Cool little Pine I found out in the mountains....

[abqjoe]

Went hiking out on my buddies land out here in one of the mountain ranges in New Mexico and this little guy caught my eye I had to climb around 100' up a straight vertical stone cliff to take this pic, good times! I may harvest this tree when the appropriate season is at hand but until then I'll just be doing my research on how to actually best get this tree. This tree is a part of a few different existing roots so it has me a little boggled as to how to best get it. One of the roots that it's attached to goes some 20+ feet up over the top of this hill, but, the root on the bottom of this tree goes idk where through the bottom. Plus it has the other roots visible at the trunk of the tree itself. All I know is that this tree definitely wanted to exist and found a way to grow on this huge rock cliff

 

[Vin]

Th top of the tree looks good but it would take a lot of work to get the right. If it were legally collectable, I would just leave it.

 

[_#1_]

The dying or dead tree right behind it looks more interesting maybe??

 

[RickMartin]

That is a nice tree but i would probably pass on it. Just take pics of it and enjoy those. This tree has great looking foliage just not where i would want it. Yeah i have so crappy trees that most would toss in the burn pile and i cant keep a JBP alive for nothing, but seening that tree there and knowing its healthy and it could possibly die from being collected i would leave it in the ground

Rick

 

[abqjoe]

The dying or dead tree right behind it looks more interesting maybe??

That one is a part of a root as well. Not only this particular area, but New Mexico in general has a lot of interesting trees like this. That is if you're not afraid to of heights Permits are fairly cheap but I'm lucky enough to have friends with land all over the state who will let me harvest whatever I want..

 

[abqjoe]

That is a nice tree but i would probably pass on it. Just take pics of it and enjoy those. This tree has great looking foliage just not where i would want it. Yeah i have so crappy trees that most would toss in the burn pile and i cant keep a JBP alive for nothing, but seening that tree there and knowing its healthy and it could possibly die from being collected i would leave it in the ground

Rick

That's kind of what I'm thinking at this point! I'm sure others will pop up that are better suited for harvesting and I definitely don't mind spending more time in the mountains searching for them either

 

[Vin]

Th top of the tree looks good but it would take a lot of work to get the right. If it were legally collectable, I would just leave it.

Man, it must of been too early for me this morning. My spelling and grammar is atrocious.

 

[sorce]

Shoot it!

Sorce

 

[Potawatomi13]

That one is a part of a root as well. Not only this particular area, but New Mexico in general has a lot of interesting trees like this. That is if you're not afraid to of heights Permits are fairly cheap but I'm lucky enough to have friends with land all over the state who will let me harvest whatever I want..

Please are these trees just beginning their years growth? Tree behind looks like oak and IF collectible could be very interesting. From NM Cho Bonsai has collected several interesting trees of several species. Big question is IF collectible. Better to leave than kill tree. Also is possibility of air layering non conifers if roots not collectible but should leave something behind to regrow if so doing.

 

[PiñonJ]

Piñons are extremely difficult, due to poor roots. If this tree has a compact root mass, it may be collectible, but if roots are running all over, you'll kill it by collecting it. That's the problem with most piñons here, they have deep tap roots and almost no surface roots.

 

[rockm]

Not worth the effort. Roots are really REALLY bad. They're basically stilts and very coarse--both things are mostly undesirable in bonsai, unless you're after root-exposed bonsai. This tree isn't suited for that either.

FWIW, "weird" don't mean "good" for bonsai purposes. You want a natural root base at soil level and up into the first third of the trunk (nebari) which is especially true when collecting material. The point of collecting trees is to get substantial, developed nebari that can't be grown out in a container. Don't be impressed by foliage. Foliage is the icing on a cake. Most, if not all, of it will be replaced or hacked off in the process of development once the tree is containerize.

Branching and foliage are expendable. You are collecting THE FIRST THIRD OF THE TREE, NOT THE TOP...

 

[rockm]

Also, you may not be seeing the forest for the tree. What about the oak BEHIND this pine? Looks like there's more potential there.

 

[aml1014]

Also, you may not be seeing the forest for the tree. What about the oak BEHIND this pine? Looks like there's more potential there.

Oaks are just about as tough to dig here in NM as piñions are. Here we A LOT of granite and limestone in which the roots are happy to penetrate, but is quite difficult to collect. Luckily @abqjoe has a buddy who's done a fair amount of collecting and I'll be able to show him some nice spots were the trees are ready to go, or maybe help find some nice spots at his buddy's property. Here in the desert it's all location, location, location.

Aaron

 

[rockm]

Oaks are just about as tough to dig here in NM as piñions are. Here we A LOT of granite and limestone in which the roots are happy to penetrate, but is quite difficult to collect. Luckily @abqjoe has a buddy who's done a fair amount of collecting and I'll be able to show him some nice spots were the trees are ready to go, or maybe help find some nice spots at his buddy's property. Here in the desert it's all location, location, location.

Aaron

Wasn't talking about physical collectability, really. I was talking about a tree being worth collecting.

In a location where both could be collected easily, the pine isn't worth the time or effort. The oak might be and would warrant further investigation, I think.

 

[aml1014]

Wasn't talking about physical collectability, really. I was talking about a tree being worth collecting.

In a location where both could be collected easily, the pine isn't worth the time or effort. The oak might be and would warrant further investigation, I think.

I see what you mean and absolutely agree. The oaks out here can be pretty bad ass sometimes! It's pretty hard to find a piñion with really nice character and is actually collectable.

Aaron