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Sometimes the greatest payoffs come only with a lot of patience, and a little struggle. It is finally time to collect a Japanese holly, Ilex cranata, that I have been watching for nearly two years now.

When I first found this plant hidden in a bramble, it was too late in the year to collect it or start an air layer, but I decided quickly that both of these approaches were in the cards. I mean, look at it! It’s like two bonsai on each end of a stick!

In the early spring of 2017, after many months of waiting, I started an air layer to claim the upper section of the plant. You can read about that process in this post on Bonsai Iterate, and you can also read the follow up. (I’m happy to report the air layer is doing well this spring!)

Now, after another year of waiting and a very cold spring that prolonged my suffering, it is finally time to collect the base of the plant.

With a little context, I hope you will appreciate just a fraction of the challenge this collection posed. I am here to tell you, removing an air layer with a saw and carrying it home was a snap compared to getting the parent plant with a sizable rootball removed and back to the garden.

This is a view from the path that gets me close to the site, and while it may be hard to appreciate in the photo, everything in front of you is downhill. And that dark green patch is not a collection of low greenery. No! Those are trees and briars growing out of a steep ravine that leads down toward the water, and that is where my prize hides.

The plant is surrounded by briars and scrub brush that has only been partially cleared as a result of my visits over the past couple of years.

My favorite of the surrounding plants is the abundant greenbriar that created walls of thorns all around, covered the ground, and was even tangled in the branches of the plant I am collecting.

Looks fun, right! This dig involved as much cutting away and removing surrounding vegetation as it did working to remove the holly itself.

Prior to this, I had been able to work from one side, but digging really requires some space all the way around — enough space to stand and manipulate a shovel to dig a ditch like the one below.

The ditch, as opposed to a simple cut with the spade, allows you a bit more room to then cut under and cut the plant free.

Once I could tip it up, I used a large root hook to loosen and remove as much soil as I could. After all, I had to carry this thing back up the hill!

In the next image, below, you can see that the long, straight trunk is still attached. (The air layer was originally at the top of this.) I knew I wanted to remove this, but it served nicely as a handle when I had to lift and carry the tree. Despite my best efforts to remove heavy soil, it still weighed a good hundred pounds.

Nevertheless, I got it up to the path where I could use a wheel barrow to get me the rest of the way. Once home, I cleaned more soil from the roots, got it into a large training box, and removed that straight trunk.

I also removed some long extension growth from last year, and sealed a few of the larger cuts with cut paste.

And now, more patience. If I am wise, I won’t do anything but water and feed it for two years. I look forward to updating you then.