SAINT wrote:

While Larches aren't an option in the tropics, I sympathise on the treeless
collecting trip. I try to take the view that at 35 I have at least 40 more
years of doing bonsai, so I can afford to be selective about what I collect.
Besides, as you said; sometimes it's nice to just be outdoors by yourself
enjoying the morning.

Regards,

Leslie St. John
Barbados
West Indies


The way I have been looking at collecting is with a long view. At 45, hoping I
live to at least 80, where my father is, I'll have at least 35 more years. So, I'm
collecting larger material now while I'm young enough to lug it out of the woods.
It isn't easy, especially with the larger stuff, but I look at it as a way of
earning the tree. If I have to lug it out I'll think twice about whether it is
worth it. I can worry about repotting the larger stuff down the road. This spring
has been a banner year for collecting--I now have 6 honeysuckles that are fairly
large, one of which has a trunk girth of 16 inches. Not circumference-diameter.
I'm going to pot it today if the mist clears up. I also found an apple growing on
ledge on a church member's farm that is approximately 160 years old. Some odds and
ends too. I suspect that I will collect less as the years go on. Hard to say at
this point.

I've got such good collecting areas it's nearly impossible to come home without
something, and leave a lot of good stuff in the ground for next year. There was
even enough to share with some IBC members last Saturday.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a

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