LAST PICTURES OF MY MUGO PINE THE "SWAN".

Have seen her pictures and story on your blog, Hans.
Could never imagine I would see the above posted pictures of the swan's end....
Keep up with the rest of your treasured trees and take care of yourself!

So sorry mate...

Hi Hans

Unfortunately, it sometimes happens. I am sorry.

Pavel

Hans, i know you are strong and will recover this loss, so, how about looking forward and using the beautiful trunk for a "tanuki".

It makes my losses this year seem insignificant by comparison, Hans. What beautiful images she makes though, even in death. It's a pity you can't find a way to preserve her exactly as she is now (other than in a photo). She would make a fine and interesting exhibit at any show.

Tollster wrote:Hans, your passion for bonsai has never been in doubt, but your openess is to be commended.
I feel your loss.
Next time you are in the UK get TT to let me know. I have something for you.
In spirit!
Steve Tolley

Hi Steve,
thanks for your kind words! And as soon as I am able to travel again, I will make planes to stay at Dan the man's place for some R&R. I will let you know when and if that happens. You made me curious now?!
Cheers Steve!
Hans.

Thanks Guy's for your kind words! I am glad that I had this opportunity to show her for the last time to my Bonsai friends around the world, I think she deserved that.
Yesterday I took her out of the pot and checked all the roots for signs of root rot or bugs. There were no signs of both! So what happened to this and my other 600+ years old Mugo Uncinata that stood next to her and also did around the same time as she did? They stood on the same place, were the had grown happily for the last 3 seasons. It was not a particularly warm Summer or cold winter eather?! So nothing was different from other years! And I am proud to say that I hardly ever lost any of my trees before these two died. And I had never had much trouble with or lost any more or less established Mugo or sylvestris Pines! And all my other Pines are doing just fine!
So I have come to the simple conclusion that the reason why the died is that I repotted them for the very first time at the end of August instead of in the beginning of the growing season, just before their buds start to swell, like I always did up to this point!
They were just weakened by this late repotting and the just did not grow any new roots! And later when the next growing season was starting, the buds started to swell a little and than stopt growing completely!
So My conclusion is, that I will never take a change again on repotting any of my trees in August! Because one Pine dying is possible, but two healthy trees dying in the same way after a late repotting, cant be a coincidence in my opinion!

If you guy's dont mind and if the weather allows it, I will make some pictures off the other old Pine that died and post them here as a tribute to it's lost beauty!
Takes again for listening!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Dear Hans,

It is with mixed reactions that I read your post. Mixed because of the apparent loss of such a beautiful tree and the humility with which you have admitted your mistake. You are such an inspiration because of your beautiful trees and yet to say you shouldn't have done this takes great courage. My sincere and heartfelt condolences for the loss of the tree and my complements for your humility and courage. Here is my tribute for your departed tree

SWANSONG FOR A SWAN

She lay still on the calm waters
Her wings folded and her eyes closed
As green turned into amber
Tears swelled in our eyes
As her spirit soared to a new home
We see the things she’s left behind
The perfection of her frail frame
And the memories of the years gone by

Hi Hans,

It takes lots of courage to expose our failures to the public. It takes even more courage to admit our (possible??the repotting time) mistakes.
Nothing can bring back these trees unfortunately, but at least you can be grateful that you had the opportunity to work on them and lift them to an exhibition-ready state. MOst of us are just dreaming (or working very hard) trying to achieve that.
I have lost a myrtle (15 cm base diametre) this summer which was styled and even though the other 4 that sit right next to this one are thriving, this one just deteriorated and died on me.....Sometimes you can't really understand why....

As the advertisement of a well known whiskey says: Keep Walking

Stavros

Ravi Kiran wrote:Dear Hans,

It is with mixed reactions that I read your post. Mixed because of the apparent loss of such a beautiful tree and the humility with which you have admitted your mistake. You are such an inspiration because of your beautiful trees and yet to say you shouldn't have done this takes great courage. My sincere and heartfelt condolences for the loss of the tree and my complements for your humility and courage. Here is my tribute for your departed tree

SWANSONG FOR A SWAN

She lay still on the calm waters
Her wings folded and her eyes closed
As green turned into amber
Tears swelled in our eyes
As her spirit soared to a new home
We see the things she’s left behind
The perfection of her frail frame
And the memories of the years gone by

Dear Ravi,
thank you so very much for that beautiful poem! I will place it underneed these last picture when I post them on to my website.
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

stavros wrote:Hi Hans,

It takes lots of courage to expose our failures to the public. It takes even more courage to admit our (possible??the repotting time) mistakes.
Nothing can bring back these trees unfortunately, but at least you can be grateful that you had the opportunity to work on them and lift them to an exhibition-ready state. MOst of us are just dreaming (or working very hard) trying to achieve that.
I have lost a myrtle (15 cm base diametre) this summer which was styled and even though the other 4 that sit right next to this one are thriving, this one just deteriorated and died on me.....Sometimes you can't really understand why....

As the advertisement of a well known whiskey says: Keep Walking

Stavros

It is never easy to lose a tree that you worked with for a long time. Especially if it is your best one! But it shows just how fragile these old trees realy are when you take them out of there own habitat!
But I am glad that I had the change to style her and enjoy her beauty for such a long time though!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hans van Meer. wrote:Hi everybody,
a while back I wrote on my Bonsai blog about the lost off two of my best, almost show ready very old Mugo Pines ( When your art dies on you!). Well a week after I posted it, my blog and all the other AoB blogs disappeared for a long time into tin air, to reappear a week ago, but with out all my pictures and drawings. I just checked again and you know what, my blog is vanished again, so now I am not able to link you to that post! SIGH!!
Well any way, I have waited as long as possible, to avoid the dreaded task of removing the dead Pine named the "Swan" from her pot. But yesterday was planed to be the day to remove the two dead Pines from my small garden! Yesterday also was one of the first Sunny mornings this mount and when I approached the bench in the back of my garden on witch both trees stand, the soft morning Sun rays just reached the dead foliage of the "Swan" making it almost glow like dark amber! She was still so beautiful and I fell overwhelmed with the feeling that it is such a shame that she and I never had the change to show the world just how special she had become!
So I cleaned the pot and oiled it for her. Lifted her to the other side of my garden on to a table, should not have don that with my back problems, and waited and hoped that the sky's would still be clear when the sun would hit that only spot were I have room enough to take photo's. Well the light was just perfect for one final photo shoot of my beloved "Swan".
And they turned out just stunning! So that made me wanted to show them to you and share this sad side of being a Bonsai artist as well with my friends here on IBC!
I hope you enjoy these last shots of my "Swan"?!

















Bonsai is so much more than just Art to me. Bonsai is very very personal to me! It is not one off my better years. She will be missed!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hi Hans - I feel with you Hans - What a beautiful tree and what a pity it died. I'm so sorry for your lost. Love Lone

G'day Hans...

Your loss, how tragic. But in the wake of tragedy...what a marvelous last photo...and, such a touching story you have told us. This followed by your courageous announcement to the world about what the cause was...

Best to you Hans... :-)

Pat

Hi Hans
I have been looking at the photos of your departed tree more than one time, and every time it gives me a lump in my throat.
How sad.

Kind regards Yvonne

Lone wrote:

Hi Hans - I feel with you Hans - What a beautiful tree and what a pity it died. I'm so sorry for your lost. Love Lone

Thanks Lone!
Love right back at you!
Hans van Meer.

Yvonne Graubaek wrote:Hi Hans
I have been looking at the photos of your departed tree more than one time, and every time it gives me a lump in my throat.
How sad.

Kind regards Yvonne

Thanks Yvonne!
I know I had the same thing every time I saw her standing in my garden. She was hard to avoid, it is a very small garden! So I am actually a bit relieved that she is out of her pot and in a other spot in my garden now. It feels like some sort of disconnecting?! Strange, but true.
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hi Hans... There are a few great spirits out there that keep bonsai exciting for many. I see Steve Tolley (writing recently on this thread) & you... and think of bonsai in an extraordinary historical period with international delight.

Failure is something we all experience, yet from this we learn and progress. To loose any tree is heartbreaking but to loose one of such magnificence would make many of us throw in the towel. The fact that Hans is big enough to put out this sad tale is testament to his passion as an artist. Show us your failures

Hi everybody,
well it has been raining most off the time, so I was not able to take any good pictured of the second old Pine that died in the same way as the "Swan". This Pinus Uncinata, of more than 600 years old, was also repotted in late August last year!
Below: In 2001, I drove all the way to Switzerland to bey this amazing tree. This is the first picture of this old Pine in my garden.



But after a few months waiting in vain for any growth and because of the terrible soil that was used it was impossible to normally water the tree, I knew I had to act. So I started to carefully remove the top layer of the quicksand like soil by hand, to check if there were any root problems. My worse nightmare came trough, when I could not find any roots in the top layer. Or in the middle and not even at the bottom! All roots were simply sawed and cut off by the …… that collected it! It was no wonder that the tree was not growing at all!
I repotted the tree in a very loos soil mixture of large grained Akadama, Kiryu, and Bims. I placed it in a well protected and rain free spot of my garden and was over the moon when after just a few weeks the tree started to show signs of growth again in its foliage. That mend that something was starting to work under the ground as well! Well this old survivor just kept on growing and growing.
Below: August 2009. And so during this last fatal repotting it showed me a amazing compact pot feeling sets of healthy roots! There were even hundreds off these fine roots growing from were the trunk/live line touched the ground! Amazing!



Below: Nothing short of a miracle! This many roots out of nowhere!



Below: O happy days!



Below: In the background you can see the freshly repotted "Swan" in frond of my little photo aria in the back of my garden.



Below: This is one of my first virts ever. It is one off a couple that I made of how I envisioned the future design of this tree. I'm sure it could become a great Bonsai!



Below: This was taken a few weeks ago. It was almost there (above)!



It was a few years further away from it's debut than the "Swan" was, but it had come fare from a tree with no roots or future. It's a shame that it did not have a future after all! Such a shame!

I wanted to share this old Pine as well with you. He desurves it so!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hi Hans,I feel my self very privileged that I have seen this tree's in real life in all there beauty.
I honestly never seen bonsai so good as this two tree's with such a elegance and very amazing old ancient deadwood on it,thank you Hans for sharing these tree's and the stories behind this tree's with us on the forum.
It's a great loss for the bonsai-world I think,that nobody can see this masterpieces anymore
Greetings Ed

A catastrophic year you have had Hans. You have my deepest sympathy and may future years be more fruitful and positive.

Yes, they will be!!!

There is always an advantage if we all learn lessons out of our own failures....

Sorry to hear these sad stories. We all experience losses of bonsai, and do not always know why they died. I lost several smaller pines planted into a forest group this winter. They acted like one of yours Hans. Showing good new growth in spring, and then slowly decayed and died during early summer.
I am surer of why though. The year before, in the winter 2008-09. I moved from my house, and was without a place to stay with my trees for more than three months. In the middle of winter time I had to let my trees be outside at a rented place, and a few of them had not any protection. I am pretty sure they dried out in the frosty winds that winter and paid the prize this spring and heavy winter last year.
Fortunately all other bonsai coped well, but the pines were probably too weak because they were transplanted the year before they were stressed heavily.
I hope you will find some good replacements for these beautiful trees Hans. I know you will, because you work hard and dedicated with your bonsai. Best of luck.

Regards
Morten Albek

Hi Hans, so sorry for your losses.

I've followed your blogs for a long time with great admiration. Thankyou for your remarkable bravery and strength of character to show these pictures. You've shown your an artist without ego and reminded us all that Bonsai begins and ends primarily with the tree, we only facilitate, this is a fundamental we should'nt forget.

Looking forward to your future creations!

I cry with you for the loss of these two special gifts from Mother Nature...
Mom