How many laws are you breaking in bonsai?

[BillsBayou]

Back in 1996, I went on my first swamp dig. To get to the better areas of the swamp, we walked along the only high ground in the area: Railroad tracks. During a visit to New Orleans, a noted bonsai expert pointed out that the application of undiluted lime sulfur is not in line with the instructions on the bottle and is therefore a violation of federal laws. I got to thinking, how many laws do we break in bonsai?

So lets compile a list of laws we know we're breaking. Oh. I'm sorry. What I mean to say is, let's compile a list of laws broken by "some other guy we know who does this but not me".

Here's some laws which may or may not be broken by a guy I may or may not know:
Trespassing: If there are no "Posted" signs and no fences and it's owned by the state, is it there for anyone to use?
Lime sulfur: As mentioned above
Protected species: Do we know the list of protected species in our state?
Railroad Tracks: The best path I know through the swamps. However, it's against the law to use them as sidewalks.
Digging on "Parish Land": Here in Metairie, Louisiana, the space of land between the sidewalk and the street is owned by Jefferson Parish (county equivalent in this state). The land must be maintained by the homeowner. I tried, I mean a guy I know tried, to buy a tree from a homeowner who said that even though she planted the tree there herself, that because it was on "Parish Land" she couldn't sell it. Hmmmm...
Patented Plants: Want to buy a "*******" boxwood? I know a guy who will sell you some cuttings even though the patent on the species is owned by "*********" Nursery company and thus we're prohibited from propagating it.

When I lived in the Coachella Valley of California, I was told that homeowners had to be careful about what trees they selected for their property. Because once they planted the tree, they would need to go to the county to get permission to remove the tree. I'd like to know more about this one.

Fess up. What laws do you know are being broken in the name of bonsai?

[mboatman]

I have been collecting nice thicker trunked eastern red cedars inside a state park. Mind you, it is along the road where for years they have been mowed over but evidently they keep back budding therefore developing into more of a spreading shape instead of the classic narrow upright shape. A park officer stopped once to see what i was doing and i explained him what i do and why these trees. All he asked was for me to fill in the holes and even thanked me for" eradicating" a weedtree.

[BillsBayou]

Mitch, there a similar weed trees growing along the RR tracks in my area. One is a beautiful spreading bald cypress. It's mowed by some big machine which keeps the banks of the tracks clear of trees. Unlike trees by the road, these are embedded in the RR tracks embankment. Definitely off limits.

The old saw "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" does not apply to collecting.

However, there is a pair of beautiful black pines, stunted in an abandoned hedge, which are calling to me. They're the target of several members, but we can't get permission to dig from the property manager. I'd rather not introduce myself to the local constabulary, so I'll keep trying the "Permission" route.

[pauline]

My favorite law to break in bonsai are the "bonsai rules" . If we do not break the original design rules we learned when we started bonsai , our trees would be very boring indeed. Potters are coming up with new and original designs that help create new images for bonsai.
As to the type of laws the forum question poses, I certainly use some chemicals in ways not listed on the labels. I have to admit that I have a real problem with collecting from areas where the trees should be left for all to enjoy. There are so many other places to collect....land being developed, old landscaping, public lands where collecting is permitted by request, farmers land who allow and even encourage removal of cow pruned trees.
I hope that people who are learning to collect, learn how to collect so that the trees survive the process. I also hope that they do not become greedy and collect more than they can handle. I have seen too many bone yards of collected material that did not survive. That is a real crime.
Pauline

[centaura]

I find that the biggest law that I'm breaking is a mental one imposed by the locality where I live. "Thou must not leave thy town for anything" I travel two hours, in multiple different directions, on a regular basis for bonsai, and I can honestly say that there is not a single person I know in my town who's okay with that. I'll even get told by folks at my destination that I need to stop. Lesson - ignore what "everyone else is doing/saying" and do what makes you happy. Get out and do what it takes to learn about bonsai!

-Cat

[BillsBayou]

Cat,

I'm not sure what you're talking about here. Do you travel 2 hours to a bonsai dealer when you have bonsai dealers in your town? If so, then your local dealer needs to find out why you're leaving town and address the deficiencies in his/her business. Then again, there's always something different from one nursery to the next.

Are you harvesting bonsai 2 hours away? Or just hitting up generic gardening centers?

I say the bonsai is ALWAYS greener on the other side of the fence. Go for it.

******************************************************

Here's another law some are breaking: Bread trays, cola trays, plastic commercial trays of any sort; all state clearly "WARNING! Unauthorized use by anyone other than the owner is a criminal offense." These bread trays are durable, have lattice bottoms, and make hauling stuff in and out of greenhouses a breeze! Those cola trays are fitted with open bottoms that hold 2-liter bottles and small plastic garden pots. What a coincidence! I would hope that whoever is using these trays is not a thief, rather someone who scrounges them off of curbs when the actual theif is throwing them away.

[centaura]

Cat,
I'm not sure what you're talking about here.

Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to be obscure. There are no bonsai clubs in my town, so I travel two hours to attend club meetings at various different groups, or to see bonsai shows, etc. There is a small study group that's formed up locally, and I try to support them when I can, but had already gotten myself established with some larger, farther away clubs before they started up.

I live in a town where driving ten minutes to go to the one mall is considered a major road trip that must be planned in a advance, and driving anywhere farther than 20 minutes away from your home (for whatever reason) is treated like a crime. When the thread starter asked about "laws we were breaking", it just made me think of the unwritten "you must never travel" law that I face everyday from my co-workers, acquaintances, etc. In my mind, there was a connection between the implied theme of "what extremes do you take for bonsai". I don't let them stop me from traveling, but being told by so many people, for so many years, that I'm wrong - it makes you start to feel like what you're doing is against the law since there is such un-ending opposition to it.
But, it was probably too obscure a train of thought to post. My apologies.

-Cat
-Cat

[BillsBayou]

Cat, I bet the elders of your town refer to you as wanton, upstart, gadabout, scandalous, or the like. I've always said that if you're calling attention to yourself in traffic, you're breaking the law. Thus, if you call attention to yourself in public, you're breaking social virtues. Shame on you.

I say you continue with your wanderlust. Explain it to the local study group as cross-pollination of techniques. They're sure to come around and accept your worldly knowledge; even if it is only from 2 hours away.

[centaura]

Cat, I bet the elders of your town refer to you as wanton, upstart, gadabout, scandalous, or the like.

I do drive them nuts; I think its a talent. I prefer "incorrigible", though mostly I'm just not a home to be called anything!

-Cat

[bschanding]

I'm not comfortable removing anything from a designated natural area like a park. The only time I did this was when an area was slotted to be cleared out anyway.

I do enjoy noticing a tree in vacant lots. I've dug a couple elms up that way, but with little success. I've often wondered if anyone would care if I dug up trees/shrubs from all those dead shopping areas (e.g. Winn-Dixie, strip malls, etc.). I guess it is illegal (somebody owns these blighted spaces). It's such a depressing sight--remnants of yet another box store or grocery that is no more--and the plants just keep on going in spite of it. Problem is most of their landscaping choices aren't very common for bonsai.