Today officially closed the Winter 2016 collecting season. I needed a few more bald cypresses – it looks like being a banner year for interest in the species – and this time of year is right at the end of viability for collecting them. In fact, most of the ones I brought home had already budded out (same as last year, and all of those survived).

Here are most the trees I harvested today, still in their muck and roots from the swamp. I always run a hand down the trunk of each tree I consider, in order to gauge how good the basal flare is. For the most part, you have to collect trees with trunks at least 4″ in diameter to get a good buttressing root base. That proved to be the case today as well.

 

How about this for a buttressing root? This is going to make quite an impressive bonsai five to ten years down the road. Flat-top or conical shape? I don’t think it really matters; either way is going to look great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another nice flaring root base. I left a couple of branches on this tree since they had buds starting to open. That should help me gauge how well the tree is coming through the collecting process over the next few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This may be my favorite from today’s crop. I really like the base on this tree, and the movement of the trunk is terrific.

I should know in a few weeks if I was successful with these specimens. Fingers crossed.

Each of these has a trunk that’s 4″ 4″ above the soil surface, and each is about 24-25″ to the chop.