collecting question

I will be going to tennessee end of the month.. in the field there is some trees i am not sure what they are.. they have thorns and in spring white little flowers... the leaves look pretty good for a bonsai,,not too big.. there are a lot of themthere...could i dig one now and bring it home ??? don,t know when i will go back... thank you john

If the thorns are thin, probably hawthorn. If a bit thicker, crapapple or pear???

Hopefully you can get permission to dig?

You should have no trouble digging up a tree end of October, a long as you trim the top and try to keep some soil around the roots. Get it into the ground or a large growing box as soon as you get home.
If these trees were planted in an orchard, they are apples or pears. If they grew wild, they are probably hawthorns or crabapples. What do the leaves look like? Do you have a field guide?
In my experience, collecting fruit trees is iffy. Crabapples may be infested with borers. Hawthorns may carry all sorts of diseases, including crown gall, which is infectious and incurable. Keep it away from your other trees for at least a year. If you or your neighbors have junipers, especially Eastern red cedar, watch out for rust.
Iris

Thank you Jim,, Mrs Iris ,, The field they are in Jim belongs to a friend of ours don,t care what i dig up.. i think i will try to get one this trip.. thanks take care john

Was kind of surprised to see no mention of the media it would go into. over the years of collecting, if there was one thing that made a difference it was what was used.

recently I collected an alpine willow from the mountains. because they like their water, it was placed in an oversized korean training pott, with about 90% pummice (unsifted) and 10 % bark. A whitebark american pine collected this fall went into 100% pummice (sifted) to eliminate any residual moisture

In the past I have tried all kinds of different mixtures but basically have learned to rely on pummice... ( and dog-gonnit it's also in-expensive to boot  )

where in Tennessee?

Thanks for the replys.. our friends are in marysville tenn. take care john

autumn olive fits the description and is prevalent in the fields in the area.

One thing that I do with recently collected trees is keep them under cover to prevent them from sitting in soaked soil all winter. This way you can control the amount of water the plant receives. In my humid area the trees require very little watering during the dormant season.

I store trees under picnic tables covered with plastic.

Best,

Augustine