When to collect a buckthorn in spring (Midwest US)

[anicholslcsw]

I did a trunk chop last fall and I'm wondering when is the best time to dig this buckthorn up in spring 2022.
Thanks

 

[Eckhoffw]

I go for when digging is easy. As soon as the ground has thawed. However, I do protect it from harsh weather after collecting.
Really, anytime in spring should be just fine.

 

[anicholslcsw]

I go for when digging is easy. As soon as the ground has thawed. However, I do protect it from harsh weather after collecting.
Really, anytime in spring should be just fine.

Thanks so much!

 

[HorseloverFat]

Up here, in my literal "neck-of-the-woods" (pretty close to Eckhoff as well), dig when you are able to.. during budswell.

For me, personally, Spring collection is.. tough.. my ground is still frozen when many species have already burst. I like Fall collection... just need to work on my overwintering procedure to increase that Fall Collection Success rate.

Lots of "Ins and Outs" for ColdFolk.



OP.... where are you located, generally, on this blue marble?

Also... do you know what KIND of buckthorn...? I suppose your location will help with that..

Also.. (I BELIEEEVE). When you dig.. there will be little.. protrusions/buds/hornet-rear looking doohickeys, emerging from the roots, about 10-14" down...

Knock them shats off o'durr.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Love hearing about buckthorn! Please post any experiences you have keeping them.
I do plan on annihilating the vast population in my area. definitely going to be digging some big bucks this year.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Love hearing about buckthorn! Please post any experiences you have keeping them.
I do plan on annihilating the vast population in my area. definitely going to be digging some big bucks this year.

Wiggle them FIRST.

If they are NOT gonna move... they are... NOT gonna move.

Go for Glossy, too if you can.. SLIGHTLY better traits, in my opinion..

 

[sorce]

Couple notes.....

For something so prolifically invasive, I wouldn't limit yourself to spring.

Here, where our forests are footed in mostly clay, they exist almost solely within the first 3-8inches of forest duff topsoil. At ditches and river edges you can lift up mats of entangled root mass and see they refuse to penetrate the clay. You can near read the timeline of their introduction.

This refusal to penetrate the clay keeps them shallow, but it is also what allows for a suckering habit than leaves most trunks rootless, though they may seem rooty at first, the thick, stiff, black masses of roots in these mats are decieving.

Look for "mothers", O.G.'s, seedlings.

Buckthorn is the only tree I've found capable of wilting in full sun even when well watered. This is key. All my failures where due to this phenomenon.

Everywhere I see them, they are the first to wilt in a drought. A testament to their shallowness. Tough as nails, this growth rarely dies, it all spruces up again, sometimes with only a dewy night.
So...
I think it better to collect them with lots of foilage on hardened shoots in late summer, than a budless trunk in spring.

Because they live so intertwined (read, communicating) I think they struggle to rebalance themselves when alone. I think this, combined with their need for shade (read, less food) makes this so.

The move from nature to pot with an invasive "understory" shrub, I believe can be mathematically calculated as one of the most difficult bonsai adventures. Except, as soon as you know it, it becomes one of the easiest.

I've witnessed survival enough before recognizing this problem to be sure they can be be collected from Frozen February to Leafy September.... whenever. Just don't expect roots to grow shoots or shoots to grow roots. Collect as much of both as you can.

did a trunk chop last fall

Sounds like it may be best allow a few seasons of growth before digging it.

Pics!

Sorce