When is it too late to collect?

WNC Bonsai

Omono
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I have been grabbing a few plants here and there this winter but with the spring rapidly approaching I have been noticing some buds popping on a few trees and of course the early “flowers” on trees like red maple, alders, witch hazel, and a few others. So when is it too late to collect? Do you walk away if it has some of these small flowers out? What about when there are a few buds popping? Any guidelines on certain species that can take collecting any time and those that won’t tolerate it once the buds start to swell? I have my eyes on a patch of small alders that will make a nice forest planting but the catkins are expanding and those tiny red flowers are out but no leaf buds doing anythiing—is it too late for them? Zach has mentioned some folks collect bald cypress in the summr time, but those seem to be really unusual trees. I have syccessfully transplanted small trees in my yard throughout the growing season but collecting goes a bit beyound transplanting. So how late is too late?
 

BrianBay9

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It does depend on the species, but if you want to be safe collect between the time the ground is thawed enough to get a shovel in it, and when the tree starts to leaf out. Some trees can be collected in summer. Some species (elm) are tough enough to usually survive collecting just bout any time. Some (larch) are incredibly sensitive to collecting when green is showing. But, I have no experience with your location. Best to get advice from an experienced, local collector.
 

BillsBayou

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When is it too late to collect?

When your children are arranging your hospice care.

As for the trees themselves... If you're unsure, dig some ugly trees of various species and of similar sizes. Note the time of year. Go back and repeat the process until... Asheville... the end of June.

Better yet, go to the Arboretum. Talk to Arthur Joura. If you haven't met him before, he's a very likeable guy.
 

Joe Dupre'

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I've been experimenting....... collecting at various times during the summer and winter. My LIMITED experience suggests that the warmer the climate, the bigger window of collection success. I successfully collected a 5" diameter bald cypress in May, following the lead of John Geanangle. That's about 3-4 months later than most people collect in my area. I collected a sweet gum( as suggested by Zach Smith) and several oaks in May, which is also fairly late compared to other regions. I also collected small pencil-sized seedings of cypress, ash, elm and hackberry well into late summer with almost 100% success. My take is that longer growing season aides in collection success. I've also come to think that after care is really important in any "iffy" situation........... partial shade for a week or more, keep out of wind, wire securely in the pot and water sparingly.
 

WNC Bonsai

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Well, I am experimenting as well. Yesterday I collected an 8’ Viburnum prunifolium that had some green branch tips but a really nice alligator bark so I grabbed it from the back fenceline. Today I got an 8’ Crataegus macrosperma with a double trunk and some low branches to work with. Both were chopped under 18”. I keep looking at the stuff Zach posts on his website and have my fingers crossed, hoping I can get at least 50% success rate. The one thing I do have going for me is the high altitude of the mountains here which means the trees will leaf out there a lot later than down in the lowlands. I still have a couple more expeditions to 6000’ planned.
 

ralf

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Bonsai should be about RESPECT. Well, at least in my world.

Collecting "ugly" trees just to test, hoping for the 50% success rate etc. Sorry. Feeling very sad.

Trees even of the same species varies as much as we do. The same may apply to the variation of biotope they live on. Shooting out an advice without knowing the exact situation of the collection site is always problematic. Yes, for sure, there are some "general" rules such as " larch=no go after green shows etc". In my experience the green tips are less important than the amount of root ball you collect, preparation for transport, the way you pot it, type of substrate and your aftercare.

Lots of reading/listening before you take a showel to get one.
 
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WNC Bonsai

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Yes, for sure, there are some "general" rules such as " larch=no go after green shows etc".
Yes, these are just the kinds of rules that would be helpful to folks who see photos of collected trees on various websites and decide to go out and dig a few like them. Having some general rules would make it more likely that someone new to the game would be more likely to walk away from a tree that is questionable instead of taking a chance on it and learning by failure. I collected my first trees back in the summer of 1977 from the cliffs on top my grandfathers mountain and they all lived, but I was lucky. These were various types of pines that were literally growing in depressions between rocks. All I had to do was snip a few anchor roots and lift the whole root mass. The stuff I am collecting now is vastly different. I don’t remember seeing anyone lopping off the tops of trees and cutting back roots like is done now.
 
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