Northern MN 2020 collections.

[Boscology]

Made a trip up North again in the beginning of May to collect Larches. My second year collecting in the bogs of Northern Minnesota was very good. I got a hold of a copy of Nick Lenz' book collecting from the wild, which has been informative (fascinating how he notes that in these moss bogs where nutrients are sparse that it takes a larch 30 years to reach a trunk diameter of almost one inch). In about 2 hours I got 15 or so of these larches, this year keeping whatever feeder root masses possible and potting it with that sphagnum still clinging to the tree.

My update for almost a month later, only two have not really opened their buds but they were the two smallest I got and the largest look incredibly healthy.

Next time I am up there I am going to try to get larger than 4" trunk dia. so this might require some partially submerged chainsawing

 

[davetree]

Good for you ! You will find out how difficult it is to saw thru a big old tamarack trunk. Chainsaw is a good idea.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Keep in mind that larches can deceive a collector by flushing out and then collapse because the roots can't support the evaporation of water through the foliage.
Happened to me twice.

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

Great material! I got 4-5 in northern Michigan (also from bogs, fascinating places).
Keep us updated - I had at least one experience the issue @Wires_Guy_wires describes above sadly.
If you ever consider selling that Nick Lenz book please please let me know!!

 

[NOZZLE HEAD]

Cool dog.

I’m a squished faced dog owner too.

We are doing some pest monitoring in a peppermint field.

 

[August44]

Did those tree actually live after collecting them? If I would have been that severe on my Larches, they would have all died.

 

[ghues]

Collecting can be very challenging especially from bogs.
Big question for me is, did you get permission to collect them?

 

[Boscology]

Most are doing well, I tried to get the ones from the previous photos.

This one reacted negatively to the last two weeks of ~90 degree weather and some of the needles got burnt tips (possibly a fungus?) but has shown new growth in past two weeks

Sorry for the bad photos



Lastly some pitcher plants that I collected up there. Last year it was discovered that these survive by eating salamanders not bugs

Pitcher Plants Have Been Quietly Snacking on Baby Salamanders

It was previously thought that the plants rarely ate vertebrate animals

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Boscology]

If you ever consider selling that Nick Lenz book please please let me know!!

The copy I checked out is owned by our MN bonsai club

Did those tree actually live after collecting them? If I would have been that severe on my Larches, they would have all died.

so far 4 out of 18 collected this year have died. It is tough identifying, preserving and then, replanting the pitiful amount of active roots that bog trees have. I usually trim them down a bit so that we can make the drive home but my collected larches seem to do better when taken down to a manageable amount of foliage.

Collecting can be very challenging especially from bogs.
Big question for me is, did you get permission to collect them?

So your takeaway was that I likely collected these irresponsibly, illegally, or unethically and then blithely flaunted the fact, even going so far as to document the atrocities. These came from a friend's land up there where he and I have been collecting and studying for years. I understand how land ownership may be "ersatz permission" so before we began I asked your God.

 

[ghues]

The copy I checked out is owned by our MN bonsai club

so far 4 out of 18 collected this year have died. It is tough identifying, preserving and then, replanting the pitiful amount of active roots that bog trees have. I usually trim them down a bit so that we can make the drive home but my collected larches seem to do better when taken down to a manageable amount of foliage.


So your takeaway was that I likely collected these irresponsibly, illegally, or unethically and then blithely flaunted the fact, even going so far as to document the atrocities. These came from a friend's land up there where he and I have been collecting and studying for years. I understand how land ownership may be "ersatz permission" so before we began I asked your God.

No I did not.... just curious.

 

[M. Frary]

So your takeaway was that I likely collected these irresponsibly, illegally, or unethically and then blithely flaunted the fact, even going so far as to document the atrocities. These came from a friend's land up there where he and I have been collecting and studying for years. I understand how land ownership may be "ersatz permission" so before we began I asked your God

Wahoo!
I like the cut of your jib.
You're going to do just fine here.

 

[HorseloverFat]

did you get permission to collect them?

Collect until you cross signs or hear warning shots!

 

[Boscology]

This branch seems to be the apicaly dominant. In the three months I've had this since collection it has grown `10 inches

This one below is the one from the first photo in this post. Its trunk and base below the soil line is rather significant.

We've had 90 degree temps for weeks here and Larch hate it. Lots of new top foliage gets fried then replaced somewhere else.

 

[vp999]

Man..I love that huge Ginkgo trunk u got there in the orange container. Lemme know if you ever want to sell it. Tommy

 

[Agriff]

As a fellow Minneapolitan, care to take me on one of these trips next year @Boscology ?

 

[Colorado]

Man..I love that huge Ginkgo trunk u got there in the orange container. Lemme know if you ever want to sell it. Tommy

Ha, that caught my eye too! Nice larches…and ginkgo!