Interesting posts today! This one especially caught my eye as this is the
right idea for collecting by us newbes, a salvage dig! Why? Permission is
easy to get, the owner is usually very willing to let you have your pick of
anything (if you are a good guest, and sometimes he'll even dig it for you
with the back-hoe), the material is dead if you don't save it and it has
usually been cared for (pruned, trimmed, etc.) for years which eases the
transition into the world of bonsai.

A few thoughts on the recovery planting:

1. put it back into the ground if you can, heal it in. This is the best of
all options for the plant but does make it a bit inconvenient for you, the
grower.

2. put it into a large growing "pot" at least. This could be a cut-down
nursery pot or a wood box or a large Mexican pot for that matter. The
important thing is room for the plant to grow and recover.

3. use a growing "soil" somewhere in between the "natural" soil and bonsai
soil, especially if you are planting in a box or oversized pot.

4. growing "soil" could include re-cycled bonsai or growing soil, ala Jim
Lewis (don't forget to sterilize it) or agricultural admixes such as perlite
or vermiculite. You can usually get these in large bags at the big box
stores for reasonable prices. I think my last bag of perlite was 4 cubic
feet and cost under $10. I've not had any luck using straight perlite or
vermiculite so add some type of organic material, mulch, decomposed pine
bark or such. If you're planting back into the ground, the natural soil
works for this.

Finally, think small too. As nice as it is to get that big plant, you will
be thankful if you also get some small thing or two for variety and
companion planting. And the small things won't take up any room when you're
dragging the big plant back home.

Jay Beckenbach - Melrose, FL - Zone 8b/9a -


-----Original Message-----
From: Peter K. [mailto Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 8:32 PM
Subject: collecting


Is there anything wrong with using a good quality potting mix, maybe even
one specifically made for trees and shrubs, for newly collected specimens?
i'll be digging a few big guys this spring and i'm not sure if i can afford
to buy enough supplies to make the necessary amounts of bonsai soil. The
plants are getting ripped out if i don't dig them up so waiting longer isn't
an option. thanks everybody.

--
Peter Kulibert zone 4a/5b

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