AusBonsai

Hi all,
just a quick query is there anywhere in Sydney or surrounding areas willing to drive for approx 3 - 4 hours to find some good quality stock in the wild.

Any ideas ???

Archie

With that typa time on your hands i would drive stop look drive stop look.

If you are looking for yamadori than it might have to be backyard yamadori...and with three to four hours you should be able to ask all of the n'bours in your suburb.

otherwise down in canberra we have a heap of hawthorn and radiata pine along with various euccys

ahh some hawthorns would be a great addition to my collection. Where in Canberra can you find these in the wild

Literally everywhere in sydney. Look out for redevelopments, most councils post a list of development application approvals online & in the local papers. Keep your eyes open when your out, esp weekends when people are out working in there yards, look for piles of prunings & skip bins. Put up a notice in your local shops saying you want peoples old garden plants. Befriend a landscaper or garden maintenance crew, they often get jobs that require removing plants.

If you spot something you really have to have dont be afraid to knock on someones door and ask them. You may be surprised how often someone says "i have always hated that plant. You actually want it?!? Go for it." This always seems to be with very rugged trees that have had a lifetime of butchery... perfect potensai!

All of these are ways i have acquired trees over the yrs in most cities i have lived. Also let all your friends know to keep there ears & eyes open for you.

Matt

Any commercial pine plantations nearby, they are always a great source of material self sown plants of course. Particularly if there is road cuttings where the trees are growing on an angle and you can get some movement in the base of the trunk. I would also have thought there must be heaps of places to find pj figs that have seeded into rock walsl etc.
Craig

for hawthorn try just north of Canberra, the Goulburn bonsai club often has hawthorn digs on.

Your question has a double take in it. You ask initially "Where in Sydney can you find Bonsai?", the answer to that is at a Bonsai nursery. Have you been to Ray Nesci Bonsai nursery at Dural? 26 Sagars Rd.
You mention driving to "find" stock, unless it is on "no mans land" which simply does not exist anymore, it is illegal to remove plant materials. So in that effect, I would be looking for areas in which you can grab the plant and get out of there.

Myself, I am more partial to Yamadori at nursery's, not Bonsai nursery's. Is essence yamadori is the search for suitable potential Bonsai material, that has been aged by nature. You don't necessarilly need to search in the bush to find this. Many of Sydney's nursery's are managed and tended to by in-experienced staff. They forget to water, knock over plants, let them get diseased, break branches off / leave dead ones, forget about stock and let them go feral in back tiny over grown corners of there yards and in general treat them with little care. The results of this are an almost perfect imitation of what would naturally occur in a harsh environment.

You can still get the thrill of the hunt from a Nursery, even more so than the wild sometimes. It presents its own version of inpenetrable terrains and obsticles to overcome, to recieve the reward of a plant. My thrill comes from trying to negotiate my way into the secret hiddens corners, where customers are not allowed, "out the back" so to speak. You want to get to know the owner, to see all their deep dark disgusting looking non sale plants. This is where the true potensai are located.


If you do locate a natural resource, send me a PM. I'm in Sydney too and am also willing to drive 3-4 hrs to me up with you for a wild stock hunt.