So, I found this amazing tree...

[Eric Group]

Might be hard to see the character of this guy from the pics, but it is an OLD Juniper,loads of dead wood twisting off in crazy directions... Literally looks like you could snatch it out of the ground, drop it into a large Bonsai tray, add a little lime Sulfer to the dead wood in a couple places and have something impressive without lifting the scissors or wiring a branch! I know it isn't really that easy... Just saying..


The only problem is it isn't on my land! The house where it is located is right next door to my daughter's day care and I have been tempted many times to go knock on the door and ask if we can make some kind of deal... Just wondering if ya'll think it is worth pushing the issue to try to get this tree? The best season to collect it in my area is coming in the next month or so and if I don't ask about it I will kick myself if I see it gone or dead one day!
(Sorry for the pictures, all I had was my iPhone)

 

[Smithy]

I would be in straight away and offer to replace it with a new tree or shrub. The amount of times i see things ripped out after thinking it would make a good bonsai.
You might find they don't like the thing and would like all the grass being smooth so you could turf it for them.

 

[Tona]

I would knock on the door. Offer to replace it with another bush as well.
Tona

 

[bonsaibp]

What are you waiting for. The only way to find out is to ask. You may be pleasantly surprised- they also may think you're nuts but you'll have to try to find out. I would not mention bonsai though- people get funny ideas sometimes about the value when you do.

 

[Poink88]

Awesome tree. Go ask now!!! Offer them something in return or buy it.

I have couple instances where I hesitated and as mentioned, the trees ended chopped after. No one to blame but myself.

 

[woodguy]

I drove by a beautiful pine everyday for years thinking I should ask about it as it was in a Lot that was for sale. This fall that lot was completely cleared by heavy machinery. Still regret not trying to get it.

Go for it! All they can say is no.

 

[Vance Wood]

Might be hard to see the character of this guy from the pics, but it is an OLD Juniper,loads of dead wood twisting off in crazy directions... Literally looks like you could snatch it out of the ground, drop it into a large Bonsai tray, add a little lime Sulfer to the dead wood in a couple places and have something impressive without lifting the scissors or wiring a branch! I know it isn't really that easy... Just saying..


The only problem is it isn't on my land! The house where it is located is right next door to my daughter's day care and I have been tempted many times to go knock on the door and ask if we can make some kind of deal... Just wondering if ya'll think it is worth pushing the issue to try to get this tree? The best season to collect it in my area is coming in the next month or so and if I don't ask about it I will kick myself if I see it gone or dead one day!
(Sorry for the pictures, all I had was my iPhone)

I wouldn't hesitate to ask. No is and answer that you can deal with but it is an answer. Always wondering about it and then, noticing one day, it had been removed and pushed to the side of the road for trash pickup is heart breaking.

 

[Eric Group]

Thanks for all the encouragement! I am glad to hear that you all see the same potential in this tree that I see! I don't want this to be a post like the one from IBC where the guy dug it up, got few good roots and the tree languished (anybody see any recent updated on that one? I will try to find a link..)

If the owner is kind enough to let me trade him for it, I will do my best to take it at the right time of year, get a huge root ball and care for it properly... Not picking on that guy whose tree seems to have died (as of the last pics i saw..) just saying I would hate to have a tree like this on my conscience if it doesn't make it! It looks like a very healthy tree and I see some surface roots radiating from it's base so I doubt it has a super deep root system...

Anyhow, thanks again for the encouragement everyone hopefully I will get the guts to go knock on their door soon... There wasn't a car in the drive the last few times I picked up my daughter or I might have done it already!

 

[bonsaibp]

You could always leave a nice little card offering to trade it for something else.

 

[Eric Group]

You could always leave a nice little card offering to trade it for something else.

That is not a bad idea!

Anybody here ever go up to a house you didn't know to enquire about a tree like this?

 

[Vance Wood]

Thanks for all the encouragement! I am glad to hear that you all see the same potential in this tree that I see! I don't want this to be a post like the one from IBC where the guy dug it up, got few good roots and the tree languished (anybody see any recent updated on that one? I will try to find a link..)

If the owner is kind enough to let me trade him for it, I will do my best to take it at the right time of year, get a huge root ball and care for it properly... Not picking on that guy whose tree seems to have died (as of the last pics i saw..) just saying I would hate to have a tree like this on my conscience if it doesn't make it! It looks like a very healthy tree and I see some surface roots radiating from it's base so I doubt it has a super deep root system...

Anyhow, thanks again for the encouragement everyone hopefully I will get the guts to go knock on their door soon... There wasn't a car in the drive the last few times I picked up my daughter or I might have done it already!

As long as you are confident in your abilities to dig this tree out and you think you know what to do with it you should be OK. Is this the first time you have dug up a tree of this size?

 

[Eric Group]

As long as you are confident in your abilities to dig this tree out and you think you know what to do with it you should be OK. Is this the first time you have dug up a tree of this size?

I have dug up and transplanted dozens of trees successfully, but this may be the largest... (Hard to tell until i get int here and see how wide the roots spread i guess) Obviously if it was on my land and I had all the time in the world, I would have dug a little trench months before the transplant to encourage more roots close to the trunk... But I don't think that is a reasonable request to ask from someone else! I will probably just have to do it all in one go. I have a couple large plastic tubs and I would probably move it to one of those but if it is too large, I will just wrap the root ball and move it to the ground in my own yard somewhere and progressively work the roots down over the course of a couple years... That is my plan anyway! Obviously a bit premature since I haven't even talked to the owner yet! Lol

Does that sound like a good plan?

 

[Vance Wood]

I have dug up and transplanted dozens of trees successfully, but this may be the largest... (Hard to tell until i get int here and see how wide the roots spread i guess) Obviously if it was on my land and I had all the time in the world, I would have dug a little trench months before the transplant to encourage more roots close to the trunk... But I don't think that is a reasonable request to ask from someone else! I will probably just have to do it all in one go. I have a couple large plastic tubs and I would probably move it to one of those but if it is too large, I will just wrap the root ball and move it to the ground in my own yard somewhere and progressively work the roots down over the course of a couple years... That is my plan anyway! Obviously a bit premature since I haven't even talked to the owner yet! Lol

Does that sound like a good plan?

Make sure you get help. Frankly I don't think you are going to have a problem with the exception of permission, that is still a question.

 

[jkd2572]

If it's too large for something you have you can always build a wooden box of any size you need.

 

[Eric Group]

If it's too large for something you have you can always build a wooden box of any size you need.

True... I have one I built in a corner of my garden now! It is really more of a "raised bed" than a grow box I guess, because I left the bottom open and filed it with soil, but I could use the same design and put a bottom in it easy enough if needed...

 

[Eric Group]

Make sure you get help. Frankly I don't think you are going to have a problem with the exception of permission, that is still a question.

Oh yeah, I plan on asking someone to help me if I get the permission... This tree is probably a little over my head honestly. I have been doing this for a while now, but never tried to tackle something that could be as cool as this tree could be... This is the kind of tree I could see someone (someone with much more skill than I) doing a demo with... Or shooting a video about it as they work on it...

Can't stop putting the cart before the horse.. I have this Wednesday off of work. My Fiancée normally picks up the baby, but maybe I could swing bye to see her that day at some point and drop a note off on the guy's door or something. I liked that suggestion! Seems less pushy... I could just kind of say that I thought it was an interesting tree, that I like old odd looking stuff like that and I'd be interested in offering him a trade for a tree/ shrub/ flower bed of his choice!

Well... It is something I just have to do now! I have been thinking about it for months and it is past time. I will try to put some updates here if I have any!

 

[Neli]

It will be much better if you see them in person, and smile a lot.
Just dont leave notes with smiley faces...if you know what I mean.

 

[Vance Wood]

It will be much better if you see them in person, and smile a lot.
Just dont leave notes with smiley faces...if you know what I mean.

I agree, don't start giving the guy something to think about concerning the value of the tree. Just be straight forward about it. Tell him you grow bonsai trees and that you like the tree for a project you are working on and wonder if he would be willing to trade it for a new tree that is not so battered, or a bottle of scotch or a sum of money.

 

[pwk5017]

Yep, screw the note. Its too passive, and it puts the ball in this other guy's court. Now you are relying on him to reach back out to you to give you permission, or deny you permission? I would do it in person, and negotiate as needed. So you drop off the note. He reads it, and is like "ummm, what the h?". At that moment, you lost him. Its over. Now, scenario #2, you knock on his door, give him your spheel, he still says, "what the h?", but now you are able to go through your list of replacement scenarios/payment. All sales pitches are better done in person.

This is an easy deal. From the pics, it looks like this guy has a big ol' juniper right in the middle of his yard. It has absolutely no connectivity to any landscape planting. Its growing on an island in a sea of grass. I bet he wants it gone, and I bet he wants it gone more if there is a crisp $50 involved. If you wrap this whole deal up and it costs you $25-75 total, AND the plant survives, then it was a sweet steal for you. If you kill it, then it was a loss, but its a gamble that is worth the risk in my opinion. I cant tell how large the juniper is, but compare it to the prices of other collected junipers for sale. $75 is nothing compared to them.

 

[fore]

That is not a bad idea!

Anybody here ever go up to a house you didn't know to enquire about a tree like this?

I've left 2 notes at peoples houses/condo's. Unfort., no replies. But like stated, it never hurts to ask

I too would love to see an update of that guys juniper too Eric. I also think it's prob. dead.