Thinking of an collecting trip...

I was hoping to go on a collecting trip sometime. I have a good place in mind. Any tips?

Try to find someone with experience collecting and see if you can go w/ them and learn some techniques first hand.

bonsaitrimmer wrote:I was hoping to go on a collecting trip sometime. I have a good place in mind. Any tips?

here's a tip for you...plan your trip in area near me on a day i am available and plot your route so that at some point before reaching your destination you pass by my house...

seriously though..."us" for a location is a pretty big area to cover...where are you located?

Jason Eider wrote:Try to find someone with experience collecting and see if you can go w/ them and learn some techniques first hand.

An someone who can drive

BigDave wrote:

Jason Eider wrote:Try to find someone with experience collecting and see if you can go w/ them and learn some techniques first hand.

An someone who can drive

hahahahaha...i didnt even see that.

I am surprised nobody has given the tip "get permission".

As has been pointed, out Bonsaitrimmer is a minor.

Bonsaitrimmer, I have sent you a PM.

Lee Brindley wrote:I am surprised nobody has given the tip "get permission".

Huh?

From his parent,s or the land owner

I have to agree with the suggestion to go with someone with experience to learn from.

that way you can gather the equipment needed prior to the trip, get advice on the footwear and articles of clothing to bring, and the right backpack frame to accompany a tree or two strapped to it.

Remember when it comes to carry out if you can bring your trees down the hill, instead of carrying them up to the vehicle, it's a lot easier for the beast of burden.

While gathering an exquiste looking tree is the joy of the adventure. Remember the responsibility is to get that new tree acclimated and adjusted to pot life. With experienced help you will learn which trees to select that have a better chance of making it.

For the first time this year I have found a private land owner to get permission from. My normal routine is to get
permits from the rangers which limits amounts, area to dig and amount of time available to harvest your quota.

I am really itching to go on a collecting trip this spring myself. Besides finding someone with land rights and experience, I am also looking for someone with a reciprocating saw

Yes, I can verify this. I will aso be getting permission landowner-wise

As you are very new to bonsai, I would suggest having some patience and learning how to care for established trees before even thinking about collecting.

I agree with MikeG. Unless you have someone to mentor you in aftercare, you may be dooming whatever you dig. Just learning regular care of an established tree is a large learning curve, so make sure you are not just going out to kill a tree. Thank you.

Lee Brindley wrote:I am surprised nobody has given the tip "get permission".

Honestly, I sometimes go by "which- permissions- are- easy- to- get" and go from there. I won't even look up the mountains. Wait, we don't have mountains in Florida. Sigh

-Dorothy

This thread reminds me of a virginia hemlock and a jersey pine that I dreamed of having permission to dig. Until I make a friend with some real property and or experience, I'll have to stick with pulling seedlings out of parking tie bolt holes and cracks in the sidewalk. My stick in a pot ginkgo is 4 or 5 years out of a stinky fruit off of parking spot in Philly.

One advantage of being young is that if you stick with it you could turn just about any material into something wonderful. Growing a bunch of seedlings doesn't require much experience or permission, and can be a lot of fun. I doubt many members of this forum can say that they have kept a plant alive since they were teenagers (except for maybe ficus Ryan). My word of warning involves vacations and college. You can't count on anyone but yourself for watering, so I would recommend learning how to dig your plants into the ground pretty early for development and for watering safety. Repotting is one of my favorite things, and you can still do it yearly for plants in the ground or a pond basket.

Wait, we don't have mountains in Florida. Sigh

Oh, I don't know . . . up in Tallahassee, my farm was at 360 feet above sea level. I think that was the second or third highest spot in the state. (Except for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and maybe the Dade landfill.)

Lots of mountains up here -- I can see 'em right outside my door.

[quote="dorothy7774"]

Lee Brindley wrote:Wait, we don't have mountains in Florida. Sigh

-Dorothy

There is Mt. Dora

Hi BT,
It appears you are located in Minnesota where there are many areas for finding potential bonsai material. Do you have any bonsai now that you are growing? I am from the Twin Cities and belong to the Minnesota Bonsai Society which provides free classes for members.

As for finding and digging wild trees, the National Forests allows removal of trees with a permit, which you can get at any ranger station. One of the best trees I have collected is the tamarack (larch) which are plentiful in the Superior National Forest.

Another option is digging up a seedling, right now I have several ginkgo I'm growing in my garden. A Siberian elm seedling I dug up in a vacant lot 15 years ago is now a nice little bonsai.

Good luck,
Norma

Here's something to honestly think about. No it's not a glorius yamadori adventure, up a mountain on a tree line.

It's a commercial christmas tree farm, scotts pine often used up your way. If you can find a few "nobs" cut off that
have caliber and maybe a little movement and then have reformed a new top, you'd be surprised what you can do with something like that in a few years.