Jim: Dig away all you want on those soon to be bulldozed trees
and bushes. The lukewarm reaction from your local club members
may have more to do with aversion to sweat than survival
prospects of the trees. We routinely collect water elm and
hawthorn at Lake Catahoula in August during summer dormancy and
have a survival rate as good or better than those collected
during "prime" collecting time in late winter.
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Lewis

A couple of us have the chance to dig some unwanted shrubbery
this
summer. Apparently they have to be out before fall. There are
four
shrubs--two junipers, probably procumbens, a boxwood, variety
unknown,
and some sort of holly. Apparently they have been there for
decades.
Any advice on digging these--size of rootball, aftercare? I'm
concernede in particular with the size of the rootball--if it's
possible
to cut roots, or if it's too risky.

Your local folks would be your best guides there, Craig. I know
that I would think twice about taking anything less than the
largest rootball I could handle down here. In fact, near me
they're tearing down an old building -- once a restaurant, then a
warehouse, then some oddball church, soon a gas station and all
the landscaping from the previous reincarnations has to go.

Problem is that it has been 95 degrees (F) here every day and no
relief in sight; humidity is in the 70% range, there's no shade
from tree landscaping, and mosquitoes are too thick to do it in
early a.m. or dusk, so I'm reluctant to commit to the job (and
only got lukewarm reactions from bonsai society members
yesterday) so a couple dozen B. mycrophylla, a bunch of large
Ilex vomitoria and several azaleas are likely to get bulldozed in
the next few days.

So, to return to your question -- in summer get as much root as
possible, plant them in the ground in a shaded spot -- and hope.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL

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