If I am going to claim this plant it may need to happen before the year runs out. I don't have much experience with collecting from the ground for bonsai, let alone quince. There is a thread from a few years ago about springtime collection of a quince up in the mountains from here. They sound tough.

1. Is it safe to collect this fall, like right after the leaves drop?

2. What technique? Cut out the top, then dig out as much of the roots as possible, then root prune? Or are people serious when they post about wrapping a chain around a plant and yanking it out with a truck?

3. Then what? Plant in a large container with a bonsai mix for a few years? I've been using a pine chip/turface blend that appears to do fine with the glorified tropical houseplants I've been growing lately, but I want to get back into growing temperate trees again.

Thanks.

Skip the chain - NOT a prized collection method. ;-)

You'll probably want to let the plant grow wild for at least a year before you start in on reducing the roots and branch/stem/trunk selection. Fertilize WELL after buds break in spring.

Al

I've taken a closer look at the shrub. It's about 7 ft high, wide, and deep. There are several dozen trunks in the clump, which is over 24" in one dimension. I think it is an oval-shaped clump, so the other dimension is about 12", but since it is growing up against a yucca I can't get a good look without risking attack from that plant. Digging the quince out is going to be interesting.

Thanks.

I have a huge plastic pot and fresh bark and turface ready for my quince, but now I need to decide whether to dig NOWnownow or wait for signs of leaves. Any thoughts?

I have a few plants to collect this year: my old native Wisteria that a friend no longer wants bullying his garden, a weird hybrid citrus bush, a japanese holly. Is starting now (mid January, zone 7 or 8) too soon? The weather has been dry and not that cold so far.

Thanks.