----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike"
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 12:30 AM
Subject: [IBC] Pennsylvania- Foraging for a Bonsai


Who ever has been advising you about bonsai is way off the beam. You just
don't go out and dig a tree from the wilds, stick it in a pot, and think
it's a bonsai. The transition from collected material to bonsai is a long
and complicated procedure. The most important consideration is the roots.
Trees in nature tend to have roots running far out from the trunk. When you
dig them out, you destroy a large share of the roots. It may take several
years in a training box for the tree to establish a tight bundle of roots
close in to the trunk. The second consideration is branching. Most wild
trees have crossed branches, dead wood, excessive high branches which shade
out the lower ones, and other growth which detracts from the over-all shape
of the tree. All of these need to be corrrected during the training
process. All this is said not to disuade you from starting with a collected
tree, but just to let you know what you're in for when you do.
Marty

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