Old newby

[Mayo]

Yes, I am an old (81) newby with a major interest in developing yamadori as bonsai. My grandkids are interested so I'm including them in my own learning process. With luck they're the ones who will see limber pine and whitebark pine trained however they choose.
I live in northwest Wyoming's part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and many of the trees that grow here are conifers. I'm in Zone 4 which means one must choose trees with built-in hardiness. The above mentioned ones are beyond hardy; some live more than a thousand years.
I'm a retired journalist ("Enemy of the American People," is what our president calls us. I'm very proud of it), I fly fish, hike, camp and explore as many of the Rocky Mountain nooks and crannies as possible. I am in constant contact with the wonders nature offers.
I have much to learn and I'm enthused about learning. My current plan is to harvest two limbers and two whitebarks this fall and get them into grow boxes. That's how I found this forum -- looking for suggestions about grow boxes. I'm already very impressed. I'll build my own. I have the appropriate permits and must harvest just as soon as conifers in this region go dormant for the winter. I realize that spring is better for transplanting, but, hey, as the trees are coming out of dormancy here they're still mostly covered by snow.
This is by way of introduction and I believe I'll find this forum very helpful.

Cheers,
Malin Foster

 

[plant_dr]

Welcome!

 

[Melospiza]

Hope you have a great time with your grandkids learning about bonsai!

 

[queenofsheba52]

Hi Malin, you've found a great bonsai site here.

What a fun project for you and your grandkids!

 

[atlarsenal]

Welcome!
Check out https://bonsaimirai.com if you are not too old to learn from someone half your age.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Anyone who takes compliment in politicians calling them the enemy of the people (no matter their location) is a friend of mine.
Politics seems to be the poison-topic in this place, so I'm staying far from it.

Anyhow, welcome to the forum! I hope you guys have a lot of fun here.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

S

 

[Silentrunning]

Grandkids and bonsai. I don’t think it gets much better than that.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Welcome! One thing I love about this hobby is all of the older people I see practicing, gives me hope I'll still be going strong in 40 years.

 

[Nybonsai12]

I want to point out that there is so much winning in this first post of yours.

You've researched appropriate species for your zone, read up on grow boxes, have obtained permits for yamadori collection and are including your grandchildren. No beginner first post shall top this one!

Good luck in your journey and welcome to the forum.

 

[GGB]

Youve got some GREAT trees in your neck of the woods. If I'm not mistaken you also live near mtn hemlock, larch, and sublpine fir, engleman spruce?

 

[Underdog]

Grandkids and bonsai... My little water girl.
This is a great place to learn. Welcome

 

[rockm]

Yes, I am an old (81) newby with a major interest in developing yamadori as bonsai. My grandkids are interested so I'm including them in my own learning process. With luck they're the ones who will see limber pine and whitebark pine trained however they choose.
I live in northwest Wyoming's part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and many of the trees that grow here are conifers. I'm in Zone 4 which means one must choose trees with built-in hardiness. The above mentioned ones are beyond hardy; some live more than a thousand years.
I'm a retired journalist ("Enemy of the American People," is what our president calls us. I'm very proud of it), I fly fish, hike, camp and explore as many of the Rocky Mountain nooks and crannies as possible. I am in constant contact with the wonders nature offers.
I have much to learn and I'm enthused about learning. My current plan is to harvest two limbers and two whitebarks this fall and get them into grow boxes. That's how I found this forum -- looking for suggestions about grow boxes. I'm already very impressed. I'll build my own. I have the appropriate permits and must harvest just as soon as conifers in this region go dormant for the winter. I realize that spring is better for transplanting, but, hey, as the trees are coming out of dormancy here they're still mostly covered by snow.
This is by way of introduction and I believe I'll find this forum very helpful.

Cheers,
Malin Foster

As a fellow enemy of the people, I also welcome you to bonsai.

It's encouraging to see someone do some research before jumping in.

I would, however, encourage you to get past the idea of "digging your own" to give to your grandkids. It's nice to think they're going to carry on with the trees, but this should be about bonsai for you at this point. Grandkids tend to have fleeting interests.

If I were you, I would look to initially get an already containerized tree to learn on. By going directly to collecting yamadori, especially conifer yamadori, you are tripling your learning curve. Nothing more disappointing that putting the effort (which can be substantial) into digging a tree, making a grow box and having the tree kick off in three or four weeks because you collected it without knowing the ins and outs of successful collection. All the books make collecting look easy with neat tight rootballs that can be burlapped and hauled out and placed in a training container.

Believe me, that NEVER happens. What you're likely to run into with the species you're looking at are complex, sparse root systems whose life-supporting bulk may lie behind a 4 1/2 boulder buried in the ground, or porous soil that automatically bareroots your pine when you lift it out (which is probably a death sentence).

If you get a tree out and into a container, aftercare awaits you. It can be tricky, as it depends on getting adequate feeder roots and getting the watering and soil right for those roots to recover. It's a balancing act that can require some finesse based on experience.

I would greatly encourage you to begin with a containerized tree from a nursery before you start digging anything. learn what you can and can't do in getting that tree into a bonsai pot (it can take several years). Go ahead and hike to scout for trees in the wild with your grandkids. Have the kids mark them with plastic tape and remember them for later.

 

[Mayo]

Many thanks to all of you. I appreciate the feedback and the suggestions.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Welcome to the forum Malin,

I suspect you have done more research and have more previous horticultural experience than is outlined in your short post. I know RockM is trying to spare you disappointment and encourage you to go the more likely to be successful route. But if you feel you already have the experience necessary, I think you have a good plan. Autumn collecting is not the best, but it is far from the worst season for collecting.

Nursery material is a good option if you don't have a lot of horticultural experience or information. But it does mean starting with younger material.

One option is purchasing trees that have been already collected and stabilized for a couple years by yamadori collectors. All three I have listed I have met and I have bought trees from. The advantage of purchasing from a collector is they get the timing down and have established new roots systems. All three are very good about providing specific care information. The down side of purchasing, is that the trees will not be cheap. But for the material they handle, and the benefit of the collector absorbing the cost of the trees that did not successfully stabilize, these collected trees are a good option.

Andy Smith of Golden Arrow Bonsai comes to mind, he is in South Dakota. http://www.goldenarrowbonsai.com/index.html

Todd Schlaffer of First Branch Bonsai in Colorado -https://www.firstbranchbonsai.com/

Back Country Bonsai - http://www.backcountrybonsai.com/ - I think they are in Wyoming or ?
Back County Bonsai Blog - https://backcountrybonsai.wordpress.com/ - tales of collecting in the back country.

A possible local (maybe within 300 miles?) resource for you - Jerry Meislik - he is a very well known artist of Ficus, growing indoors. Jerry lives in either Montana or Wyoming, I forget which. While his blog is mostly about tropicals, Jerry does do a few pines and natives, give him a call or send him an email and pick his brain about bonsai in Wyoming.
[URL]http://www.bonsaihunk.us/public_html/[/url]

So welcome to BNut, I hope some of these links will help you.
Leo