AusBonsai

WOW Fantastic tree Watto ,hope it powers on for you. Keep us all posted. Cheers John.

That cottoneaster.... There's movement and then there's MOOOOVEMENT.... And that trunk has MOOOOVEMENT!
very interesting!

Thank you for the kind cotoneaster comments, I hope to start a thread on this in the next few years.
Its been a week since I posted a dig tree and so the rectify that situation, here is today's effort. Its a Chinese Elm dug from my garden and it has been trimmed with the hedger a few times over the years but it was time for it to make way for other things. I have said before that it is a mistake in my view to ground grow Chinese elm because they will grow from the smallest piece of root and you end up with more than you want/need - forever!
After the dig and pot I decided to give it a good haircut and I hope in a few years it will make a reasonable bonsai around 35 to 45 cm. This has a good root system and I am confident of a successful dig.

The senior horticultural superintendent has decreed that a few more Chinese elms must be removed as they are impacting on other plants, and thus I was out with the shovel (in the freezing cold I might add) to remove the offending feral's.
First out was a couple of smallish ones with a bit of movement.

This one was with the other two smaller ones and I couldn't separate the three trunks so they will now be a bunch, clump, group, mini forest or something like that. The trunks are fused together in a couple of places.

Today a mate and I went out in search of a new hawthorn dig site, a bit of reconnaissance for the good of bonsai. We searched the hills and creeks (and my golly gosh was it cool, no cold, hang on wait - it was freezing) and found a few likely customers but nothing like the old Goulburn Bonsai Society spot that has been terminated (fancy a farmer wanting to use his land to plant a crop and make money from it - where it could have been left for hawthorn digging!), anyway we took a few samples from the block (a few hundred acres), a couple of hawthorn and a plum or two.
The first example is a small plum, a wild one that I think has some potential.
One thing that is clear to me now - I am too old to be jumping creeks and climbing up and down hills.

This plum was root connected/attached to the last one I posted so it had to come out as well so I thought I would pot it up and see what comes of it.
For a bloke who went to look at hawthorns I still managed to find a couple of plums, I think its a skill!

Another great score Watto, you can never have enough Plums always room for more
Cheers
Kirky

Watto wrote: ↑August 24th, 2020, 6:52 am For a bloke who went to look at hawthorns I still managed to find a couple of plums, I think its a skill!

Not a bad effort! I've been inspired by your plums ( ) and have grabbed myself a cherry plum (prunus cerasifera) and also an almond. Not much interest to either but I'll see what I can make of these.

Thanks Kirky and welcome to the plum gang Greg.
I did manage to get a sample of the hawthorns available. Normally when I did hawthorn I cut off most of the branching but in this instance I left two rather long branches on, trying to maximise my chances later on. That is my chances for design, not for a successful dig, this one should be fine.
I think that is it for a while, I'm not sure what I am going to do with them all. Anyway all the deciduous stuff is starting to shoot so it will be onto to some evergreens and hopefully a couple of Australian natives as long as the approval process comes back positive.

There has been a few drinks under the bridge since the last post on this topic but today a few Goulburn Bonsai Society folks attended a dig of Casuarina and this is my two.
A fun dig with all sizes to be had.
For those who have ethical questions about digging Australian native trees, these would all be mulch in a few months and the land used for new housing, so of course I am saying these were saved from certain death by a kind bonsai deed.

For those who were concerned, all the Cassie's are doing just fine and shooting new growth.
Last weekend the Goulburn gang when on a dig of Australian natives in true Yamadori territory, boy the hills and rough terrain knocked me about.
The species on offer were tea tree, banksia and a few gums. Even out in wild bush there were a few hawthorns which is disappointing but none of those were taken, but probably we should have taken to them with a chainsaw to get rid of them out of the beautiful wild bush.
Anyway, it might have been rough country but the pickings were terrific. I didn't dig any banksia or gums but I did manage to get a small tea tree which I think may look fantastic in a few years as a shohin (it looks like it may bud back on old wood?).
The year is nearly over so there is not much time left ..............

Good score Watto ,great bit of movement. Just a tad jealous , all i collected from my last dig was two ticks ,one leach and a spindly little tree. Cheers John.

Ha ha ha ha ha, I think going on a dig with Boom is off the agenda.

Watto wrote: ↑December 15th, 2020, 5:42 pm it might have been rough country but the pickings were terrific. I didn't dig any banksia or gums but I did manage to get a small tea tree which I think may look fantastic in a few years as a shohin (it looks like it may bud back on old wood?).

Lovely little tea tree Watto. look forward to seeing it in the future