Collecting (Bill McD)
Gathering Trees, a Beginner’s Guide
July 21, 2023
Kusamura Bonsai Club
My purpose in writing this is to encourage and expand people’s interest in bonsai.
I’ve gone on three trips to Northern California to gather western juniper and lodgepole pines along the Highway 97 corridor north of Weed. An elevation of between 4000 and 6000 feet. There is no secret spot. There are plenty of junipers, pines and other species starting about 10 miles north of Weed, CA for the next 20 or so miles along Hwy 97, off on forest service roads. Vehicles such as Subaru Foresters, or Honda CRVs are just fine for these roads.
The junipers in this area are NOT the type that Harry Hirao gathered and is famous for, or the ones Bob Shimon and David Nguy bring home. These are small vigorous young trees perfect for beginner collectors like me, not the old,twisted varieties we see at shows or in collections. (If you save the expense of a trip or two you can get a hefty down payment on a twisted type tree and save yourself some trouble. But you’d miss out on the fun.)
Long before any trip I do in April or early May (late October early November is also a good time), I procure a “Forest Products Removal Permit” from both the Shasta National Forest, (530) 926-4511, and the Klamath National Forest Goosenest Ranger District, (530) 398-4391. The permits are for western juniper and/or miscellaneous trees 1 to 4 feet tall. This process can take awhile and I ask that the permit be for the whole calendar year. There is a $20 minimum, so for that I get to take as many as 20 trees at $1.00 each. Trees in this area include the western juniper and also hemlock, true firs, lodge pole pines and spruce above 5,000ft. Below 5,000 ft you can find live oak and ponderosa pine.
Ask the permit people to send you forest service maps. At the very least get a Fire WoodGathering map. Detailed National Forest Service maps can also be purchased online for about $15 each and are nice to have. If you want the most detailed maps of the area get topographic maps from the USGS Information Services, http://store.usgs.gov and get the “Penovar” map for the Goosenest area and the “Mount Shasta” and “The Whaleback” maps for the Mt. Shasta area. You will be on the north side of Mount Shasta. All maps are clearly marked with forest service roads and the road at intersections are clearly marked, eg. 43N16 off of Highway 97. My friends Len’s Garman GPS worked like a charm with roads clearly marked.
Years ago, I mimicked an article about equipment needed to gathering bonsai materialand outfitted myself. It included a backpack with shovel, pick, lopper tied to it and numerous other items inside the backpack. The idea was to hike into the wilderness and extract a tree,wrap it in wet burlap and tie it to the backpack and hike out. Good luck with that. I will leave that to the younger and more vigorous adventurers among us. I do not have the skill or energy to extricate successfully a twisted juniper at 10,000 feet elevation. I do not want to risk destroying such a rare and beautiful work of Nature’s art. That is best left to the experts
The trees I have gathered are all within 200 feet of a fire/logging road.
The equipment I take is simple. In the truck I have water, burlap, duct tape, Super Thrive,plastic garden pots, gloves, a narrow shovel, small pick, long handle loppers, garden sheers, big plastic bags, a cordless reciprocating saw with long aggressive tree trimming blades and a small pruning saw.
Once you know what to look for you can spot trees from your vehicle on the dirt roads. When a tree I like is located, I determine what equipment I need and gather it from the truck.
In this area the soil is pumice with fist sized and smaller rocks. The digging is easy and the trees usually come out without too much fuss. The tap root is the biggest concern and often difficult to cut with rocks in the way. Just dig some more and clear them out.
The problem is that most of the trees here are boring as they are straight with very little movement. At this elevation the snow does not compact the trees. Keep looking for interesting material. Don’t settle for one of the first trees you see. Keep looking, this is a treasure hunt adventure, not a stop at the nursery. You can mark a potential tree with a bit of toilet paper so you can find it later. Trust me, finding your way back to a tree you loved earlier can be a challenge.
When a tree is found and removed with as much root as possible I either wrap it in wet burlap with native soil and wrap that with duct tape to repot at home or I pot it in a plastic pot right there using the native pumice soil. Once potted,I don’t mess with it for two years at least. I have had about 80% success with the 18 or so trees I have gathered. My friend Leonard has had 100% success with the 12 or so trees he brought home to Oregon. He potted all of his trees on site with 100% native soil.
At home, as always, I keep them in bright shade for the first summer. However, this year I am also covering them with a clear plastic bag to keep them humid.
Also, I am doing an experiment. Because the trees in the area are so straight, this past trip I have left six trees in the ground, pruned them for shape and or twisted the branches by hand and tied them up with wire to hopefully create interesting movement. I’ll return in a couple of years to see what happens. I did this three years ago and was anxious to see the results this year,but as luck would have it, they got bulldozed in a fire break along the road. (When you don’t succeed try… try….).
Camping in the national forest areas is free and no permit other than a fire permit is needed. Fire permits are free and available on-line at http://www.fs.usda.gov.lpnf and are good for a year. National forest service area camping is primitive, with varying services. Designated campgrounds are first come first served and usually have some sort of primitive toilet. You can always “dirt” camp with NO facilitiesanywhere in a National Forest. If you want to get away from people dirt camp. For the two days and nights we just spent “dirt” camping two vehicles passed our camp. You find your spot and camp there following the fire permit guidelines. Please bury your human solid waste deep.
Also, there are plenty of hotels in Weed if you want running water etc.
I hope this will encourage interested club members to go out and explore and see what you can find, and be proud of what you bring home.
Good hunting, and remember, proper after care is a must to keeping collected trees alive.
Post script: I have gathered western juniper near the Veteran’s Memorial Living Sculpture Garden on Highway 97 just north of Weed on Bolam Road and Forest Service Roads 43N21 and 43N33 and other Forest Service Roads in the area. However the Shasta Forest Service is not issuing “Forest Service Gathering Permits” because the area has been burned extensively.
Better to gather in the Klamath National Forest along the same Highway 97 a little further north. Forest Service Road 44N23 and 44N18Y and the surrounding area have plenty of trees to gather and they just issued me a permit this winter to gather 20 trees for $20 that is good for this calendar year.
Bill McDonald