Best trees to collect in Georgia

tylerwdesign

Sapling
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Hey guys,
I'm new to collecting trees, and bonsai in general. I'm wondering what species of tree I should be on the look out for in Georgia, more specifically about 30 miles south of Atlanta. My family has a few hundred acres of cow pastures, so there are open pastures, a few streams and a small lake, so a nice variation of terrain for the relatively small amount of land. They will be clearing some of the land later on this year, otherwise I would just mark the trees and wait to collect once I had more experience, which I will do in the areas they wont be clearing. I am interested in any species that would be good for bonsai, but being new to this, any species that are easier to collect and keep alive would be ideal. Im planning on going down sometime in the next few weekends, which from what I've read seems to be a good time for collecting here.

Also what would be the best way to keep any really nice material I might find that I wouldn't be using until I have the skills to do it right. Or should I keep it the same as a tree that I plan on working on once it has recovered? Thanks in advance!

*If this topic has already been covered please feel free to point me to the thread. I couldn't find what I was looking for when I searched.
 

tylerwdesign

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Thanks! I know I've seen sweetgum and winged elm. Hopefully I can find some good ones.
 
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As was said before, American Hornbeam are lots of fun. American Beech for longer term projects, hop hornbeam, 50 some-odd species of hawthorns in GA, winged elms, red maple, prunus, bald/pond cypress, water elm, wisteria, hackberry.

Lots of trees to choose from. If you see something beyond your years that’s worth waiting for, wait. Collect small but interesting trees and learn which species can take abuse and which are more tender. Have a plan for collecting, processing and aftercare.

There are some pretty good YouTube vids on collecting and they all have things in common: trench around the tree and collect lots of roots. Don’t just leverage the tree out of the ground, take your time and collect real roots for better success. And, how far from your car is that awesome tree with a large rootball? Getting the tree out is one thing, getting it to the car is a whole other issue!

Good luck!
 

tylerwdesign

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Atlanta GA
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As was said before, American Hornbeam are lots of fun. American Beech for longer term projects, hop hornbeam, 50 some-odd species of hawthorns in GA, winged elms, red maple, prunus, bald/pond cypress, water elm, wisteria, hackberry.

Lots of trees to choose from. If you see something beyond your years that’s worth waiting for, wait. Collect small but interesting trees and learn which species can take abuse and which are more tender. Have a plan for collecting, processing and aftercare.

There are some pretty good YouTube vids on collecting and they all have things in common: trench around the tree and collect lots of roots. Don’t just leverage the tree out of the ground, take your time and collect real roots for better success. And, how far from your car is that awesome tree with a large rootball? Getting the tree out is one thing, getting it to the car is a whole other issue!

Good luck!
Thanks for the info! I’ll definitely be leaving any amazing trees that aren’t in the path of destruction for later this year.
 

Melospiza

Shohin
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GA has so many great species for bonsai. American Sweetgum, hornbeam, and the different hawthorn species, especially Littlehip Hawthorn which has tiny sppon-shaped leaves! Georgia hackberry (Celtis tenuifolia) has smaller leaves than the other Celtis species. If you are in areas that have been settled, you may find escaped Chinese privet, Chinese wisteria, and the 3 eleagnus species, all of which are invasive. You'd be doing a good deed by removing them from the environment!
 

tylerwdesign

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They aren’t actually native to Georgia, or the us I don’t think. Might be able to find one someone doesn’t want though. They can be quite messy, so people get them not realizing that and want to get rid of them.
 

tylerwdesign

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GA has so many great species for bonsai. American Sweetgum, hornbeam, and the different hawthorn species, especially Littlehip Hawthorn which has tiny sppon-shaped leaves! Georgia hackberry (Celtis tenuifolia) has smaller leaves than the other Celtis species. If you are in areas that have been settled, you may find escaped Chinese privet, Chinese wisteria, and the 3 eleagnus species, all of which are invasive. You'd be doing a good deed by removing them from the environment!
Removing invasive species while collecting bonsai, doesn't get much better than that! I'll definitely be on the lookout for those. Thanks!
 

GrimLore

Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
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They aren’t actually native to Georgia, or the us I don’t think. Might be able to find one someone doesn’t want though. They can be quite messy, so people get them not realizing that and want to get rid of them.

The Peach Tree is Native to Northwest China.

BUT

They grow insanely good in GA climates. They are not messy kept potted and such, depending on variety you could certainly find a small leaf that would do quite good!

Grimmy
 
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