So we left home on Friday around noon to travel to North Mississippi, where I was meeting up with a friend to go Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) collecting. It was almost 80° and sunny when we left. 300 miles later, the temperature was about 45° and it was overcast. Next morning, it was 40° and raining. Brrr! Collecting is sorta like the Postal Service – neither rain nor hail, etc. So off we went. Here are some of the trees we got.
Here’s a neat stump I’m planning to hang onto for a few years and see what I can make of it. The trunk base is 3″ above the root crown, and it’s chopped at 13″. What’s really nice about this specimen is the warty bark, which Hackberries develop over time. So it’s got some age going for it.
But it gets even better when you turn it around. How about this nice shari from top to bottom? There’s no way I can not make this a feature of the bonsai I’ll be developing from it. It’s just too cool and natural.
The big flaw in this tree is the obvious lack of surface roots on the left side and in the back. But not to worry, I can ground-layer roots where I need them. That won’t happen until next year (assuming the tree survives collecting); stay tuned.
This is another very nice specimen I brought home. This one has good surface rootage, and nice trunk movement and taper. The base is 3.5″ above the root crown, and it’s chopped at 18″. Very nice proportions in the making.
Here it is to your right, all potted up snugly.
There were a ton of small trees just begging to be made into forest plantings, so I brought a bunch of them home. Here’s a tubful.
I should know in about four to six weeks if these trees will recover. With a little luck I’ll be able to post some for sale in April.
Nice Hackberry catch. I’m interested to see what becomes of the collection. I’m always interested in what happens after a stump is created….the process…the roots…the budding….the choices…any why choices are made. Part of my learning.
Same here. You never stop learning.