The big tree, little car struggle.

[ironliver316]

Does anyone else have this problem? You stop into a nursery and see a big, beautiful tree, perfect for either a trunk chop, or to air layer the top. On top of that, it's in your price range! So you immediately throw in on a cart, because of course if anyone else sees this beauty they're going to realize it's bonsai potential and snatch it right up if you walk away... You throw your money at the cashier so you can rush home and start showing the tree some love. Then you get out in the parking lot only to have a thought hit you like a ton of bricks. "Shit, I have a little car! How the hell am I going to get this home!"

Funny thing is, I have a work van, but I always seem to find the bigger trees when I just stop at a random nursery that I didn't plan on going to. I've had a 7ft corkscrew willow stuffed from my trunk to on top of the dashboard. A big, bushy bougainvillea poking the hell out of me the whole ride home. And my latest find last weekend, this gorgeous hornbeam that I almost walked right past.


But when you drive past a nursery, and they have a big sign saying all trees and shrubs are up to 50% off, and you're an hour and a half from your home and van, what are you supposed to do? lol. But it was well worth the cleaning I'm going to have to do in the car. $60 for this amazing tree is a steal! Still not sure if it's an American or European hornbeam, as it literally had two tags claiming both species.

 

[19Mateo83]

The struggle is real for sure That’s a damn nice hornbeam too, good score!

 

[berzerkules]

My wife is always driving looking like while I'm in the front seat with the tree...

Nice hornbeam btw.

 

[Paradox]

Yea I drive a pickup so not so much of a problem for me usually.
I would hate to see what it would look like if I did have that problem
Good luck with the hornbeam

 

[Srt8madness]

I stuck 3x 7gal bald cypress in my 550 this morning. Broke the tops off right in the parking lot. Box store lawn and garden employees didn't know if they had any cutters, so had to crack and use my box blade.

I'm a fairly young guy, but the wet behind the ears employee I asked looked at me like I was an alien when I said "loppers", and proceeded to look on his little device for where they were for sale in the store, lol. Then the second guy asked the boss, who said they won't let customers do it because they can't do open box .
But they cut me an awesome deal so all is well.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Either plan ahead, have nursery hold tree or exercise self control.

 

[BobbyLane]

Haha i know the struggle i feel you! I usually have a pair of secatuers handy, sometimes a saw or i borrow from the nurseries i visit.
Looks like hornbeam, very nice material with lots of well placed, good sized low branches. given the material and species i say you have a 80% chance that the nebari is pretty decent too
thats the fun part, digging for treasure

 

[RJG2]

Get a convertible - it's much easier picking up trees in my '76 MG Midget than my Impreza

 

[rockm]

Get a pickup truck. Problem solved...or just reduce the trunk the parking lot of the nursery. Lots of fun, and the nursery staff might be shocked "you voided your warranty" or, they may not be "we've seen that before, want some help?" (if that's the response, return to the nursery as often as possible--they "get" bonsai...Even if you have a pickup truck and you have big "finished" trees, you have to get creative to transport them. I have to drive a very large oak bonsai twice a year to/from a bonsai nursery 70 miles from me for winter storage. Driving 75 mph on the Interstate would break/severely damage a tree that is exposed to the wind...The top of the tree is 6-8 inches taller than the cab of the truck. A bed topper is not tall enough, so I had to build a large plywood box to protect it--box breaks down easily for flat storage. Adapt, overcome...

 

[penumbra]

Last winter I bought an 8 foot tall Atlas cedar when driving my smaller car. I asked if I could leave the top of the tree for the nursery to dispose of and they said no problem. I took home a plant that was 36 inches tall in the pot. What I wasn't counting on was the hefty discount they gave me.

 

[GGB]

you should see what @Shogun610 does to his little bimmer

 

[mapleX]

On my adventures of discovery at local nurseries I often return home with trees in 25 gallon pots only with the help of my motorcycle...

You should see the faces of the employees when they see me cut 10-foot trunks and then go down the highway very slowly

 

[Shogun610]

you should see what @Shogun610 does to his little bimmer

It’s just a tree and dog mobile at this point

 

[Cajunrider]

It's not uncommon around here for one BNutter to pick up a huge tree and proceed to chop it right after paying for it then say to the cashier: "Where is the dumpster or can you send some one to help me get rid of this?"

Such BNutter will then strut out of the store with just the stump, leaving other patrons and the cashier perplexed.
PS: I've done that twice. They know to leave me alone now when I am checking nebari of trees on sale. Thanks to my good fortune, this year I haven't done any of that.

 

[Shogun610]

It's not uncommon around here for one BNutter to pick up a huge tree and proceed to chop it right after paying for it then say to the cashier: "Where is the dumpster or can you send some one to help me get rid of this?"

Such BNutter will then strut out of the store with just the stump, leaving other patrons and the cashier perplexed.
PS: I've done that twice. They know to leave me alone now when I am checking nebari of trees on sale. Thanks to my good fortune, this year I haven't done any of that.

Haha yes there’s a native nursery , a wholesaler and a regular nursery that know when I show up they say “Uh oh he’s back “ but they show a genuine appreciation for it

 

[Shogun610]

Get a pickup truck. Problem solved..

You buyin ?

 

[rockm]

You buyin ?

Nope. But they still work a lot better than a car. I got mine eight years ago replacing a Durango that I went through all of the above contortions getting the big tree into.

 

[Dav4]

Wait until you need to move your bigger more refined trees... definitely easier to deal with a broken branches on rough stock then the 70 year old pine we have here.


This picture is over three years old and the camry xse is now my son's ride... My new ride is a full size crew cab pickup and my largest tree can slide into the back with the rear seats folded up

 

[Shogun610]

Wait until you need to move your bigger more refined trees... definitely easier to deal with a broken branches on rough stock then the 70 year old pine we have here.
View attachment 450626

This picture is over three years old and the camry xse is now my son's ride... My new ride is a full size crew cab pickup and my largest tree can slide into the back with the rear seats folded up

Yeah I’m thinking of just buying a sprinter and having that as my daily driver lol. My bmw is getting up there in age w a maintenance service coming up. So a sprinter or a suv that atleasts has space.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Does anyone else have this problem?

Not any more!