DIG YOUR OWN BONSAI

Bonsai Winnipeg members go out on a Saturday or a Sunday after trees are dormant in the fall or before buds swell in the spring.

CLUB GUIDED DIGS

Two of the most exciting activities Bonsai Winnipeg plans each year are the Spring and Fall Digs. A day trip is planned to an area usually within about an hour’s drive of Winnipeg. Members meet at a pre-arranged location, then form a convoy (carpooling encouraged) to a pre-scouted site in search of the perfect bonsai starter tree. Experienced members demonstrate the right way to dig a tree in the wild. You can then search the area for the perfect little twisted tree you can take home, pot up, and transform into a beautiful bonsai. And the price is excellent. Just show up with a smile.

There is usually more than one tree that ends up in the trunk of your car over the next couple of hours. Bring a sharp shovel and a container to hold your prize tree. Containers may vary from a small bag, pail, or super-size for the experienced member after the “big one.” Wrapping the roots in a clingwrap is also a good option. Other digging and pruning tools may be required, but these can often be borrowed from someone else. Within reason, these are rain-or-shine events, so you are advised to bring appropriate clothing and footwear, including rubber boots.

Once on the hunt, you’ll find that a bit of drizzle will not sway a bonsai enthusiast, and the sun is usually prevalent. Many participants like to stop on the way home for lunch and a chance to compare their new-found treasures and stories.

These digs are a terrific and inexpensive way to obtain hardy, native material. They are also a great social event. Members' friends, kids, and pets are welcome. Hunting for trees involves walking in highway ditches or woods. Because adults are often busy digging and carrying, it may only be advisable to bring young family members if supervised closely by another adult.

COLLECTING TREES IN SOUTHERN MANITOBA

Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba, is just a few kilometres west of the longitudinal centre of Canada. Collecting bonsai from wild areas near Winnipeg is easy. The provincial government allows the harvesting of trees from any provincial road allowance. Trees can also be collected along trails in provincial forests from the road allowance.

Less than a 90-minute drive from the city towards the north, east, and southeast, one can find tamarack, cedar, spruce, and jack pine growing in the ditches. Some trees are young saplings, while others have been cut back several times by mowing equipment and have stout, unique shapes.

Bogs on crown land can be a good source of naturally-stunted trees, as are the rocky outcroppings of the Canadian Shield where jack pines grow in pockets of soil between the rocks.

Gravel eskers and glacial moraines are other suitable sources of naturally stunted trees. Think abandoned gravel pits. 

Private woodland and pastureland can be a good source for wild plums and hawthorn but be sure you have permission from the owner.

Don’t overlook the overgrown shrubs in your backyard or local garden centres as potential bonsai. Consider lilac, potentilla, junipers, Amur maples, and Chinese elms.