Jim Lewis wrote:

An additional note:

If you have never dug a tree before, I suggest you go out with at
least one experienced tree collector.

You took the words out of my mouth. ;-)

For a greenhorn to go collecting by himself is at best a waste of his
time and at worst a waste of plant material. I would even suggest to
wait with collecting from the wild until one has learned how to keep
potted trees alive for two or three years.

Reiner Goebel
Toronto, Canada
http://www.rgbonsai.com