Bonsai Hunting In Oriental Mindoro Philippines

I have always wished to hunt bonsai material from the wild.  Since the start of my bonsai journey, I have always relied on what’s around. For example, I would ask our neighbor to give me some cuttings of a big ficus tree in front of their house. 

Today, I am very lucky to have been invited to join a small team of Bonsai enthusiasts from Socorro, Oriental Mindoro.  These guys have been in the hobby for a while and have their own masterpieces displayed in their respective home garden.  

Out target for this hunt were mainly Kalyos (Streblus Asper).  We hunt in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.  It is at least 2 hours away from Pinamalayan without traffic.  Off we go with our digging tools.  We brought us some food for lunch and some extra clothes.  We arrived half past 9AM.  After securing a permission from the land owner, we begin the hunt.  We aren’t far from where we left our service vehicle when we spotted the first Kalyos.  It was literally just around the corner yet I though it was so rare since the beginning.  I still could not believe that I am in the middle of so many bonsai materials. One can’t get enough of it. 

So, just like the other hunters, I began looking for my own piece of cake. It took us almost 5 hours of look, dig, look, dig, and painful job just to get our desired materials.

I took home a lot of materials , I think they were about 10 pieces but this one is my favorite.  It is a cluster/raft/forest whatever you call it.  It simply depicts that small mountain full of trees but the mountain itself is part of a big old tree. 

We plan to hunt at least once every 3 months.