Mike,

Please listen to all the advice you've seen in response to your question.
However, as a newbie, I had the opportunity to collect as many trees as I
wanted to last year about this time from an area that was going to be clear
cut. If you go into the archives and find some of the posts in response to
my questions, they should help you. For example, have a good idea of the
species you want prior to going out - of course you might luck onto
something totally different once you are out there, but have something in
mind. One of those posts in the archive listed a whole bunch of trees that
generally do well when collected (I am in NE Ohio, so the species should be
similar to what you will fine). A couple of the posts also list some books
that could assist you - many of which are available in the library!!! Check
out a couple, because species of trees (for most of us) are difficult to
recognize without their leaves. Finally, one piece of advice gleaned from
experience and which no one else gave you....take into consideration how far
and over what type of terrain you will have to carry your prize(s). The
biggest one I collected last spring was, of course, the longest from the
car. It took my son and I a couple of hours to carry it back to the car and
we were both ready to drop when we finally made it. Dirt is heavy! So are
thick trunks. Be prepared.

Good luck - hope you find something nice and, after following everyone's
advice, are able to successfully keep it alive.

Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Mike,

Please listen to all the advice you've seen in response to your question.
However, as a newbie, I had the opportunity to collect as many trees as I
wanted to last year about this time from an area that was going to be clear
cut. If you go into the archives and find some of the posts in response to
my questions, they should help you. For example, have a good idea of the
species you want prior to going out - of course you might luck onto
something totally different once you are out there, but have something in
mind. One of those posts in the archive listed a whole bunch of trees that
generally do well when collected (I am in NE Ohio, so the species should be
similar to what you will fine). A couple of the posts also list some books
that could assist you - many of which are available in the library!!! Check
out a couple, because species of trees (for most of us) are difficult to
recognize without their leaves. Finally, one piece of advice gleaned from
experience and which no one else gave you....take into consideration how far
and over what type of terrain you will have to carry your prize(s). The
biggest one I collected last spring was, of course, the longest from the
car. It took my son and I a couple of hours to carry it back to the car and
we were both ready to drop when we finally made it. Dirt is heavy! So are
thick trunks. Be prepared.

Good luck - hope you find something nice and, after following everyone's
advice, are able to successfully keep it alive.

Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Since you live in Pennsylvania, you could also *quickly* join the Susquehanna Bonsai society and then participate in their group collecting trip at the end of this month (the 21st?). Then you could learn to collect a tree from people who know how to do it
, from a site with a diverse collection of collectible trees.

I belong to that club, and they helped me dig up a big ol' carpinus stump, which is doing extremely well, 2 years later.

Nina

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Since you live in Pennsylvania, you could also *quickly* join the Susquehanna Bonsai society and then participate in their group collecting trip at the end of this month (the 21st?). Then you could learn to collect a tree from people who know how to do it
, from a site with a diverse collection of collectible trees.

I belong to that club, and they helped me dig up a big ol' carpinus stump, which is doing extremely well, 2 years later.

Nina

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Another good tool is a square ended shovel where the
cutting edge has been sharpened, and a hammering
device for driving the shovel into the ground, cutting
some of the smaller roots.

Kitsune Miko

--- Allen wrote:
Bring with you a good shovel, loppers, saw, maybe a
hatchet.
Another good lesson he taught us is this:
The most important part of bonsai is learning how to
keep a tree
healthy in a container! If you can't do this, all
the styling
techniques are useless !
Best of luck !

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Another good tool is a square ended shovel where the
cutting edge has been sharpened, and a hammering
device for driving the shovel into the ground, cutting
some of the smaller roots.

Kitsune Miko

--- Allen wrote:
Bring with you a good shovel, loppers, saw, maybe a
hatchet.
Another good lesson he taught us is this:
The most important part of bonsai is learning how to
keep a tree
healthy in a container! If you can't do this, all
the styling
techniques are useless !
Best of luck !

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Since you live in Pennsylvania, you could also *quickly* join the Susquehanna Bonsai society and then participate in their group collecting trip at the end of this month (the 21st?). Then you could learn to collect a tree from people who know how to do it
, from a site with a diverse collection of collectible trees.

I belong to that club, and they helped me dig up a big ol' carpinus stump, which is doing extremely well, 2 years later.

Nina

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Since you live in Pennsylvania, you could also *quickly* join the Susquehanna Bonsai society and then participate in their group collecting trip at the end of this month (the 21st?). Then you could learn to collect a tree from people who know how to do it
, from a site with a diverse collection of collectible trees.

I belong to that club, and they helped me dig up a big ol' carpinus stump, which is doing extremely well, 2 years later.

Nina

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

----- 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

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

"Isom, Jeff (EM, PTL)" wrote:

Mike,

Please listen to all the advice you've seen in response to your question.


snip

Finally, one piece of advice gleaned from
experience and which no one else gave you....take into consideration how far
and over what type of terrain you will have to carry your prize(s). The
biggest one I collected last spring was, of course, the longest from the
car. It took my son and I a couple of hours to carry it back to the car and
we were both ready to drop when we finally made it. Dirt is heavy! So are
thick trunks. Be prepared.

Good luck - hope you find something nice and, after following everyone's
advice, are able to successfully keep it alive.

Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39

Excellent advice about big trees. Taking into account the size may halp you make
the decision as to whether it's worth the effort.

If you're going to dig a big tree (which I wouldn't advise right now) dig it and
turn around and put it in the ground and wait a couple of years until you'll know
what to do with it. If you work on it now right after digging it you may make
mistakes that will be impossible to correct. Collect some smaller trees and work
with them first.

Remember that a bonsai does not become one all by itself. From the "bonsai kits"
that are so prevalent people often get the impression that the seed is planted in a
bonsai pot and it grows up to be a miniature tree with about as much effort on the
part of the owner as that required for a Chia Pet. A bonsai is trained, and
whether the tree comes from the wild, from a garden center or grown from seed the
same is true. It doesn't happen by itself.

The above may seem irrelevant to Mike's query, but I feel it is relevant. A bonsai
does not usually get dug up in nature and dropped into a pot.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Another good tool is a square ended shovel where the
cutting edge has been sharpened, and a hammering
device for driving the shovel into the ground, cutting
some of the smaller roots.

Kitsune Miko

--- Allen wrote:
Bring with you a good shovel, loppers, saw, maybe a
hatchet.
Another good lesson he taught us is this:
The most important part of bonsai is learning how to
keep a tree
healthy in a container! If you can't do this, all
the styling
techniques are useless !
Best of luck !

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Since you live in Pennsylvania, you could also *quickly* join the Susquehanna Bonsai society and then participate in their group collecting trip at the end of this month (the 21st?). Then you could learn to collect a tree from people who know how to do it
, from a site with a diverse collection of collectible trees.

I belong to that club, and they helped me dig up a big ol' carpinus stump, which is doing extremely well, 2 years later.

Nina

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Another good tool is a square ended shovel where the
cutting edge has been sharpened, and a hammering
device for driving the shovel into the ground, cutting
some of the smaller roots.

Kitsune Miko

--- Allen wrote:
Bring with you a good shovel, loppers, saw, maybe a
hatchet.
Another good lesson he taught us is this:
The most important part of bonsai is learning how to
keep a tree
healthy in a container! If you can't do this, all
the styling
techniques are useless !
Best of luck !

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Another good tool is a square ended shovel where the
cutting edge has been sharpened, and a hammering
device for driving the shovel into the ground, cutting
some of the smaller roots.

Kitsune Miko

--- Allen wrote:
Bring with you a good shovel, loppers, saw, maybe a
hatchet.
Another good lesson he taught us is this:
The most important part of bonsai is learning how to
keep a tree
healthy in a container! If you can't do this, all
the styling
techniques are useless !
Best of luck !

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Since you live in Pennsylvania, you could also *quickly* join the Susquehanna Bonsai society and then participate in their group collecting trip at the end of this month (the 21st?). Then you could learn to collect a tree from people who know how to do it
, from a site with a diverse collection of collectible trees.

I belong to that club, and they helped me dig up a big ol' carpinus stump, which is doing extremely well, 2 years later.

Nina

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++