Blackbrush Collection Question

Horticulture
1

https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/colram/all.html

I’ve been playing with collecting a native species blackbrush. This is native to the Mojave Desert, and from the description in the link (ctrl + f then type roots to find where I read) it looks like the perfect plant to collect due to roots being mostly compact and under the plant within a foot down.

My question is when should I collect it? It mentions that it is drought deciduous and evergreen:

Blackbrush is evergreen, though it may lose substantial leaf area during the dry summer season. Blackbrush is drought-deciduous, avoiding water stress by becoming temporarily dormant and shedding older leaves as stress intensifies during the dry season. After leaf drop, it enters a long summer dormancy.

I wasn’t sure if that meant that early spring collection becomes a sub-optimal time to collect.

Any info would be awesome :wink: Thanks ya’ll

2

Looking at information regarding the species, it appears to be an invasive species that extends from Texas all the way to Arizona. That being said, it is also reportedly evergreen, and is said to be drought tolerant. In my mind it is likely a very hardy and fast-growing species. It appears in a diverse range of differing habitats. I feel that the end of spring would likely be a good time to collect. This would be after danger of frost and would allow for some accumulation of resources after the spring push of foilage has hardened. This would allow the tree to reaccumulate resources to repair and grow new roots prior to summer. At least that’s my train of thought. I have no actual experience with this species… so take it with a grain of salt.
Happy Bonsai Hunting and Good Luck!

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