collecting Lonicera pileata advice?

Hi All,

On our local ebay I found someone getting rid of a Lonicera pileata. The shrub needs to be gone by the end of the week. As I have never even seen this plant before, I had a search and found them to be good bonsai material. Freom the pictures I have seen, the srub seems to have a solid base so I would like to have a go at it. However, I have no idea what these plants like/dislike and how strong they are when it comes to major rootwork. Does anyone have suggestions for succesfull collection of this particular species?

It is a plant which has been there for years, if not decades (base several inches across with a few solid trunks). Weather here is in between winter and spring, with nice springdays mixing in with nightly frost and some melting snow.

Leatherback,
I have not collected pileata, but I have collected quite a few lonicera morrowii. I have found that these tend to be shallow rooting with a fibrous root system. They tend to come out quite easily and recover quickly. Once collected they like lots of water. I usually keep they in a semi shady area until new buds begin to emerge and then straight into full sun. The ones I have collected are very easy and I have ripped them from the ground at almost anytime of the year and they recover. I don't know if this will help with the pileata.

Todd

Hello,
I have no experience with Lonicera Pileata only with two Lonicera Nitida - Maigrun.
Lonicera Pileata is a Chinese species taking mild winters growing 1m. tall with small leaves,
Nitida is similar.
As Todd writes, Lonicera takes quite a lot, but be careful they take only mild frost when potted in a bonsaipot.
Mild frost can give branch lost when potted.
Best to protect them, in the winter 1211-1212 they lost their leaves and branch tips in the ground in the garden,
and one in a pot died.
On 4 febr. this year i collected a Lonicera Nitida Elegant cut back roots and branches and put it in the greenhouse.
Sunip