Collecting trip!

[irene_b]

This past weekend 2 clubs came together to enjoy some collecting.
San Antonio and Austin....
Fun was had by all!
Lots of sweeeeet trees were collected!
The area of collecting was a very large area which had bottomland as well as creeks beds and hill country (ie: rock climbing).
I will post some pics when I finish my coffee this morning!
Irene

Edit:
First 3 are of a red cedar.
other 2 are of a cedar Elm Raft.

 

[irene_b]

More pics!
Red Cedar out of ground!
Red Cedar potted up.
Cedar Elm Raft will need a lot of looking at and hopefully some guidence from Walter Pall and others!

 

[irene_b]

River bed
Members bagging tree.
Fantastic weather for this dig!
3 More Cedar Elms.
1 More CE small raft.

 

[irene_b]

Area where Cedar Raft (big one) was found!
Hubby digging this raft up!
Many Rocks and spiney bushes!
We collected 15 Cedar Elms!

 

[bonsaibaka]

Hi Irene,

Yes, that was an amazing dig! I don't know what neck of the woods y'all were in but Jim Trahan, Joey McCoy, and I (along with Donna from your club) made off with some fantasic trees on the east side.

Folks, these trees were literally in less than a foot of soil because the limestone bedrock was so close to the surface. We were practically lifting trees off of the ground, bagging them up, and carrying them back to the van 2 or 3 trees at a time. Cedar Elms, Texas Persimmon, Texas Mountain Laurel, and even a couple of very stunted Hackberry shohin that were growing out of the rock. By the way, an iron rock bar comes in VERY handy!

No, I didn't dig up that last one! A bulldozer beat me to it. Look at how flat that root system is.

 

[irene_b]

LOL You missed out on the Raft Cedar Elm!
It was right across from where you took last pic!
That big group of trees!
Irene

PS: Donna gave go ahead for next weekend as well!
Ready to go at it again?

 

[Graydon]

Very cool Irene! I like the stuff very much. I'm sorry I don't have time to drive out and help next weekend....

 

[bonsaibaka]

Here's the Cedar Elm raft that Joey got. Easily the best catch of the day for us.

Hmmm... I'm tempted to go back. I'll have to make some space in my back yard (I didn't need that barbeque grill anyway)!

 

[irene_b]

Has Joey climbed down from Cloud 9 yet?
What a find!
Irene

 

[Greg Brenden]

Looks like some material there with great potential. Keep us posted on the progress of your bounty!

 

[bonsaibaka]

Will do!

I potted my trees yesterday after soaking the roots in water overnight. I will post some pictures later.

 

[irene_b]

Cool!
Get Joey to post his as well!

 

[bonsaibaka]

A few pictures

Here are a few pictures of the trees I got from last weekend's dig.

Cheap dollar store laundry/storage bins, a little screen and wire, pine bark, gravel and oil-dri... and a lot of sore muscles (I potted these the day after the dig, after soaking the roots in water overnight).

I kept every root and branch intact. Some are positioned strangely to fit the tap root, which I will gradually reduce over the years.

Some more Austin people will be going out there this weekend but I have to work. Oh well, I'm satisfied!

 

[irene_b]

More from each trip!
#1 Just a few.
#2 Club member Trent
#3 Club member Donna (who is the one who got us this place)
#4 & 5 Trents tree Nice Cedar Elm!

 

[Ashbarns]

Irene what an adventure and great stock you acquired. So sorry I couldn't make it but I had a previous appointment.

Ash

 

[agraham]

Irene and baka,

I just hope that ya'll are collecting responsibly.Are you replacing the trees that you dig?

Also,While some of those trees look pretty nice....none of them seem to be much better than what you could probably buy in a nursery and train for a few years.I think you should think long and hard about your reasons for taking these small parts of nature from their home and probably killing them in the process.To save a little money?The excitement of the hunt?These are not good reasons to destroy nature.

andy

 

[bonsaibaka]

Hello Andy,

It's nice to hear from other Texas bonsai enthusiasts.

Your concern for the future of these collected trees, and the habitat that they came from, is admirable. Rest assured that the area we collected from is slated to be bulldozed and turned into a housing development. I would much rather take my chances and nurture a few of these trees than to see them whacked in the name of Suburbia! Had this been an area that was not going to be turned into "McMansions" I would gladly replace what I took. There are vast amounts of cedar elms, junipers, and sophora in this area so I doubt the ecological balance would have been disrupted by taking a few small specimen.

As for the quality of the trees, maybe I need to visit some of the nursuries you're talking about!

Regards,

Mike

 

[malhomme]

I just hope that ya'll are collecting responsibly.

Andy,

I can't speak for others on the dig but I can speak for Mike, Joey and myself when I say that we collected the trees responsibly. The root balls of the trees the 3 of us collected were sprayed with water and wrapped and bound in poly on the spot. Some of the trees were even sprayed with Wilt-Pruf before even being touched by a spade. Not one of our trees was left to bake in the sun, bare-rooted. But again, I can't speak for anyone else.

Are you replacing the trees that you dig?

This was a "rescue dig". The site we collected on is slated to be turned into roads... surveyor's tape was everywhere. What was not removed will be Scotchman's Choice Hardwood Mulch this time next year.

Also,While some of those trees look pretty nice....none of them seem to be much better than what you could probably buy in a nursery and train for a few years.

I have not posted here pics of the trees that I collected, but I assure you that those trees will not be duplicated from nursery stock after 3 years training. Some of the shapes are unconventional and rule-breaking, some are almost baffling for use as bonsai stock, all could not have been created by the hands of Man. I collected some very impressive stock and I believe that I will have a high survival rate because of the care I took in collecting this material.

I think you should think long and hard about your reasons for taking these small parts of nature from their home and probably killing them in the process.

The circumstances of this dig, i.e the future of the site, negates the sentiment above. While some people probably may not have collected responsibibly, at least 60 trees were collected responsibly and have a very good chance for survival.

To save a little money?The excitement of the hunt?

I did not save money. Collecting specimen quality material is like deer hunting-- pound-for-pound it is more expensive than conventional alternatives. Gas, imported soil components, LARGE containers, rechargeable power tools... it all adds up. I also did not do it for "the excitement of the hunt". There wasn't much hunting as the site was covered with fine trees.

These are not good reasons to destroy nature.

Let me ask: what did we destroy of nature when we rescued trees from in front of the blade of a bulldozer?

I think this is a case where something may sound bad at face value, but changes when you know more about the circumstances involved.

Kind regards,
Jim

 

[Dale Cochoy]

That last elm shown is real nice collected stock!

I just have one question....

Are you allowed to live in Texas if you don't own a Pick-Up Truck??

Dale

 

[Vance Wood]

I forgot to thank you for sending me the email images Irene, thank you. Some of them are excelent trees today, the rest will take a couple of years, but all of them are going to be kickers within five years. Your biggest problem is going to be finding good pots for them all.

Of all the domestic Elms species in the US, this is the best one.