Collecting in Eastern California

dpowell

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Hey Folks, just wanted to share some pics from a recent collecting trip that I went on last month. I'm not planning on giving up any locations, but I will say that I went with an experienced group and we had permission/permits to collect in multiple locations.
I apologize in advance for lack of actual collection photos, but to be honest I was quite tired from all the work and forgot most of the time as the camera was in my bag hidden away.
I also apologize for the inconsistency in the after photos, I was fighting the daylight and trying to break in some new flashes so my results were inconsistent unfortunately.
Anyway the first set is some California junipers. These were easily the most difficult to collect and took anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours each to collect. They had plenty of feeder roots near the surface as there had been rains recently so they were very collectable. For reference they are planted in 15" Andersen flats. The first 4 photos are the same plant while the 5th photo is a similar plant.
TBC
 

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dpowell

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The first photo is the last CA juniper I collected and by far the biggest. I'm not sure what size the pot is, but it weighs easily 150 lbs with all the soil. After I dug it out of the ground I attached it to my backpack to carry out and could not get up without assistance. This is with me being in my my 20's and in decent shape.
The pines were all collected in a different, much higher location. They were also much easier to collect as the soil was primarily pumice. The first two are white pines known for forming clumps. The next 2 pics are of a lodgepole pine with a closeup of a natural shari.
 

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dpowell

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Last set of pics. They are all lodgepole pines. The last one is quite small, but the bark is amazing for such a small tree. It was the first pine I collected.
All of the trees are resting comfortably outside under a gazebo with plenty of shade. They will be left alone for at least 18 months, if not longer to make sure they've all recovered. They are planted in an extremely course mix that I made up, consisting mostly of pumice (thanks DryStall!) because it was cheap and I had to use a lot. They get watered frequently because of the course mix, but will not need watering much longer because of the cooling temperatures(For reference it was 75 today which is cool for us).
Would love to hear any questions/comments.
 

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rich415

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Great looking trees. Which club do you belong to?


Rich
 

timhanson81

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Those white pines you collected are intriguing to me. I'm assuming those are whitebark pines (Pinus albicaulis) which I always admire when I go up to the California high country. Their growth form and nice short needles make them an obvious candidate for bonsai but I've always questioned if they would survive at lower elevations. Their range starts at about 7000 feet above sea level.

Do you know if anyone on the trip, or in your club, has had success establishing them as bonsai?

Congratulations on the nice set of new trees!

-Tim
 

dpowell

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Rich - I'm not an active member of any clubs unfortunately. I like Betsuin Bonsai Club in San Jose, but they meet on Tuesdays which is when I play hockey. I need to try Midori Bonsai Club again. All the others are too far for me to make frequently.

Tim - Some of the group members have collected white pines with success previously. I'm told they are Western White Pines (Pinus monticola), not whitebark pine. The needles on them currently are reasonably short already.
 

PaulH

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Did you go with the Lotus Bonsai group? If so , the junipers you got will be Utah juniper, not California juniper. But they're nice nevertheless. I know of a few areas in the White Mountains where the Utah junipers have foliage that is quite similar to California junipers but still have the distinktive Utah juniper fragrance. Maybe a hybrid?
I've got some nice western white pine from that area and I know Scott from Lotus has some that have been doing well for quite a few years.
I just got back from leading our club trip to the same area.

Paul
 

dpowell

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Paul - I did go with the Lotus group and it looks like you're right about them being Utah Junipers, my mistake. I'm searching for a juniper ID guide to make sure, but the foliage looks identical to this.

Sil - Thanks, I tried to do all my research before hand.
 
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