Page 58 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2018Q1

The sanitized one-year-old seedlings, grown espe-
cially for reforestation, came from a nursery, assuring
us of quality plants. Each seedling was identified 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.
This is the first 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
Top; Leon Leblanc, dressed plants a tree is not the one who will benefit from its
in the typical Canadian shade.”
carotté shirt, is occupied with
an extraction while Daniel
Lafortune bows to show My first yamadori experience
Jacinthe a better view of his I am pleased to share my first experience collecting
collected yamadori, a stocky yamadori with all the gratitude I have for the people
Picea mariana. who have allowed me to do it.
Bottom; To find the perfect Travelling a great distance (11 hours) to meet
yamadori, Jacinthe kneels with
her nose as low as possible to people I hardly know (even if they are friends) for an
check the potential nebari. activity I’ve never done (except for digging innocuous
specimens in the ditch near my house) is, after all, a
great adventure.
At this time of year it is easy to recognize the larch
My motivation North Shore. This region along the northern coast of trees with their bright, ochre needles that will soon
for this project the Gulf of St. Lawrence is part of a geological area fall. Small or large, intermingled in the sphagnum or
called Allochthon, formed by accretion of sediments on the surface of a rock, one can see them from afar on
was mostly the 900 to 1200 million years ago and its soil is generally this flat, open tundra. My excitement grows suddenly

satisfaction alkaline. According to the Meteorological Service of imagining this yamadori potential. My pace slows. To
Canada, from spring to fall, the land warms up before make sure I don’t miss any of them, I check them one
of making a the water and the easterly offshore winds, that blow by one, kneeling, my nose as low as possible to check
concrete gesture towards the land during the day, have a cooling ef- potential nebari, to find the perfect yamadori. But
fect. The average maximum temperature is 19.6°C in the crew lets me know that there are still kilometers
for the future of July and the average minimum temperature is 11°C. to walk before we reach a rock outcrop with trees of
bonsai in Quebec In winter, the winds are mainly from the north, cool- better potential.
ing the air, while the highest levels of sunshine occur
Using my walking stick for support, like a pilgrim
and my curiosity from December to February. Average temperature in for a day, I quickly learned that it was an indispensable
to see the two January are maximum –9.8°C and minimum –21°C. tool for collecting. It serves as a probe to assess the
Statistics indicate that it rains or snows every other day depth of the soil around a coveted tree. If you feel
opposite stages in this region, the average relative humidity is 67% and firm rock around 18 inches from the tree, it is worth

in the life of a 46% of the time, it is cloudless. The wind is omnipres- looking at more closely to consider its removal. If the
soil continues beyond the 18-inch zone, the roots will
ent reaching speeds of 161 km/hr. Under these hos-
tree that will tile conditions coniferous species such as larch (Larix probably be too deep or too thick to collect.
become a bonsai, laricina), jack pine (Pinus banksiana), black spruce Everyone chooses an area to explore. A mentor
(Picea mariana) and juniper (Juniperus communis) brings to my intention a potential candidate on which
that is, planting are often stocky, dwarfed and stunted. The trees show to try my first extraction. The process is simple, but
a seedling in age-related characteristics in the nebari and the bark everything should be done with caution: the tree
with natural jin, shari and sabamiki. In short, it is an analysis, bark protection, root pruning, root ball
nature and unfriendly environment that creates very interesting packaging, etc.
Besides the joy of being in the nature with friends,
collecting a subjects for bonsai. the satisfaction of having found one or more interesting
The species chosen for this study is larch, a decidu-
tree worked on ous coniferous tree which is often used for refores- trees, the well-being of physical exercise (one should

by nature for tation in Quebec because it is manageable and less admit that it is demanding to walk on the tundra) and
expensive than hardwood. Larch prefer moist, light the pleasure of having achieved something new, the
decades. soils. It likes to grow in peat bogs and has good resis- first steps are delectable and relatively easy. However,
tance to cold temperatures and various diseases. do not forget the effort and time required to get the

56 | BCI | January/February/March 2018