Best trees to collect in Georgia

Melospiza said:

I dug up a smaller Loblolly pine late last summer in GA, and it did fine, so hopefully yours are too. The small leafy shrub is a Callery pear, sometimes called Bradford pear. A horrible weed in GA, so it's good that you are planning to remove it from the landscape. The bare shrub after that is likely a Winged Elm, one of my favorite GA trees. Could the final tree be a Hawthorn, like Mayhaw?

Click to expand...

tylerwdesign said:

Thanks for the info!
I'll definitely be digging up a few loblolly and winged elm soon then. There were a ton of both, and some really nice small winged elm that I can start out with.

I would have never known those were bradford pears. They were everywhere on the edge woods and along the fence line in the pasture. Is it normal to see only small ones? I'll have to take a look, but I don't recall seeing any large bradford pears. There was one spot with some maybe chest height (not as dense and bushy as the smaller ones), but the majority of them were below the knee. Maybe the cows graze on them? Or is this different from the large flowering bradford pears I'm thinking of?

As for Hawthorn I believe I saw a few when I didn't have my phone on my. I'll get some photos when I go back. I really only explored a fraction of the land. I need to take some time and do a broader survey of the species of trees next time I go, instead of only looking for the perfect bonsai.

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

GGB said:

@tylerwdesign I'm trying my darndest to round up info on loblolly care (as bonsai), but info is scarce. Can we make a pact to share info together? I'll show you my links if you show me yours.

I have a bunch I'll working with this summer. I hear a lot of conflicting stuff, it'd be nice to see what others are finding with these

Click to expand...

Melospiza said:

A lot of the Winged Elms and the Pears look like they have been heavily trimmed. Is there any heavy equipment used in this area? They look like they have been cut back or grazed.

I feel fairly sure that is a Callery Pear. It leafs out relatively early and "edge woods and along the fence line " makes me feel even more certain that's what they are. Birds eat the tiny pears and sit on fencelines and poop out the seeds. That's how they spread and are turning out to be a huge problem in Georgia. The wild saplings look different from the ornamental cultivars and form thorny thickets that crowd out native plants.

If you find good hawthorns, I'd be interested in buying one from you.

Click to expand...

GGB said:

So far, the search feature on bonsai nut has actually been my biggest wealth of info, but there's a lot to comb through. Everytime I get discouraged by an experienced artist I read something by another experienced artist and it relights the flame. Someone on here said they got the needles down to 1.5". That's a fair size for a medium large tree I think, who knows what time will reveal

Click to expand...

substratum said:

@tylerwdesign - do you know of any laws regarding the collection of plants on public land, forests, or right of way in GA? I saw some cool little trees in NW GA last week, growing in rocky soil, that would be excellent specimens, and I get up there regularly to see my son. However, it occurred to me that in FL, there are laws about this sort of thing, with some species, most notably the native azalea varieties, being 100% prohibited to dig on public land. When I did an internet search, all I could find in GA was prohibitions on digging near streambeds (to prevent erosion), and prohibitions against taking soil from public land - nothing really about species.

Click to expand...

Dav4 said:

Let me know if you find any hawthorns please....

(seriously)

Click to expand...

Hyn Patty said:

Also, for those of you in the Atlanta area, go join the Native Plant Society. I used to be a member and most large cities in the US have them. We'd go out and get permission for collecting both native and invasive species on land that was about to be cleared for development. You even get to remove endangered species in the attempt to save them. I collected mostly lady slipper orchids for relocation (which is hard, you have to collect and plant colonies with the original pine duff and fungus for them to have a chance) as well as trees, etc. It's absolutely free and they are happy to accept volunteers to come help, even if you aren't a paid member. You are not allowed to collect with intent to resale for at least a year, I think it was. It's been a number of years since I was a member but it was a lot of fun.

https://gnps.org/

Click to expand...

tylerwdesign said:

Hey guys,
I'm new to collecting trees, and bonsai in general. I'm wondering what species of tree I should be on the look out for in Georgia, more specifically about 30 miles south of Atlanta. My family has a few hundred acres of cow pastures, so there are open pastures, a few streams and a small lake, so a nice variation of terrain for the relatively small amount of land. They will be clearing some of the land later on this year, otherwise I would just mark the trees and wait to collect once I had more experience, which I will do in the areas they wont be clearing. I am interested in any species that would be good for bonsai, but being new to this, any species that are easier to collect and keep alive would be ideal. Im planning on going down sometime in the next few weekends, which from what I've read seems to be a good time for collecting here.

Also what would be the best way to keep any really nice material I might find that I wouldn't be using until I have the skills to do it right. Or should I keep it the same as a tree that I plan on working on once it has recovered? Thanks in advance!

*If this topic has already been covered please feel free to point me to the thread. I couldn't find what I was looking for when I searched.

Click to expand...