SBBK - Collecting Notes
SBBk Club meeting - May 28 - by Bill McDonald & Steve Iwaki.
Bill - Collecting
Public or protected lands — require permitting. May take persistent phone calls or paperwork, allow time.
Once permitted, often never verified or bothered. Never been checked by rangers.
Some permits are $20/tree and others $20 for 20 trees.
He does not go so far as to backpack in and out.
Try fire service road
Cal-Trans roads
Harvest late fall or early spring (dormant)
Bill - Process
Use a pick and dig around the rootball to collect native soil.
Dig under the tree and cut the tap root—SawzAll.
Don’t reduce foliage much.
Wrap rootball in a wet burlap bag and bind up with duct tape.
Take native soil with Mycorrhizae to mix into bonsai soil later.
Bill - Aftercare
50% pumice or full pumice
Leave it alone for 3 yrs
Need roots for foliage
Junipers gets nutrients from foliage—don’t reduce. Have more foliage than roots
Place in shade
Collects local soil for mycorrhizal and add to soil mix
Bill - Miscellaneous
When in Hawaii, he finds nurseries with collected bougainvillea for sale (~$20). Excellent material. Can bring back (checked luggage, cardboard box, bare rooted and wrap roots in a moist paper towel and bag. Has always recovered, not lost one yet.
