Five Year Native Tree Challenge: Gabler's Mountain Laurel

KateM

Chumono
Messages
848
Reaction score
4,686
Location
South NJ
USDA Zone
7
Thank you for your reply.
Wasn't aware of Wilmington's water situation. My place of work has an office there and I do work there from time to time, but we have bottled water...
I am pretty much accross the river fron you in NJ. We have well water.
We have lots of moutain laurel on our property. So far I've collected two small ones. One I have in a pond basket sunk in the ground alive for over a year and doing well. Done nothing to it since collection, but fertilised. The other one planted in the ground at my son's place in PA - 3 years since transplant, doing well and blooming every year.
Doing my research. Don't want to collect to kill.
 

Gabler

Masterpiece
Messages
2,351
Reaction score
3,178
Location
The Delmarva Peninsula
USDA Zone
7a
Thank you for your reply.
Wasn't aware of Wilmington's water situation. My place of work has an office there and I do work there from time to time, but we have bottled water...
I am pretty much accross the river fron you in NJ. We have well water.
We have lots of moutain laurel on our property. So far I've collected two small ones. One I have in a pond basket sunk in the ground alive for over a year and doing well. Done nothing to it since collection, but fertilised. The other one planted in the ground at my son's place in PA - 3 years since transplant, doing well and blooming every year.
Doing my research. Don't want to collect to kill.

The water situation is bad, but far from unusual. Most municipalities need to heavily treat the water in order to make it drinkable, since most rivers are polluted, and most cities still use original lead pipes. I grew up on well water on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, so I had no idea how alkaline city water would be.

I know a lot more about collecting and about bonsai in general now than I did when I collected this tree. I think I may try to locate a couple more to try again this spring. It's one of my favorite species of woody plant, and I'd love to figure out how to bonsai it.
 

KateM

Chumono
Messages
848
Reaction score
4,686
Location
South NJ
USDA Zone
7
The water situation is bad, but far from unusual. Most municipalities need to heavily treat the water in order to make it drinkable, since most rivers are polluted, and most cities still use original lead pipes. I grew up on well water on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, so I had no idea how alkaline city water would be.

I know a lot more about collecting and about bonsai in general now than I did when I collected this tree. I think I may try to locate a couple more to try again this spring. It's one of my favorite species of woody plant, and I'd love to figure out how to bonsai it.
I've seen an image of a mountain laurel cascade or semi-cascade in a crescent pot I can't find at the moment that inspired me greatly.
It was I believe a bonsai practitioner's/nursery web page...
 
Top Bottom