I've got the Bonsai Blues.

Yup. It's true. I'm feeling blue about my bonsai.

It was a tough winter. My hothouse heaters died on the coldest night of year. As a result I lost some of my best trees. Others are not lost, but where seriously weakened.

My bougy has not flowered and I don't expect it to. I lost my largest buttonwood. It was a cascade measuring at around 24".

Then, I don 't know, I kind of got sick of it all. I've lost some others and I don't know if it's neglect or as a result of the cold. I've been watering them, but not much else. I just started getting to a point where I'm tending to them again.

I know it's a crime, especially since I've put so much time, money and effort into some of these. Have any of you ever felt like that, like maybe it's going to be an off year?

Ed

Ed

This cold and unpredictable winter got to me also, plus as the weather got better in March I went to Israel for two weeks and came back with a sinus infection and bronchitis. I have started to do a little work on my trees, but not enough. I too lost a buttonwood, but my bougies are flowering.

If you feel like a field trip come on over, you could visit my place and maybe one of my friends nearby.

It is always sad and can be a huge setback when we lose trees. I have years when I'm full on with bonsai and other years less so. I think self doubt is quite a healthy thing to suffer, as it helps in reflection. You wouldn't appreciate the good times so much without the bad times.

Hi! all!

please good health for billy,...

And yeah,...blues,.....just ware it out....!
It is a shame,...losing tree's...it give's us respect for what we have and tent to keep,...no matter what!

i have lost trees cause of blues was there,...made the good one's survive though,... shifting life i suppose...

keep up the good work!

grtzz machiel from the Netherlands where whether is insane....at 20:00 hours 22 degrees??????? we lose spring somewhere????

Sorry to hear Ed. That really sucks... no other way to put it. I'm going through some issues of my own. One of my best and oldest maples (just posted this a few days ago) got hit pretty hard by the nasty and unrelenting winter we've had up here in the North East. Hang in there and don't let go! If it makes you feel somewhat better, you're NOT alone on this one

Hey, I feel for you.
Im currently worried about my trees too. My blackthorn havent started yet. The tree I like the most havent gotten a single swollen bud yet. None of my trees have started except my spruce. Ive had my share of just wanting to give the trees away this year, but if they grow out this summer I think that will do the trick.
Feels like a bit too much work, carrying the trees in and out of the house at winter an nights, and shading, watering several times a day, if they just die on you. I guess you will always get some hard setbacks, like breaking a finger when your a guitarist. But when its back in business, you'll see the joy again. So dont quit on us just yet

Storm

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:Ed
If you feel like a field trip come on over, you could visit my place and maybe one of my friends nearby.

Thanks for the offer Billy. If I wasn't so swamped with other responsibilities, I'd be over right away. I'll be sure to drop you a line if I head to your part of town.

Hi

Not to start a blues competition, my bonsai blues occured some 18 years ago...because I had to go study, gave my first trees away, kept a few good ones and eventually had them stolen. I just let go of bonsaiing from then on. I never lost my fascination, though. But I kind of lost the spirit - and a proper yard for bonsai...until last year, when I got into bonsaiing again. Spirit is back, bonsai in europe is bigger than ever and new trees can still be found in the most odd places. I am starting a new collection realizing that my trees will never reach top class - in my lifetime, if at all But, if top class trees is a common goal, the process of reaching for that goal is always allready there, present in your work - no matter where you start, right

best of blues comming your way...

/Loke Emil

Tell me about it. I felt that way last year when my hawthorn died, basically as a side-effect of medication - I was zonked out for three days & I think it didn't get watered.
But I have my crabapple every spring, instant cure.
This is last year. Not quite as good this year, as it was just repotted.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote: I went to Israel for two weeks and came back with a sinus infection and bronchitis.

8-10 hours on a plane will do that, especially in the rainy season. Not even El-Al security can avert viruses. How was your visit otherwise?
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:

Billy M. Rhodes wrote: I went to Israel for two weeks and came back with a sinus infection and bronchitis.

8-10 hours on a plane will do that, especially in the rainy season. Not even El-Al security can avert viruses. How was your visit otherwise?
Iris

No chance to see Bonsai, but a great trip, wonderful people, good kosher food. This was the standard Christian trip but we did visit the Holocaust Museum on the last afternoon. We also visited Masada, Jericho, Tell Megiddo, Caesarea, The Dead Sea, etc.
We actually flew Delta all the way, Orlando to New York, New York to Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv to Atlanta and Atlanta to Orlando.
There were a number of Orthodox on the way over and back doing their prayers on the aircraft.

Hi Ed,
I know how you feel,we had a bad typhoon last year name ONDOY lost 40% of my tree including lots of tokoname pots,got stranded outside while the flood water rise 15ft yes 15 feet my friend,reach home and saw the damage,didn't attend to it for months but life goes on,others suffer more severely and thought i'm still better off,now i start all over again & got quite a good stock of yamadori,rev up time again... Continue Ed we're here for you & take care
Regards,
Alex

For those contemplating a trip to Israel, the best site for a bonsai and Biblical history aficionado is Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve, near Lod. http://www.neot-kedumim.org.il/public/
It is a botanical garden of plants and trees of the Bible, and has been an inspiration to me for 20 years. Although mainly devoted to plants of the Old Testament, there is plenty to interest Christians.
Iris

I'm glad you posted this Ed. I thought of posting something similar last fall but held back for whatever reason. It's good to see that others have been/are in the same place too, I was in a similar place last fall but have found myself gaining interest again this spring. This a common thing in all passionate pursuits I'm sure, but of all the interests I try and maintain I think this has to be the hardest to get through in times of disenchantment, disinterest, or just plain disgust, obviously because your material has to kept alive in the mean time. In the painting art studio nothing will go bad or die if left untouched, in the wood shop, everything will still be there when you decide to pick it back up, barring termites. With bonsai watering continues to be an essential daily burden where before it was pure joy because it gave you a reason to walk through the garden. As I think of it though in the context of the art studio this could really be a good thing if you are willing to continue to do it even through a less-than-inspired time. For me the fact that there was nothing but my own drive getting me to go to the studio every day meant that if something came up or it got too late I could easily say, "I will get there tomorrow" and then tomorrow would turn into a week and a week into a month and before you knew it that part of my brain was losing all context of what I was doing there to begin with. When I would get there regularly but was less than driven or had no inspiration for new work I would find myself playing with things that were nothing serious and had nothing to do with my "real work" but just being there would keep my creative brain fresh and ready when the idea hit and often that playing would show up in the "real work". Maybe this is similar to where you are now. It would be ashamed to lose more material so maybe do what you can to keep things alive and let yourself have a period of time where it is in the back of your mind. Do the minimum right now, let things go for a bit and maybe you will have even better material to play with when you come back to it. After such a bad season I would certainly need a little re-grouping time myself and what I lost last year I'm sure was nothing compared to yours. Hope it gets better for you, there is nothing worse than staring at something you have spent so much time and energy doing wondering to yourself why you spent all of that time and energy.

Or maybe you should go to Israel?

Hi

I was two years into bonsai after spending every spare $ on plants, I had to move and there wasn't space in the car, had to give away 75 plants and trees.
18 months later, I had to move again, money was tight, space was even less, and I spent hours deciding which trees to keep, ended up loading 7 trees in my car.
Seven trees makes you question this hobby, seven trees is sad, it was an ultimate low, and I've never been as close to giving up my kids (trees) completely.
Funny enough, I just couldn't part with my Kumquat even though I don't consider it a bonsai, and if you keep one, you can keep seven.

Thanks to very uncomfortable (and temporary) accomodation I had some free $$ recently and the tree counts is up considerably.
I know I'll likely be forced to get rid of some in the future again, horrible thought, but if I'm down to 10 of the best, at least I'm up 3 from the previous low.

We keep and care for living things, if you did not have empathy for living things you would not have bonsai, and with living things (plants, pets, family and friends) death and loss is part of the game.

Best of luck,
Gerhard

Thanks for all the input and support. You are a great bunch.

On the positive side, this has made me refocus on what I want in my collection. If I had to save a handful, which would they be.

I think this will turn out to be a good year for my collection after all.

Thanks again,
Ed

Sorry for your loss! Your mind set is a great way to look at it. I try to see advantages to given situations in which the circumstances were not caused by anything I did!

You can use this time to appreciate those that lived! Also, what better of a reason to look for another specimen???


-Clayton