Private Tour – Arnold Arboretum Bonsai Collection
This year we were given the unique opportunity for a private tour of the Arnold Arboretum led by Chris Copeland. The tour was extremely informative and covered a wide variety of important topics. A few of the highlights were:
Much of the pest control at the arboretum is handled through the use of introducing insects which eat the damaging varieties of insects. Specifically, mites are used to control spider mites.
The tour of the winter storage area was very popular. Chris explained where the trees are stored (essentially a bunker), and the conditions which the trees are kept under. Due to the age and value of the trees on-site, the safest path is taken, where trees are kept just slightly above freezing for the entire winter.
Many of the trees in the arboretum’s collection were started as bonsai in the early 1700’s. This makes these trees some of the oldest bonsai in the world. The quality and age of these trees are quite something to behold.
