The Disadvantages of Using Collected Trees as Bonsai

by Jeff Shortt

This article is the second in a series comparing the benefits and drawbacks of collected and nursery-bought trees for use as bonsai.

Having gone to some length to list the benefits of collecting great trees, it is only fair to make note of the drawbacks involved. And there are many.

Just because there are trees out there for the taking, it doesn't mean they are worth the effort. Good material is not easy to find. The best trees have often come at the cost of hundreds of miles of driving and hiking through swamps, fields, and forests. There is no guarantee of good pickings within an easy day's drive from home.

There are few situations more uncomfortable than that of hauling out a fine tree, all sweaty, dirty and happy, only to come face to face with the farmer on whose property you have trespassed. This has happened. Or worse, the officer from the Ministry of the Environment. Or the posse of indigenous people who own this reserve. Get the picture?

The charm of the day may also be wiped out by the fact of digging, packing, and carrying out a specimen which may weight up to 100 pounds. It is good planning to determine a reasonable range for a search, both on- and off-road. This pays off in fewer miles of hiking and hauling. In addition, there is no guarantee that the tree will recover from the stress of collection. It is a painstaking process requiring timing, patience, and know-how. Poor collecting skill is probably the chief cause of mortality for these subjects.

It also pays to be picky. There is no point collecting indiscriminately. Some unethical collectors have been known to ransack entire areas, denuding them of trees, even leaving unsuitable ones ripped up on the ground. This has given bonsai collectors a bad name in some parts. (I feel it is important to leave some good trees right where they are. It has earned that right, and we shouldn't be greedy just for the sake of our art. Determine to take only what will be appropriate and leave good room for other trees to mature. Some members even hatch seedlings to re-introduce to the wild.) All this goes to say that there are no guarantees of finding acceptable trees in a collecting trip. You must be responsible, and be prepared to come back with nothing for your day's trouble. Better this than to come back with poor material - or worse, kill it.

Anyone who has gone on a camping trip up north has met Canada's national mascot: the mosquito. Under the best of conditions, these pests can be a nuisance. Sweating and crawling around in the bush, digging up uncooperative trees, they can be a nightmare. Virtually any point of the growing season can be targeted by a variety of flies, fleas, ants, no-see-ums, and sundry creepy crawlies. This is a fact of nature, and must be accepted. Call it the part of the price of a good tree. One club member even hauled a large tree home, and in preparing the root ball for transplant, found the neatly decapitated corpse of a small rattlesnake. A tribute to the wisdom of keeping your shovel sharp!

Even by taking the precaution of going "out of season" to collect, there is also the problem of what the tree may come home with. Fungi, parasites, and disease are a natural part of the wilderness. Any tree, even a seemingly healthy one, may harbour a time bomb which will destroy it during the recovery process.

Hopefully, this short list has offered some things to consider before your next collecting trip. Next month: the advantages and disadvantages of nursery- bought material.