Page 58 - BSAM 2018 Q1

Top; Leon Leblanc, dressed
in the typical Canadian carotté shirt, is occupied with an extraction while Daniel Lafortune bows to show Jacinthe a better view of his collected yamadori, a stocky Picea mariana.
Bottom; To nd the perfect yamadori, Jacinthe kneels with her nose as low as possible to check the potential nebari.
My motivation for this project was mostly the satisfaction
of making a concrete gesture for the future of bonsai in Quebec and my curiosity to see the two opposite stages in the life of a tree that will become a bonsai, that is, planting
a seedling in nature and collecting a
tree worked on by nature for decades.
North Shore. is region along the northern coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence is part of a geological area called Allochthon, formed by accretion of sediments 900 to 1200 million years ago and its soil is generally alkaline. According to the Meteorological Service of Canada, from spring to fall, the land warms up before the water and the easterly o shore winds, that blow towards the land during the day, have a cooling ef- fect. e average maximum temperature is 19.6°C in July and the average minimum temperature is 11°C. In winter, the winds are mainly from the north, cool- ing the air, while the highest levels of sunshine occur from December to February. Average temperature in January are maximum –9.8°C and minimum –21°C. Statistics indicate that it rains or snows every other day in this region, the average relative humidity is 67% and 46% of the time, it is cloudless. e wind is omnipres- ent reaching speeds of 161 km/hr. Under these hos- tile conditions coniferous species such as larch (Larix laricina), jack pine (Pinus banksiana), black spruce (Picea mariana) and juniper (Juniperus communis) are o en stocky, dwarfed and stunted. e trees show age-related characteristics in the nebari and the bark with natural jin, shari and sabamiki. In short, it is an unfriendly environment that creates very interesting subjects for bonsai.
e species chosen for this study is larch, a decidu- ous coniferous tree which is o en used for refores- tation in Quebec because it is manageable and less expensive than hardwood. Larch prefer moist, light soils. It likes to grow in peat bogs and has good resis- tance to cold temperatures and various diseases.
e sanitized one-year-old seedlings, grown espe- cially for reforestation, came from a nursery, assuring us of quality plants. Each seedling was identi ed by a plastic label bearing the date, a number and the initials of the planters. We recorded the exact GPS longitude and latitude of the 57 trees at every location in a 2 hectares area near Sept Iles. A variety of soil condi- tions from sphagnum to rocky outcrops made ideal planting conditions.
is is the rst step in this innovative study. An annual observation visit will be made of the planting sites to collect information on the success rate: the number of surviving plants, their growth and their state of health. We will publish the results in 2020.
Remember the Chinese proverb “The one that plants a tree is not the one who will bene t from its shade.”
My rst yamadori experience
I am pleased to share my rst experience collecting yamadori with all the gratitude I have for the people who have allowed me to do it.
Travelling a great distance (11 hours) to meet people I hardly know (even if they are friends) for an activity I’ve never done (except for digging innocuous specimens in the ditch near my house) is, a er all, a great adventure.
At this time of year it is easy to recognize the larch trees with their bright, ochre needles that will soon fall. Small or large, intermingled in the sphagnum or on the surface of a rock, one can see them from afar on this at, open tundra. My excitement grows suddenly imagining this yamadori potential. My pace slows. To make sure I don’t miss any of them, I check them one by one, kneeling, my nose as low as possible to check potential nebari, to nd the perfect yamadori. But the crew lets me know that there are still kilometers to walk before we reach a rock outcrop with trees of better potential.
Using my walking stick for support, like a pilgrim for a day, I quickly learned that it was an indispensable tool for collecting. It serves as a probe to assess the depth of the soil around a coveted tree. If you feel rm rock around 18 inches from the tree, it is worth looking at more closely to consider its removal. If the soil continues beyond the 18-inch zone, the roots will probably be too deep or too thick to collect.
Everyone chooses an area to explore. A mentor brings to my intention a potential candidate on which to try my rst extraction. e process is simple, but everything should be done with caution: the tree analysis, bark protection, root pruning, root ball packaging, etc.
Besides the joy of being in the nature with friends, the satisfaction of having found one or more interesting trees, the well-being of physical exercise (one should admit that it is demanding to walk on the tundra) and the pleasure of having achieved something new, the rst steps are delectable and relatively easy. However, do not forget the e ort and time required to get the
56 | BCI | January/February/March 2018