I never thought twice about trees before starting this hobby, now I’ve got cuttings and air layers from trees in my car park which, otherwise, would be just chopped back by the gardener including a Japanese quince which has already started rooting after a month.
You are absolutely right, all my bonsai trees are collected. I will most definitely show the last part to my wife. She complains a lot about me collecting plants everywhere I go.
Nice one Tony. Growing miniature trees can be very cheap, and it's good for you. Times are hard... Self/squirrel sown oaks tend to have lovely natural contortions as they've struggled to get going. Waste ground, brown-field sites and so on are the places to go for birch, sycamore and rowan.
Yes, silver birch are very much a colonising species, so as you say, brown-field sites are ideal. I've yet to get a rowan, but it's very high up on my list of wanted trees. I just love the red berries.
Nice well presented videos just watched three on the bounce I li di Suffolk a d therefore nice to see some native trees, I have downy birch, yew very slow growing but now fruiting after 6 years ! Love your simple but honest style and very experimental and thrifty nature. Loving these and veggie v back to enjoying my passion after à stroke in 2020. Good luck Tony ,be seeing you!
Hi Geoffrey. I hope you're recovering well from your stroke. I've been through the mill the last couple of years, but bonsai has proved to be the best medicine! Glad to hear that your downy birch are doing well.
@@TonysBonsai .wow! thank you 🤗 very personal, I'm trying to keep motivated, physically I'm ok but it's the servo, brain that is the challenge, I left my trees for a few years, but as I'm getting a bit better I'm trying to do more your channel iS nice and down to earth . so it feels more appropriate to me , and you are filming in your garden so it's similar to what I have. thank you for your kind words. God bless . Geoff.
Thanks Tony, Only started the hobby last year. I have a couple of cotoneaster shrubs in the garden and my neighbour has a mature silver birch, so I have seedlings popping up everywhere. My local nursery has also provided quite mature box and escallonia at a cheap price. My favourie so far is the escallonia, small leaves, gnarled trunk and red flowers in spring. Find it very forgiving as I was quite brutal reducing it this year, yet it is still looking healthy.
Sounds like you've got a very nice growing collection! Definitely stick with the silver birch seedings. They grow very fast when planted in the ground, and before you know it they will be ready to dig out!
Great video. I like the idea of collecting free specimens. I've been lucky enough to have neighbors with mature Japanese maples on their land so i have collected Japanese maple seedlings growing in the woods. That's one of my favorites.
That's a great opportunity for material, and before you know it they will be shooting up. Also If you are ever feeling a big cheeky, you could ask them if you can do an air layer
Cheers Tony, really enjoyed that video. Looking forward to finding some of these trees and experimenting with them, particularly the fast growing species as I’ve started my bonsai journey about 40 years too late!
Just started the hobby and I must say I find your vids very informative.A lot of bonsai youtubers seem to think we've all got years of experience and the trees they use as examples just aren't available to a lot of us.Cheers
Lovley collection, Tony. ❤👍 My top 5 also include ashes. Mine have developed into gorgeous trees over a couple of years with great nebari and fancy trunk-shapes. They grow very easy from seeds, as from cuttings. Can't wait to see my birches bark turning white. And your video gives me hope regarding development of my oaks. THX. Have a great day. 😊 Regards from Austria
Outside the UK, Austria is my favourite country! I visit most winters snowboarding. I have other places, but I just love your mountains, and more importantly the hospitality (and especially the food!) I have several small ash trees in development myself. They are not commonly considered for bonsai, but i agree they are beautiful trees.
And don't forget, for those with a little patience, you can grow your own from collected seed. Norway maple, oak, Hornbeam, field maple, etc. are all widespread. I've had much success growing my own.
Great stuff Tony... I found a nice beech I'm going to collect next march, its a decent size tree stands a cut 30 inches tall with lots of decent arranged branches and a good size trunk... Ps my Hornbeam I was telling you about few months back bounced back with lots of new leaves but just this last week or so has started getting brown crispy leaves again its in the ground morning sun only and certainly not underwater Ed or over watered.. I'm goin to give it a trim back later in the year and give the roots a prune next march and put back in the ground for a season or 2... I've had it 12 yrs or so and always done well so don't know what's been up with it this last couple of yrs
Sounds like you have a very nice beech in the making there mate, Honestly, I just think it's been a weird year for hornbeam. My forest bounced back like yours, but one of my single trees is looking really unwell and I have no idea why. I wouldn't be surprised if it's just one of those years, and they are fine next year!
Gotta agree on the top 5 selection. It also valid for most part of where I live although field maple isn't growing natural more than southern part of Sweden but often sold on nurseries for hedges etc..
Sounds like we have a similar collection and tastes. Apart from collected material, I would say that hedging material from garden centers is the next best for material.
My favorites are your oaks and your beach.. that large oak is spectacular 👌 🙌.. wonderful job collecting all your "free" trees.. I put "=" because you know as well as i do that collecting is freakin hard a$ work and sometimes it's less work and more importantly less time to just buy an nice example.. but the satisfaction is definitely not the same. Cheers!@
Hi Marcus. You're not wrong about the collecting. Sometimes after an hour or two sweating away scratching around in the dirt I question my own sanity, but as you say, the satisfaction is definitely worth the effort!
Love the video! A great collection and truly shows your passion for trees. I wish I could grow beach and silver birch here! I do love my Slovak squirrels for planting oaks everywhere for me ! Collection is my favorite thing, but I’m lucky to have do much self seeding in my yard, liquidambar, pines, crape myrtle, oaks, Japanese privet and Camphor tree. Camphor is considered an invasive species here so no one minds if I dig em up. I do love the oaks , but elm and crape myrtle for me are number one - they are very forgiving to my beginner fingers! Keep up the great work - can’t wait for the next video!
Thanks Peter. I agree with the choice of elms, but with the issues with Dutch Elm disease in the UK, there are not many around and about over here, although I do have one collected elm which is growing really nicely. I also have a liquid amber, and I can't wait for the autumn colour which I believe is stunning. Sounds like you have plenty of choices, and those squirrels sound like very useful friends! I've never really heard of camphor. I'll have to do some research!
Its great you see you collecting and training the tree's in your area Tony, you have some beauties mate, starting to collect a few Aussie natives now as my passion started with ficus, im finding natives are even tougher and tolerate the weather conditions well. Thanks again for your video and all your replies mate🌱
I would imagine your native Aussie trees have to be pretty tough. I know it's quite a cliche, but I do fancy getting myself a eucalyptus. Whenever I see them they look like they would make really nice bonsai.
@@TonysBonsai I dont mind the cliche Tony. I dont have a eucalyptus yet im really liking Leptospermum (tea tree's) and Callistemon trees (bottle brush). The tea tree flowers are small and last for months with soft needle like foliage. Did you see Nigels eucalyptus video? I made the comment that he resembled a koala and also learnt he was born in Australia!!! Moved to Canada at age 5. He replied..."THANKS!!" I hope i didnt cross the line.🐨
yes, I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised that he's got an Aussie passport and lived in Wales until he was five. The closest I get in this video to any Australia links was my 'can you guess what it is yet' Rolf Harris line 🤣🤣
@@TonysBonsai Haha, i was wondering why you said " i dont think i can say that" now i get it 🤣 I grew up watching Rolf and his wobble board and his EXTRA LEG. Its a scary world when you find out some truths.
When I was a wedding photographer, I once heard a father of the bride doing his speech talking about how his daughter grew up watching Rolf Harris and Jimmy Saville. Probably the funniest speech I ever heard! 🤣🤣
Very nice collection. Only follow you recently but am able to take a lot from your videos. Like how you love your trees and yes my favourite is the Kaskade hawthorn from your collection as well
Good video, Tony. I wish we could go out and dig up a tree/sapling but in Western Australia out of illegal to remove native trees and we don’t have so many others to choose from 😢
Thank you Susan. I'm really glad you're enjoying my videos. It takes me a while to get around to the comments on older videos, but I certainly appreciate your support.
Great video Tony! I've been doing Bonsai on the cheap for a couple of years now, it's a really affordable hobby if you do your research and keep your eyes open! Well done.
A man after my own heart! I think there is a growing number of people drawn this style of DIY bonsai where we attempt to create great trees out of whatever plants we can lay our hands on.
Great collection of trees Tony looking very healthy please can you tell me your substrate mix as I have some Hazel trees I have been growing from seed and I want to repot them next year .. And of course if you have to many trees I could take some of your hands I only live 45 mins away ....
Hi Michael. I use a roughly equal part mix of perlite, pine bark, agricultural grit, and compost for the majority of my trees, and they seem to do pretty well. I have a few hazels myself, and they are thriving in that mix. You'll have to pop round for a brew on a nice day!
I might have to bite the bullet and buy a Hawthorn - I just can't seem to find any where I can collect. There was a large area of waste land near where my daughter lives - but this weekend, I drove passed and there is the base of 6 houses - so the land's been totally cleared. I'll keep looking....
So when you say it's like picking a favourite child, do you mean you can easily do it, but you are not allowed to say it 🤣🤣 Also I've just popped out today and collected a load of acorns 😉
Just think that you are not killing a tree, and in many ways, you could be prolonging its life. In an area with lots of small trees, only a certain amount can ultimately survive due to water and light demands. Also, I sometimes plant trees back in the wild where they will prosper.
Another informative video, Tony. I guessed No 1 would be the Hawthorn. When you say "I collected this" do you mean you bought it or were given it or did you plunder it from a open area?
Thanks Nikki. Yeah I do love hawthorn! I am lucky. I have access to a couple of pieces of land via friends, one of whom owns a share of a woodland, and there is some brown field wasteland local to me.
Not sure how I stumbled on this but so glad I did the group plantings are amazing mate just miniature woodland scenes! What's the soil they need to stunt them? I can easily get tree saplings so what then? Can hawthorns be bonsai? Would love that my favourite tree and hornbeam Sorry hadn't finished video when I commented hawthorne it is!
Hi Olly. Yes, you can make a forest or group planting out of pretty much any species of tree. the main thing is that you plant them in a soil with plenty of drainage, and if you are going to plant quite a few like mine, they really take a lot of watering in the summer. I hope you have fun putting one together!
What a well thought out and motivating video you have produced. I really enjoyed watching this and mjy big question is do you face any permission issues or restrictions on when and where you can collect these lovely specimens from the wild? The tree that grabbed me most was the one I think of as the toilet U-Bend and that oak is glorious is already. I can't wait to see you develop both of those. I have found collecting oak works better form me in late-nov so i tend to go for my other species at the same time. Any views on this Tony?
I tend to have the best success with all my trees when collected earlier in the spring as opposed to later. I like late feb/early March for all species. The only exception for me is larch which I only seem to have a 50% success with so I think I might have to look at that. As for permissions, as you know, you have to have permission from the land owner on any private land in the UK, and you are not allowed to collect from public land.
Hi Tim. A lot of the collecting success is down to the right time of year, and the right aftercare. Also the more fine roots you can keep the better its chances. This video is a basic guide to how I do it, but If you want to learn from people who really knows their stuff I would recommend Tony Tickle and Harry Harrington ua-cam.com/video/Hoi6etx6bg4/v-deo.html
Yes, in the UK, you are only allowed to collect from private land with the land owner's permission. However it is possible to find bits of scrubby brown field site land which nobody is bothered about.
No, I do have some sycamores, but the field maple ( acer campestre) is just the common native maple variety. It's a much better species than sycamore as the leaves are not anything like so big.
Hi Tony, I like watching your videos but on this particular video you are talking about collecting trees for free, I think you should have explained this a little better we can get trees from friends or in nurseries on the cheap but if a person wants to collect trees from the wild you must have the permission from the landowner to do this. I have known some Bonsai growers in Cumbria that would go to the Lake District and scour the fells for interesting trees to dig up which is illegal if permission has not been given. People who do this give Bonsai a bad name.
@@TonysBonsai I do have a little English oak seedling that Nigel grew from seed, and a pyrean oak seedling from Dave @Blue Sky Bonsai. It will be a loooong time before they are anything spectacular though!
@@TonysBonsai 🌟Agree! I just don’t have the space for it now. We might move next year to a place with more property… so I can have a space for growing in the ground! (And a greenhouse if I’m good) 👍
Great motivation to get started. I picked up a katsura from b&q for 7.50 this morning. Been on my wish list for over a year! A bit dry and neglected, can l feed from now or would you let go dormant early and feed well in spring?
I have one I bought about 3 years ago for a similar price that is looking really impressive. I planted it into a shallow basket for two years which gave it shallow roots and a nice nebari, and this year moved it into a ceramic bonsai pot. The same tree would now cost £200 from a commercial nursery.
@@TheBonsaiGarden absolutely Jason, was so chuffed to see it down to half price. Its not pot bound just been neglected, only got half a dozen half dead leaves. I've watered it and put it in a sheltered corner to recuperate. Will have a closer look in spring, may go in greenhouse or shed over winter if it gets frosty.
Sounds like you got a bargain Mandy! I have a Katsura I bought in spring 2021 and planted in the ground, so it's basically had two years growth now, and it's really grown a lot. I bought it for £12.50 and I'll be doing some work on it in the spring and possibly digging it up and doing like Jason said planting it on a tile. As for what to do now, I would just water it and leave it until the spring.
@@TonysBonsai thanks Tony, I think feeding it now would encourage it to grow new growth when it should be going into dormancy. Although it does have buds can see it needing protection over winter.
One of the most unique aspects of bonsai is that by simply digging up a tree for free you can start enjoying the hobby. Thanks, keep growing
Indeed Matt. It really is accessible to almost everyone.
I never thought twice about trees before starting this hobby, now I’ve got cuttings and air layers from trees in my car park which, otherwise, would be just chopped back by the gardener including a Japanese quince which has already started rooting after a month.
very nice Chris. Sounds like you've got the magic touch!
@@TonysBonsai probably more beginners luck! Haha!
You are absolutely right, all my bonsai trees are collected. I will most definitely show the last part to my wife. She complains a lot about me collecting plants everywhere I go.
A man after my own heart! I just love a collected tree with a nice base
Thanks Tony. Needed something to watch with my sunday morning Coffee 😉
Cheers mate. Hope you enjoyed both the video and the coffee!
Nice one Tones, I guessed Hawthorns, everyone has a couple. Liked your top five, thanks for the vid.🇦🇺
Thanks. It's hard to look past Hawthorns. they are so versatile!
Nice one Tony. Growing miniature trees can be very cheap, and it's good for you. Times are hard...
Self/squirrel sown oaks tend to have lovely natural contortions as they've struggled to get going. Waste ground, brown-field sites and so on are the places to go for birch, sycamore and rowan.
Yes, silver birch are very much a colonising species, so as you say, brown-field sites are ideal. I've yet to get a rowan, but it's very high up on my list of wanted trees. I just love the red berries.
You're absolutly right, it doesn't have to be an all fancy and finished tree you buy to enjoy this fantatic hobby
Yes, it's all about enjoying the journey for me. There is no real destination in life anyway.
Nice well presented videos just watched three on the bounce I li di Suffolk a d therefore nice to see some native trees, I have downy birch, yew very slow growing but now fruiting after 6 years ! Love your simple but honest style and very experimental and thrifty nature. Loving these and veggie v back to enjoying my passion after à stroke in 2020. Good luck Tony ,be seeing you!
Hi Geoffrey.
I hope you're recovering well from your stroke. I've been through the mill the last couple of years, but bonsai has proved to be the best medicine! Glad to hear that your downy birch are doing well.
@@TonysBonsai .wow! thank you 🤗 very personal, I'm trying to keep motivated, physically I'm ok but it's the servo, brain that is the challenge, I left my trees for a few years, but as I'm getting a bit better I'm trying to do more your channel iS nice and down to earth . so it feels more appropriate to me , and you are filming in your garden so it's similar to what I have. thank you for your kind words. God bless . Geoff.
Loved the vid. I am from the U.S. and most of my trees are from seeds and sapling I find around my property.
Thanks Adam. I have a sweet gum which I believe is native to the US, and I can't wait to see it in its autumn colours!
Brilliant video pal. I really enjoyed our Bonsai hunt last winter. Looking forward to the next one
me too mate. Roll on collecting season!
Thanks Tony, Only started the hobby last year. I have a couple of cotoneaster shrubs in the garden and my neighbour has a mature silver birch, so I have seedlings popping up everywhere. My local nursery has also provided quite mature box and escallonia at a cheap price. My favourie so far is the escallonia, small leaves, gnarled trunk and red flowers in spring. Find it very forgiving as I was quite brutal reducing it this year, yet it is still looking healthy.
Cotoneaster is a great subject for bonsai.
Sounds like you've got a very nice growing collection! Definitely stick with the silver birch seedings. They grow very fast when planted in the ground, and before you know it they will be ready to dig out!
Great video. I like the idea of collecting free specimens. I've been lucky enough to have neighbors with mature Japanese maples on their land so i have collected Japanese maple seedlings growing in the woods. That's one of my favorites.
That's a great opportunity for material, and before you know it they will be shooting up. Also If you are ever feeling a big cheeky, you could ask them if you can do an air layer
Cheers Tony, really enjoyed that video. Looking forward to finding some of these trees and experimenting with them, particularly the fast growing species as I’ve started my bonsai journey about 40 years too late!
It's never too late Chris, although I agree that fast growing species are probably the way to go.
Just started the hobby and I must say I find your vids very informative.A lot of bonsai youtubers seem to think we've all got years of experience and the trees they use as examples just aren't available to a lot of us.Cheers
Hi Richard. I know what you mean. It's lovely to see people working on a yamadori 500 year old juniper, but I very much doubt I'll ever own one.
Lovley collection, Tony. ❤👍
My top 5 also include ashes. Mine have developed into gorgeous trees over a couple of years with great nebari and fancy trunk-shapes. They grow very easy from seeds, as from cuttings.
Can't wait to see my birches bark turning white. And your video gives me hope regarding development of my oaks. THX.
Have a great day. 😊 Regards from Austria
Outside the UK, Austria is my favourite country! I visit most winters snowboarding. I have other places, but I just love your mountains, and more importantly the hospitality (and especially the food!)
I have several small ash trees in development myself. They are not commonly considered for bonsai, but i agree they are beautiful trees.
Those Oaks are fantastic Tony. Love the trunks. 😊😊
Thanks Guy. I must admit I've got a couple of really nice oaks there.
And don't forget, for those with a little patience, you can grow your own from collected seed.
Norway maple, oak, Hornbeam, field maple, etc. are all widespread. I've had much success growing my own.
Great stuff Tony... I found a nice beech I'm going to collect next march, its a decent size tree stands a cut 30 inches tall with lots of decent arranged branches and a good size trunk... Ps my Hornbeam I was telling you about few months back bounced back with lots of new leaves but just this last week or so has started getting brown crispy leaves again its in the ground morning sun only and certainly not underwater Ed or over watered.. I'm goin to give it a trim back later in the year and give the roots a prune next march and put back in the ground for a season or 2... I've had it 12 yrs or so and always done well so don't know what's been up with it this last couple of yrs
Sounds like you have a very nice beech in the making there mate, Honestly, I just think it's been a weird year for hornbeam. My forest bounced back like yours, but one of my single trees is looking really unwell and I have no idea why. I wouldn't be surprised if it's just one of those years, and they are fine next year!
Gotta agree on the top 5 selection. It also valid for most part of where I live although field maple isn't growing natural more than southern part of Sweden but often sold on nurseries for hedges etc..
Sounds like we have a similar collection and tastes. Apart from collected material, I would say that hedging material from garden centers is the next best for material.
That great beech seems a dragon to me.
I find oaks almost as difficult as pines. I had 2 seedlings long ago and they died for "some reason"
Yes! I love it, and I think I will call it 'The beech dragon'
My favorites are your oaks and your beach.. that large oak is spectacular 👌 🙌.. wonderful job collecting all your "free" trees.. I put "=" because you know as well as i do that collecting is freakin hard a$ work and sometimes it's less work and more importantly less time to just buy an nice example.. but the satisfaction is definitely not the same. Cheers!@
Hi Marcus. You're not wrong about the collecting. Sometimes after an hour or two sweating away scratching around in the dirt I question my own sanity, but as you say, the satisfaction is definitely worth the effort!
Love the video! A great collection and truly shows your passion for trees. I wish I could grow beach and silver birch here! I do love my Slovak squirrels for planting oaks everywhere for me ! Collection is my favorite thing, but I’m lucky to have do much self seeding in my yard, liquidambar, pines, crape myrtle, oaks, Japanese privet and Camphor tree. Camphor is considered an invasive species here so no one minds if I dig em up.
I do love the oaks , but elm and crape myrtle for me are number one - they are very forgiving to my beginner fingers!
Keep up the great work - can’t wait for the next video!
Thanks Peter. I agree with the choice of elms, but with the issues with Dutch Elm disease in the UK, there are not many around and about over here, although I do have one collected elm which is growing really nicely.
I also have a liquid amber, and I can't wait for the autumn colour which I believe is stunning. Sounds like you have plenty of choices, and those squirrels sound like very useful friends!
I've never really heard of camphor. I'll have to do some research!
Its great you see you collecting and training the tree's in your area Tony, you have some beauties mate, starting to collect a few Aussie natives now as my passion started with ficus, im finding natives are even tougher and tolerate the weather conditions well. Thanks again for your video and all your replies mate🌱
I would imagine your native Aussie trees have to be pretty tough. I know it's quite a cliche, but I do fancy getting myself a eucalyptus. Whenever I see them they look like they would make really nice bonsai.
@@TonysBonsai I dont mind the cliche Tony. I dont have a eucalyptus yet im really liking Leptospermum (tea tree's) and Callistemon trees (bottle brush).
The tea tree flowers are small and last for months with soft needle like foliage. Did you see Nigels eucalyptus video? I made the comment that he resembled a koala and also learnt he was born in Australia!!! Moved to Canada at age 5. He replied..."THANKS!!" I hope i didnt cross the line.🐨
yes, I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised that he's got an Aussie passport and lived in Wales until he was five.
The closest I get in this video to any Australia links was my 'can you guess what it is yet' Rolf Harris line 🤣🤣
@@TonysBonsai Haha, i was wondering why you said " i dont think i can say that" now i get it 🤣 I grew up watching Rolf and his wobble board and his EXTRA LEG. Its a scary world when you find out some truths.
When I was a wedding photographer, I once heard a father of the bride doing his speech talking about how his daughter grew up watching Rolf Harris and Jimmy Saville. Probably the funniest speech I ever heard! 🤣🤣
Very nice collection. Only follow you recently but am able to take a lot from your videos. Like how you love your trees and yes my favourite is the Kaskade hawthorn from your collection as well
Thank you for the support, and you have good taste. Even though it is young, it's developing into a really nice tree I think.
Beautiful collection, thanks for sharing.
Thanks Greg. Much appreciated!
Great video,it’s nice to see thing still in development like I’m sure most peoples are👍🌲
Thanks Dave. Yeah, as much as I enjoy seeing prize-winning mature trees, I suspect most people's collections look more like mine.
Good video, Tony. I wish we could go out and dig up a tree/sapling but in Western Australia out of illegal to remove native trees and we don’t have so many others to choose from 😢
That's a shame, but nurseries are great places to source material from too
An interesting spin on the top 5…
👍
Cheers mate. You covered the best five really well in your video, so I wanted to put my spin on it.
Bonsai phill very good quality trees thanks Tony
Thanks Phil!
Nice Video, and schowing of ways to get free Bonsais.
Keep It up the good work
Greetings form Germany
I like your style, Tony.
Thank you Dorrit.
Thank you. Im a big fan of your channel.
Thank you Susan. I'm really glad you're enjoying my videos. It takes me a while to get around to the comments on older videos, but I certainly appreciate your support.
Amazing video Tony, thank you!
Thanks David. Much apprecaited!
Hadir nyimak boss q.. Thanks you sharing.. Salam kenal..
Thank you!
Great video mate. Always a pleasure to watch you! But where was the pause 🤣🤣🤣
🤣I considered it, but in the end, I didn't want to overplay it. i'll save it for another video to maintain the impact! 🤣
@@TonysBonsai hahahhahahahhaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great video Tony! I've been doing Bonsai on the cheap for a couple of years now, it's a really affordable hobby if you do your research and keep your eyes open! Well done.
A man after my own heart! I think there is a growing number of people drawn this style of DIY bonsai where we attempt to create great trees out of whatever plants we can lay our hands on.
Great collection of trees Tony looking very healthy please can you tell me your substrate mix as I have some Hazel trees I have been growing from seed and I want to repot them next year ..
And of course if you have to many trees I could take some of your hands I only live 45 mins away ....
Hi Michael.
I use a roughly equal part mix of perlite, pine bark, agricultural grit, and compost for the majority of my trees, and they seem to do pretty well.
I have a few hazels myself, and they are thriving in that mix.
You'll have to pop round for a brew on a nice day!
@@TonysBonsai will do mate you can private message me and we can arrange a meeting. It will be nice to see the man behind the videos..
Sounds like a plan! There are no contact details on your page. you can message me from my about page.
@@TonysBonsai trying to send you a email but can not figure how to do it ..
I'm on
anthonyhigginsonphotography@gmail.com
I might have to bite the bullet and buy a Hawthorn - I just can't seem to find any where I can collect. There was a large area of waste land near where my daughter lives - but this weekend, I drove passed and there is the base of 6 houses - so the land's been totally cleared. I'll keep looking....
When you find it, it will be a special tree Roger. keep your eyes peeled!
THE HAWTHORN #1. I’m shocked 😂
🤣What's your favourite Matt?
@@TonysBonsai ,, that’s like picking your favorite child. Love them all.
So when you say it's like picking a favourite child, do you mean you can easily do it, but you are not allowed to say it 🤣🤣
Also I've just popped out today and collected a load of acorns 😉
@@TonysBonsai ,, no comment on the favorite child question. 😬 wow, that’s early for acorns. Here they’re just developing. 👍🏻
We're having a really early autumn here possibly because of how hot it's been.
I’d love to collect some blackthorn and hawthorn but I have such guilt about going to dig something up. Feels like I’m doing something wrong.
Just think that you are not killing a tree, and in many ways, you could be prolonging its life. In an area with lots of small trees, only a certain amount can ultimately survive due to water and light demands. Also, I sometimes plant trees back in the wild where they will prosper.
Another informative video, Tony. I guessed No 1 would be the Hawthorn. When you say "I collected this" do you mean you bought it or were given it or did you plunder it from a open area?
Thanks Nikki. Yeah I do love hawthorn! I am lucky. I have access to a couple of pieces of land via friends, one of whom owns a share of a woodland, and there is some brown field wasteland local to me.
Greet video!!, you have a definite likeablity that others are surely missing in this field.. please don't even think about slowing down..
Thanks Marcus. I really appreciate your comment. I find bonsai can sometimes be a bit too stuffy for my tastes.
I completely agree with you Marcus, I’m really enjoying watching Tony’s videos.
Thank you Tony👍 top man.
Not sure how I stumbled on this but so glad I did the group plantings are amazing mate just miniature woodland scenes! What's the soil they need to stunt them? I can easily get tree saplings so what then?
Can hawthorns be bonsai? Would love that my favourite tree and hornbeam
Sorry hadn't finished video when I commented hawthorne it is!
Hi Olly. Yes, you can make a forest or group planting out of pretty much any species of tree. the main thing is that you plant them in a soil with plenty of drainage, and if you are going to plant quite a few like mine, they really take a lot of watering in the summer.
I hope you have fun putting one together!
What a well thought out and motivating video you have produced. I really enjoyed watching this and mjy big question is do you face any permission issues or restrictions on when and where you can collect these lovely specimens from the wild? The tree that grabbed me most was the one I think of as the toilet U-Bend and that oak is glorious is already. I can't wait to see you develop both of those. I have found collecting oak works better form me in late-nov so i tend to go for my other species at the same time. Any views on this Tony?
I tend to have the best success with all my trees when collected earlier in the spring as opposed to later. I like late feb/early March for all species. The only exception for me is larch which I only seem to have a 50% success with so I think I might have to look at that.
As for permissions, as you know, you have to have permission from the land owner on any private land in the UK, and you are not allowed to collect from public land.
I like all those 👍
Cheers Rob!
Great video matey👍
Cheers buddy
amazing video thanks!!
Thank you for watching. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Hey, Tony, I just realized that all my favourite trees end on "h" - beech, larch, birch, and ash, isn´t that strange?
That is strange, and I bet I know what your favourite type of elm is!
Nice trees
Thanks Sam!
Thank You..
Thanks Bobby
Great! Do you have a video on collecting plants? I've collected a few and everyone has died so obviously I don't know what I'm doing!
Hi Tim. A lot of the collecting success is down to the right time of year, and the right aftercare. Also the more fine roots you can keep the better its chances.
This video is a basic guide to how I do it, but If you want to learn from people who really knows their stuff I would recommend Tony Tickle and Harry Harrington
ua-cam.com/video/Hoi6etx6bg4/v-deo.html
Hi Tony, is there a restriction, or permission needed from a local authority to collect trees in the wild?
Yes, in the UK, you are only allowed to collect from private land with the land owner's permission. However it is possible to find bits of scrubby brown field site land which nobody is bothered about.
When you say field maple tony is that the sycamore...just wondering. Thanks again for the presentation
No, I do have some sycamores, but the field maple ( acer campestre) is just the common native maple variety. It's a much better species than sycamore as the leaves are not anything like so big.
Thank you sir
My pleasure. Thank you for watching!
Free works for me good video
Thank you. I love anything at the best price!
Hi Tony, I like watching your videos but on this particular video you are talking about collecting trees for free, I think you should have explained this a little better we can get trees from friends or in nurseries on the cheap but if a person wants to collect trees from the wild you must have the permission from the landowner to do this. I have known some Bonsai growers in Cumbria that would go to the Lake District and scour the fells for interesting trees to dig up which is illegal if permission has not been given. People who do this give Bonsai a bad name.
good point
I thought your nr 1 tree will be hornbeam, but its another tree starting with "h", so it counts :D
Yes, I do like hornbeam, but the hawthorns get my vote. Just a good job I didn;t chose Holly. now there's a challenging tree to work on.
Free trees? Sign me up! 🐦💙
🤣Do you have any English/European oaks Jay?
@@TonysBonsai I do have a little English oak seedling that Nigel grew from seed, and a pyrean oak seedling from Dave @Blue Sky Bonsai. It will be a loooong time before they are anything spectacular though!
I know everyone says it, but get it in the ground and it has the potential to grow really fast once it gets going!
@@TonysBonsai 🌟Agree! I just don’t have the space for it now. We might move next year to a place with more property… so I can have a space for growing in the ground! (And a greenhouse if I’m good) 👍
Great motivation to get started. I picked up a katsura from b&q for 7.50 this morning. Been on my wish list for over a year! A bit dry and neglected, can l feed from now or would you let go dormant early and feed well in spring?
I have one I bought about 3 years ago for a similar price that is looking really impressive. I planted it into a shallow basket for two years which gave it shallow roots and a nice nebari, and this year moved it into a ceramic bonsai pot. The same tree would now cost £200 from a commercial nursery.
@@TheBonsaiGarden absolutely Jason, was so chuffed to see it down to half price. Its not pot bound just been neglected, only got half a dozen half dead leaves. I've watered it and put it in a sheltered corner to recuperate. Will have a closer look in spring, may go in greenhouse or shed over winter if it gets frosty.
Sounds like you got a bargain Mandy! I have a Katsura I bought in spring 2021 and planted in the ground, so it's basically had two years growth now, and it's really grown a lot. I bought it for £12.50 and I'll be doing some work on it in the spring and possibly digging it up and doing like Jason said planting it on a tile. As for what to do now, I would just water it and leave it until the spring.
@@TonysBonsai thanks Tony, I think feeding it now would encourage it to grow new growth when it should be going into dormancy. Although it does have buds can see it needing protection over winter.
Whatever you do, It will be fine I reckon, and I agree that keeping it out of extreme cold will definitely be helpful!
Sscrp 👍🏻❤️
you should add the name. realname of the tree 1 by one I'm french and don't know whats a beech but I know fagus ;)thx
That's a good idea Marc. I'll definitely consider that for future videos
The best tree for bonsai is ficus
It is certainly popular, but all my trees are outside all year, so I don't have any ficus