Check out this "collecting" video.

[John Ruger]

You know, I've never had the opportunity to collect a tree from the wild. I've taken a few shrubs and crabapple from my home and parents property; they were a lot of work to harvest and a joy to care for. But, I've never scoured the hills for material. I really appreciate the forum members who post their experiences collecting materials from nature; it's a real education. Yet, more often than not, it's the simplified garbage posted below that will probably influence too many to hack up what nature has provided.

Here's an "interesting" video, if no one here has seen it yet.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iotz0l6VXzE

Titled "Bonsaihunter"

If for some reason it doesn't come up, then google "Bonsaihunter" and you'll see it.

I guess the only saving grace is that this is the only video he's done so far.

 

[rockm]

At least he's enthusiastic...

He's not really clueless, as much as he seems to have knowledge that is about an inch deep. A collector who's been at it more than a couple of years wouldn't really think the material he "found" was "terrific" or even "good". The notion that you can find decent material in a single acre of forest is absurd. If you do, you're either lucky, or unfamiliar with "terrific" collectible material.

Also, that soil he's using looks like mud...and watering on a schedule is potentially lethal for a newly collected tree...

 

[Gene Deci]

I can't tell you how many trees better than that one that I have passed up while collecting. It really only took one trip with an experienced collecter to learn the basics - what is worthwhile and what isn't. This is another example why joining a club is a good idea.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Man, check out how fast that soil drains! Go Miracle-Gro!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Well I guess the one good thing you can say is that all GOOD material is safe from this guy.

On the downside... I don't think his video is good for the art of bonsai in the U.S.

 

[bougie nights]

I disagree. His hipster demeanor gives him authority. I was convinced when I saw the long-sleeve-t-shirt-beneath-the-short-sleeve-t-shirt combo; it's like, magic, man.
Kidding aside, there was a lot of talent in the video production of that piece.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Kidding aside, there was a lot of talent in the video production of that piece.

I agree. It was actually a higher quality piece than I was expecting. Too bad the content wasn't as high quality as the production.

 

[John Ruger]

Kidding aside, there was a lot of talent in the video production of that piece.

And that's a big part of the problem, there's nothing wrong with the overall idea, but his method and the message he sends to the clueless is lousy.

 

[edprocoat]

I have never collected a tree in the wild, correct me if I am wrong, but I assume he would have needed to wrap the roots of the tree and keep them moist until he arrived at home where he did the work on the tree. It would seem to me if the point was to spread the "art" of collecting trees that would have been an imporatnt part of the video. If he placed it in his car and drove home it was most likely well on its way to dried out by the time he planted it, probably dead by now. Maybe he did take care to keep it moist, but he did not show or even allude to the fact that it would be neccesary for the health of the tree.

ed