Kandoloh
Shohin
Where the hell in central Texas are you guys collecting these trees dammit lol all I ever see is fenced in ranches and long ass gated driveways!
WTB large deciduous material
- Thread starter MACH5
- Start date
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Hey Californian......
At the end of those long ass driveways be people, you gotta take that long ass walk and ask them! Lazy!
Lol.
Sorce
Seriously, Walter Pall clearly mentions grazing grounds one of the best places for material! Knock knock! If they don't put buckshot in Mike in Michigan, you'll be ok in Texas.
Mike in Texas? Shot!
Sorce
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Ya gotta either know someone with land or start knocking on the doors. You could also look in landscape nurseries for many species, like Cedar elm, bald cypress and even live oak. I've got family with land in East Tex that I'v collected off of. I've also found really cheap live oak, CE and BC at roadside nurseries, some of it pretty nice and some of it's "chop to an inch and regrow" kind of stuff. Now is the time to look in at nurseries for sale stuff.
Giga
Masterpiece
No problem, I have access to a few hunting grounds and once the first freeze happens and kills all the bugs, I start my hunting for spring. I'll take a picture of a few tree and just let me know which one you want and I grab it for ya, as well as anything elms I see like American elm,mullberry, oak and the like.
BrianBay9
Masterpiece
Images from the BC Bonsai growing grounds (http://www.bcbonsai.com/) just south of Rockford IL. Don't know if they ship, but they have a few acres of bonsai-appropriate species, many in the ground for 10 - 15 yrs. We were after crabapples and pears that day, but they have much more. I know their website isn't much help, but you might contact them.
Brian
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
bonsaibp
Omono
I have a couple of fat gnarly Coast Live Oaks that may fit your bill, but will definitely need winter protection. PM me your email and I'll send pics and info.
Kandoloh
Shohin
Sorce, you missed the part about gated driveways. With locks and no trespassing signs, Texans love guns, I'm not going there to hop the fence to knock on the door lol I figured most just know people that have land. I'm just going to go buy 16acres next year and put a modular on it, dig a well, dig septic, and live there till that's paid off then build a better house. I will then hunt on my own land lol
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Having had the "big gnarly bonsai" bug for years now (all of mine are in the big to REALLY big category), I gotta ask--Are you prepared for them?
They are a huge commitment--
Priced pots for big trees lately?
Can your current set of tools handle larger (and physically tougher) older material? I've dulled and chipped steel concave cutters pruning my live oak...
Got A LOT of bonsai soil prepared? Like 200-300 lbs?
Got room to properly store the big 'uns in winter?
Do you have everyday display shelves that can handle the weight/dimensions? Leaving them on the ground is a very bad idea.
Also--do you lift weights? While this may sound like a strange question, it is directly related to what size trees you have. Without upper body strength, you will wind up with a destroyed back, smashed toes and wrecked trees. FWIW, a recently-watered bonsai pot that holds seven or eight gallons of soil and tree can weigh 150 lbs. It can be a big help knowing you can safely lift something bulky and unwieldy like that from the ground by yourself. It ain't easy and it doesn't get any easier the older you get. ;-)
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Yes all great thoughts and questions. I do have a couple of big guys so not entirely new to them. But let me redefine big for me. I am more interested having a shorter (perhaps 25" to 30" or so) tree with a big stocky trunk. Not really looking to have 4 footers or anything of the like.
In the process of expanding my display area to accommodate deciduous, conifers as well as a few bigger ones which will entail, to your point, having the right shelf or pedestal. I do not lift weights per se, but still in good shape (knock on wood) and have family that like it or not can help. Also my hydraulic lift cart comes in very handy at times!
Thanks for the questions rockm as is good to put emotion aside and think past it
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Yes all great thoughts and questions. I do have a couple of big guys so not entirely new to them. But let me redefine big for me. I am more interested having a shorter (perhaps 25" to 30" or so) tree with a big stocky trunk. Not really looking to have 4 footers or anything of the like.
In the process of expanding my display area to accommodate deciduous, conifers as well as a few bigger ones which will entail, to your point, having the right shelf or pedestal. I do not lift weights per se, but still in good shape (knock on wood) and have family that like it or not can help. Also my hydraulic lift cart comes in very handy at times!
Thanks for the questions rockm as is good to put emotion aside and think past it
FWIW, none of my trees is over four feet. Height doesn't really have all that much to do with bulk in that size range. The root mass on a stocky three foot tree is likely to be as big as one on a lankier four foot trunk. My biggest tree has a nine inch nebari, but is only about 34 inches tall. It's in a big chinese ceramic pot that contains about seven gallons of soil. It weighs about 150 lbs. I have to move it myself most of the time, from turning it every week to bringing it in during problem times (like now with a hurricane coming).
If you are still interested in large cork oaks or large coast live oaks, I have a number of big pre-bonsai old trees (48 inches plus) with trunks over 5 inches at the base. Serious oak collector, but I need to let some of them go to a good home for a very fair price. Please respond and I will get pix to you in a couple of days. I am in So Cal.
Thanks,
Barry Altshule
Thanks,
Barry Altshule
