When is the time to gather?

[iamurthman]

This question has been raised many times, in fact, this is the original question that first brought me to this forum seeking help. I live in a mountainous forested area, predominately coniferous trees with an understory of decidurous and evergreen trees and shrubs. It's no exaggeration to call it the pacific wonderland, or a yamadori paradise! So many potensai, so little cranial retention. I've been roaming these hills for almost forty years, made my livelyhood out there in one way or another and I thought I knew alot about trees, and I do, no kidding, but, ya mon, the big but, when it came to successfully removing them from the earth and keeping them alive, I soon realized I was in the dark. I say soon, but in many instances it was a slow painful death lasting two to three years before the poor thing finally expired. I had no help back then, no forums, I didn't even have a computer back then, and I knew no one to ask. It was like poking a stick around in a dark hole at night and then seeing what you hit in the morning. After a few years I instituted a self-imposed moritorium on digging up anything until I was confident I could keep it alive and well. I am speaking about the conifers mainly, but also evergreens like the Canyon Live Oak. I've learned alot here on the forum, but I still lack a concrete recipe on how and when to gather. It's a multi-faceted gem and every side needs to be examined closely, but especially after-care and maintenance. That's where I lost most of my trees. Maybe if we put our heads together we can get this thing cut and polished once and for all, right here on this forum. Can we talk? Yeah, we can talk! It' a forum! So, let's chew on this for a bit, DORMANCY. Mystery numeral uno! When are specific trees dormant, and should they be gathered while they are dormant or while they are actively growing?

[zeus]

A good way is to locate your tree that you want an then wait for it to go to sleep an then cut the root system but do not take out the tree wait until the following fall time come back to the tree an collect it itll have new roots that will better sustain in a regular nursury pot with reguler soil then once you have it in the new pot do not repot in to a bonsai pot for at least 2 years. its a timely process put it has a good sucess rate. But on the other hand if the roots are in good shape you can collect it right away. (sorry for the bad spelling lol)

[Pooleh]

Zeus when you say regular soil what kind of soil do you mean? Are you referring to just regular potting soil or maybe the soil that the tree was found in? I will probably be collecting a boxwood from my from yard as soon as it stops freezing at night here so I just want to know what I should do to have the best success.

[zeus]

organic or just regular potting soil (no manure based soil)

[iamurthman]

The way you describe is the same as I use for extractions, basicly. I've taken up to three years to remove a tree. Oddly enough, I have several trees doing well after three to four years that I simply grabbed by the trunk and pulled them up, took them home and potted them as you say in regular potting soil. There's no conifers in that group, I should add. Ok, the thing that grabbed my eye was wait until the tree goes to sleep. I've always thought winter in the northern hemispere was dormant time, yet every fir, pine or cedar I've gathered in winter has eventually perished. I do have several flourishing conifers in my garden, Redwoods, cedars, pines, junipers, and a few others, some grown from seedlings and some from nursery stock. Redwoods I gather without breaking stride, I've several in pots if you want one. All well and good, but, the trees I want are the ones I see out there in the wilds. The biggest difference I see is location. Where you are, when winter hits it's absolute. It gets cold, it stays cold, and then it gets colder and snows. No doubt about it, your trees are asleep, for the winter. Here, in SW Oregon, winters a bit iffy. Kind of a bamby-pamby winter of sorts. Ok, I grew up in SE Pa, lived in Ohio, upstate New York, and the fine state of New Jersey and spent alot of time in Colorado, so I know what winter can be. It's 47F at ten am after an overnight low of 43F, with an expected high today in the mid fifties. That's in the valley where I'm under a blanket of fog that's blocking the sun. If you go uphill a hundred feet or so you'll break out of the fog, which looks pretty bright so I'm guessing it's sunny up there and will be shortly here, too. There's a big banner across main street that proclaims, "It's The Climate". This mild climate is great for keeping bonsai, but perhaps a bit confusing to the trees, which seem to be teetering on the edge of dormancy, popping in and out, and not really in a deep sleep like your trees. Any thoughts from your well of expertise is greatly appreciated.

[iamurthman]

Just a note to add, we broke a record high yesterday. It reached 67F in Medford.

[djlen]

Oh, you people in Oregon really know how to hurt a guy......hmy:
Keep in mind that we here in So. Jersey are freezing our butts off currently......and please be gentle.

[iamurthman]

I'm sorry Len, I didn't mean to rub it in:P , just trying to describe the wild fluctuations we experience here. Two weeks ago it was in the twenties. Twenty to thirty degree swings in a day are common, 50's during the day and freezing at night. The only thing predictable about the weather here is that it's unpredictable. I always feel the need to clarify that I'm speaking only of a very small portion of Oregon, tucked away down here in the southwest corner between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains and Mt. Shasta to the south in N. Cal. This creates a unique 'pocket' of geological and atmospherical influences. It can dump three feet of snow one day and be sunny and warm the next. Makes for great whitewater rafting:woohoo: Most of the rest of the state, east of the Cascade Range, has pretty normal winter conditions. I've been all over this great country of ours and this is the most incredible place I've found, though there is a strong pull towards New Mexico:P Are you packing yet?

[djlen]

The Pacific Northwest has always sounded like a garden of eden type of environment. The only draw back from what I've heard, is the propensity toward rain. It's very rainy there, no?
But the native trees are to die for. I envy you guys out there.
Speaking of which, you have a PM.

[iamurthman]

Yah, It rains a wee bit! But only in the winter, summers are hot and bone dry by contrast. The rain, you either love it, or you go somewhere else. I've seen lots of folks visit in the summer, decide to stay, and then run screaming halfway through winter when the cabin fever sets in.:P