Is it dead?

Hi guys, today I'd like to show you the oldest tree of mine, a maple which is like 15 years old. Similarly to my other trees this one also was at my mother's garden, kept in a very large container. But I think that it wasn't watered properly during last season and it seems it might not have made it through the winter. I repotted it during the spring together with my other trees but it has not sprout any leaves so far, so I am starting to think it might be dead. What do you think, is it really gone or is there any hope?

scratch the bark away and see if there is any green underneath...

if not, try other places... like down low on the trunk...
if branch ends are dead, but its alive further down, then cut back to the live part...

and hope.

I did as you suggested and I have found nothing, no green

So I thought it was dead and I wanted to throw it away. But when I picked it from the pot and I looked at the bottom, I found several white root tips which definitely grew only this year, they were fresh. So does it still have a hope? I put it back into the pot and I'll give it a chance to recover, we'll see if it gets any better.

If you have the ability to slip it out of the pot and plant it in the yard, without disturbing the roots much, it may have a better chance of recovery.

John Quinn wrote:If you have the ability to slip it out of the pot and plant it in the yard, without disturbing the roots much, it may have a better chance of recovery.

I wish I had but I am very limited in terms of free soil, unfortunately. I will have to hope that it wins its race for life in the pot.

From the buds, I suspect this is/was Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore): don't regret it, they don't make good bonsai (unless you're bonasi-savvy enough to be the first one to make a good bonsai out of it!)

Keep the very nice pot, and use it for another tree. even an Acer platanoides (Norway maple) would be better, and I'm sure that where you live there are plenty of other deciduous that are more suitable for bonsai. Acer campestre, hornbeam, etc.

AlainK wrote:From the buds, I suspect this is/was Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore): don't regret it, they don't make good bonsai (unless you're bonasi-savvy enough to be the first one to make a good bonsai out of it!)

Keep the very nice pot, and use it for another tree. even an Acer platanoides (Norway maple) would be better, and I'm sure that where you live there are plenty of other deciduous that are more suitable for bonsai. Acer campestre, hornbeam, etc.

Alain, I know you don't mean it like that but this is starting to get frustrating So far it looks like I've chosen only the wrong species for my bonsai adventures Hopefully I will be at least able to learn something on these trees

At this moment I'm gonna leave it where it is, maybe it will survive, maybe not, I will go check some nurseries around and find some suitable tree to train to a bonsai