Hi. I am new to bonsai, I've been wanting to try for years, and now I think that I have a good opportunity. In the woods where I am working this summer I found an excellent paper birch (B. papyrifera) specimen. The trunk is already 1.5 inches wide, but the tree is stunted and it's canopy is only about two feet high. The best part is that it is growing from a very rotten log, and I know that I would have no trouble extracting the roots intact for transplant. I live up in Canada where we can only expect another month or so before the threat of frosts begin, and the day length become severely abbreviated. Is it too late in the season to transplant this small tree into a pot for the winter? I would wait until next spring, but I will no longer be anywhere near this area. My idea would be to transplant it into a large pot and overwinter it and then begin bonsai work on it next spring. Could this work, or is it too late in the year for reasonable success with transplanting?
Also, are Northern deciduous trees like paper birch best kept in outside bonsai gardens, or is it common to keep them indoors? And, does anyone know of a bonsai book specific to the northern climate and species?
Also, are Northern deciduous trees like paper birch best kept in outside bonsai gardens, or is it common to keep them indoors? And, does anyone know of a bonsai book specific to the northern climate and species?