Been out collecting

SlowMovingWaters

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Hello everyone I'm new to both this site and bonsai in general. Bonsai had always interested me as a kid having grown up taking Tiquando classes and watching Japanese oriented movies such as the three ninja's and the karate kid. Over the years I had purchased a few walmart bonsai which had short lives unfortunately. Not having realized how much care these little plants needed they most likely dried up and died of thirst :(. Sorry if this sounds like a Cliché but it is entirely true.

Now on to the collecting.

Starting about a month or two ago I decided to get into bonsai by collecting local plants that looked like they might fit the bill. The first two were blueberry plants one a high bush the other a low bush. Now your probably thinking blueberries are not the most commonly used plants for bonsai and I knew this before collection. It was more of a I needed a plant to call my first attempt at bonsai if that makes sense. So far so good with the two blueberries by the way :). Every other time I've tried to transplant bb's from the wild they died these however have started to show signs of bud growth so something has to be going right.

Sorry for the crappy pics they were taken at like 1am with bad lighting.

1 Stem 11-7-12.jpg

Multi Stem 11-7-12.jpg

See next posts for more
 
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Poink88

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Welcome to B-Nut!

Please update your profile with your location and zone if possible so you can get better advise.
 

SlowMovingWaters

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Shortly after acquiring the blueberries I thought it would be a fun idea to try and grow a bonsai from seed. So I purchased some seeds labeled as "Chinese Elm" and "Japanese Maple" with no other information of strain or variety given the Elm as show below have sprouted and the Maples are still in the fridge hopefully sprouting.

Please see next post for the last collection

Chinese Elm Seedling 11-7-12.jpg
 

SlowMovingWaters

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Now we are to the present day. As I was walking the old 4 wheeler trails a vary interesting Hemlock caught my eye. It was growing with a 90* bend in it's truck next to a vary small brook. This seemed odd because it was growing horizontally to the ground instead of vertical. So I dug it up and put it in a 5 gallon bucket that I'd found on the trail earlier. Really is a shame how much trash I find on these walks.

I did find one other tree which I don't know what kind it is but it looks amazing. A beaver had chewed the top off a 2 or 3 inch thick tree about 6 or 8 inches off the ground. It had some vary nicely developed side branches. Definitely will be going back this spring to further check into it.

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Whachya think?
 

rockm

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FWIW, Blueberry has been used for years as bonsai. Nick Lenz includes a chapter on them in his book "bonsai from the wild." They are not, however, the most stable plants as bonsai and are notorious for dieing back on trunks and stems. Deadwood features are common on larger collected plants.
http://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/lenz.php
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Slim chances on these trees, collected this time of year and planted in that soil.
 
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It looks like you did get a good amount of fine roots. The mud in the bucket will kill them fast. If you have already bare rooted them while digging them up then just pack the roots with some wet sphagnum or anything to just keep them wet until you get it home and into some good course soil. Even a bucket of water. I guess native soil if that is all you have but a collected tree will die if left in mud/dirt for long. No way to maintain watering.
Also, keep looking to find some older looking material growing in more adverse conditions.
 

Poink88

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As mentioned, it is the wrong time for you to collect in your area.

Keep scouting for better materials, read up on collecting do's and don'ts about the species so you'll be ready come spring.

I mostly collect from residential (urban) areas doing re-landscaping and mostly find mine through Craigslist. Keeping my eye open while driving helped me score several trees as well. Construction sites can also yield nice plants.

As important as finding the right candidate and digging is the proper after care to help your tree survive. No sense wasting all your efforts if you cannot follow through.

Good luck!!!
 
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SlowMovingWaters

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It looks like you did get a good amount of fine roots. The mud in the bucket will kill them fast. If you have already bare rooted them while digging them up then just pack the roots with some wet sphagnum or anything to just keep them wet until you get it home and into some good course soil. Even a bucket of water. I guess native soil if that is all you have but a collected tree will die if left in mud/dirt for long. No way to maintain watering.
Also, keep looking to find some older looking material growing in more adverse conditions.

The soil is not mud. It's sandy loam the kind you buy in bulk from soil contractors. It seems to have grown my raised bed gardens quite well for the last 5 years :). For now this "mud" will have to do and will be replaced by promix or similar mixture this spring.
 
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SlowMovingWaters

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As mentioned, it is the wrong time for you to collect in your area.

Keep scouting for better materials, read up on collecting do's and don'ts about the species so you'll be ready come spring.

I mostly collect from residential (urban) areas doing re-landscaping and mostly find mine through Craigslist. Keeping my eye open while driving helped me score several trees as well. Construction sites can also yield nice plants.

As important as finding the right candidate and digging is the proper after care to help your tree survive. No sense wasting all your efforts if you cannot follow through.

Good luck!!!

Not so many construction sites around here. Basically the world "neighbor" means the person a 1/4 mile down the road who you've never talked to or seen before. Thank you for letting me know the things I did wrong next year I'll collect in the spring and early fall for better chance of survival as far as the soil goes it's the best I have till spring. I wont be picking any more plants till next year anyways only scouting for spring. I did however get a chance to take a few hard wood cuttings of different plants which are rooting nicely. So if something does die I can go back in spring and plant a new tree from the cuttings :). As stated before the blueberries are doing awesome under T5 lighting indoors. The Eastern Hemlock is currently on an enclosed porch protected from the snow and harsh conditions hopefully it'll make it through and if it doesn't well I've got about 20 more growing in the back yard LOL.

We'll just have to see in the months to come how the plants do. Thanks for all the kind advise and suggestions it's really helpful to a newbie such as myself.
 
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Dav4

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The hemlock is extremely hardy and doesn't need to be kept on the eclosed porch. Find a place out of the prevailing winter winds and sun to overwinter the hemlock, and cover the pot with mulch. Honestly, I suspect your blueberries would do better outside with the hemlock, as well. Good luck.
 

monza

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SlowMoving

Your soil = dirt = sandy loam = mud. Could be ideal for your garden but not for a tree in a pot. Tons of info regarding soil if you look in the Soil, fertilizer, and chemicals forum on this site.
It's important.
Here is a ton of info: http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/soils.htm
 

SlowMovingWaters

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The hemlock is extremely hardy and doesn't need to be kept on the eclosed porch. Find a place out of the prevailing winter winds and sun to overwinter the hemlock, and cover the pot with mulch. Honestly, I suspect your blueberries would do better outside with the hemlock, as well. Good luck.

Will leaving the hemlock on the porch case any problems? If so I'll move it outside close to or slightly into the forested part of the yard.

The blueberries were picked specifically for the indoor garden. Mostly as a test run as I've found two areas with tons of wild high bush blueberries one on the boarder of a pond the other in the middle of a clear cut. Not only for bonsai but for growing in general. Blueberries are a large part of us Mainers heritage :)
 

SlowMovingWaters

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SlowMoving

Your soil = dirt = sandy loam = mud. Could be ideal for your garden but not for a tree in a pot. Tons of info regarding soil if you look in the Soil, fertilizer, and chemicals forum on this site.
It's important.
Here is a ton of info: http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/soils.htm

As stated I did have any good soil mixed up at the time of collection because well it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Come spring time it will be transplanted into better well draining soil.
 

SlowMovingWaters

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Seriously?

You guys are like a pack of vultures. Seriously nothing could be more discouraging than posting to a "bonsai" oriented forum. Every single comment was negative no one had anything good to at all. I may not be as educated as you or have any experience in the art of bonsai but I certainly don't deserve to be talked down to as if I were some piece of trash. Some of you need to step down off of your high horses and realize this may be the internet and you can potentially say anything you like but that doesn't give you the right to blatantly be a complete ass to people.
 

Poink88

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You guys are like a pack of vultures. Seriously nothing could be more discouraging than posting to a "bonsai" oriented forum. Every single comment was negative no one had anything good to at all. I may not be as educated as you or have any experience in the art of bonsai but I certainly don't deserve to be talked down to as if I were some piece of trash. Some of you need to step down off of your high horses and realize this may be the internet and you can potentially say anything you like but that doesn't give you the right to blatantly be a complete ass to people.

Where did this come from? You got really good (straight) advise as far as I can see.

If you just joined to stir the pot or troll....sorry I am not biting.
 

Dav4

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You guys are like a pack of vultures. Seriously nothing could be more discouraging than posting to a "bonsai" oriented forum. Every single comment was negative no one had anything good to at all. I may not be as educated as you or have any experience in the art of bonsai but I certainly don't deserve to be talked down to as if I were some piece of trash. Some of you need to step down off of your high horses and realize this may be the internet and you can potentially say anything you like but that doesn't give you the right to blatantly be a complete ass to people.

Honestly, just trying to help here. Most of the respondants to your questions have been growing trees in pots for a LONG time and have ALOT of experience to draw upon. Some of their responses were a bit terse but that doesn't change the relevance the answers have to your questions.

Horticulture is THE most important aspect of keeping bonsai. Without good horticultural practices, your trees will never reach their potential, and may actually die. Proper soil is essential for a healthy root system...loam based soils in pots tend to collapse, retain moisture at the expense of oxygen, and will most likely lead to root problems. Blueberry bushes collected from ME are unlikely to thrive inside over the winter...sorry, but that's the way it is. The hemlock will require less attention and most likely be happier covered under mulch and snow somewhere in your yard. Again, that's my experience talking...I've overwintered trees in an enclosed porch in MA...too much bother worrying about temperature changes and watering, and several died because of this.

I don't think anyone was talking down to you...just trying to point you in the right direction. You can listen, or not, that's up to you...
 

Bonsai Nut

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You guys are like a pack of vultures. Seriously nothing could be more discouraging than posting to a "bonsai" oriented forum. Every single comment was negative no one had anything good to at all. I may not be as educated as you or have any experience in the art of bonsai but I certainly don't deserve to be talked down to as if I were some piece of trash. Some of you need to step down off of your high horses and realize this may be the internet and you can potentially say anything you like but that doesn't give you the right to blatantly be a complete ass to people.

I don't think people are talking down to you to say - "hey that soil doesn't look good", or "this is the wrong time of year to be digging up trees".

Perhaps this would help: No matter what mistake you can think of to make, we have probably already made it. No matter how many trees you kill, we have probably killed more. No matter what goofy tree you can find to dig up, we have probably dug up goofier. No one is perfect - and to practice bonsai is to dwell in imperfection because even if your tree is relatively perfect today, there is no guarantee that it will be tomorrow.

People who have been keeping bonsai for 30+ years tend to be quick to say... woops you need different soil. They COULD write a 10 page white paper on all the reasons WHY you need different soil, but it is a lot easier just to say "check your soil - there are a lot of articles written about bonsai soil - check them out".

At its heart, bonsai is first and foremost horticulture. You can't practice bonsai if your trees are dead. Keeping trees in small pots successfully requires open soil mix that breathes well, drains easily, doesn't trap organics, and doesn't break down with time. THAT is why people are saying "check your soil" because they don't want your tree roots to rot or die back, NOT to score ego points.

Instead of arguing, you might just ask "why" a lot. You can always do whatever you want. If someone says "this is the wrong time of year to dig up a tree" ask "why" instead of saying "heck I dig up trees at this time of year all the time!" Hopefully you see what I am trying to say.
 
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