a challenge in summer, I can simply drop the container in several places throughout my yard where it would have all the water it wants.

I let the tree tell me what I can and can't do. There's no time reference for this. If it says keep submerged, I keep submerged. If it says leave alone, I leave alone. If it says trim, I trim. I don't control the process, each individual tree does.

 

[Joe Dupre']

My gut feeling ( no long term experience) after 5 years of collecting BC is that a newly collected tree should be in moist, almost soggy soil for the first year to establish roots. Naturally sprouted BC seedlings need a year or more of sitting, unsubmerged in soggy, swamp soil to be able to take being flooded. I just try to copy that. The second year, submersion is optional in my opinion. It's easier on the grower if the tree is sitting in water, but I don't think it actually needs it. They CAN live in water, but it might not be optimal for them.

The tree in the above post started out with a less than 12" fairly dense root ball. It completely filled that mortar tub with roots up to 3 feet long in one year. The tub had drain holes, was soaked completely every day and got double strength Miracle Gro every two weeks. I know that system works, but if another system works for you, go with that one.

25 years of observation of the 17 BC at my other residence showed me that the trees in standing water in the bayou grew at less than HALF of the rate of the ones on 5 ft higher, dry ground.