Stalking the Wild Indoor Bonsai Tree

I generally collect specimens for indoor bonsai trees from plant nurseries, bonsai nurseries, tree farms...and  sometimes even, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc...But when I get to feeling really creative and wanting something  new and different, I take a little road trip and venture out into the wilds. The beautiful thing about that is that  it can be as close as a block or two from my house, or hundreds of miles away.    I usually load up a shovel, sharp shooter, a couple 5 gallon buckets, a machete, some lunch and some drinking  water and head on out...to wherever my senses take me. Sometimes out into public forests, or the swamps and bayous  of Southeast Texas; looking for a miniature tree that started out as a poor little sapling growing at the base of a  larger tree. One that has scrapped and fought for every beam of sunlight, every drop of rain, and every morsel of  nourishment from Mother Earth. A precious little tree for me to take home and shape, cultivate, and nourish into an  indoor bonsai tree.    At first, I pot the new tree and water the soil with some root growth hormone to help get the root system  established. I usually leave them out on my potting table in the shade to let them get used to their new  environment. After they seem to have gotten over the shock of transplanting, I bring them in to a shelf on a window  sill to get their sunlight and monitor their progress. I make sure all of my indoor bonsai trees are watered and  fertilized regularly to keep them healthy. Especially when the central heating or air conditioning is in use. Positively Truman