"hunting" season

Joe Dupre'

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Belle Rose, La.
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Bonsai hunting...that is. I went out again this morning on my hunting lease looking for bonsai for the upcoming spring. Perfect day..........mid to high 40's and very few mosquitoes. I flagged a couple of possible contenders, one of them being a 1 and 1/2" diameter oak with a twisty base that I had topped 2 or 3 years ago. It has since sprouted some nice growth . That one will probably come home with me this spring. I saw a couple of whitetails and spotted a small copperhead just off the trail. He was really sluggish so I just picked him up with my walking stick and moved him well off the trail. He was just trying to make a living.

I've put in close to 150 hours in the woods looking for bonsai these last 4 years. It's a major part of my enjoyment of the hobby. My observation is that there are VERY few natural deciduous bonsai specimens. They all need to grow out for at least a couple of years before they even come close to looking like something. Conifers, especially large nursery stock, can be trimmed into something that is pretty decent looking right out of the box. With deciduous trees, you're looking at a stick in a pot for quite a while.
 

Wilson

Masterpiece
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Eastern townships, Quebec
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I know in my area the only deciduous that are already attractive are up in the mountains, or old garden/hedge trees. I am in the same boat as you, I can wander for days observing trees in all the different environments. I just love being out in the wild spaces, and enjoying all the details bonsai has taught me to observe.
 

Joe Dupre'

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Belle Rose, La.
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I've become aware of so many more trees and plants since I've been in the bonsai hobby. I hunted and fished in the swamps around here for 50 years and didn't even know some of these trees existed here. And having done most of my woods walking in the fall and winter in the past, I missed out on the habits of a lot of summer flowering and fruiting plants and trees.
 
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