Winter Casualties

Following the loss of a Harry Harrington designed Cotoneaster last spring I was extra careful ( I thought) this last year. i.e didn't mess with trees that didn't need messing with, was careful with my soil and with wiring trees into their pots etc.

Nevertheless am disappointed to observe the the 3 below have not made it over this last winter.

A £2.99 Chinese elm mallsai converted into a decent looking (imo) shohin broom, a Lonicera nitida being styled from a hedge rescue and a Cotoneaster mame. I zipped them out of their pots 2 weeks ago into gritty soil but no signs of life.

The roots on all 3 were good but very fibrous and dead looking with no tell-tale white tips.

Too cold, too damp, pots too small?

Don't whether it's a good thing or bad thing, but I raised them all from scratch so the loss is time and effort rather than hard cash

Anyone else had and winter losses?

Thks

TimR

Hi Tim. Suspect yours are weather casualties rather than pest or disease issues.

I too think I have lost a few Chinese Elms which I have in a landscape, but I am not too worried about these as I use the dreaded mallsai in it and this will be its second total replacement. I won't change them just yet as they looked dead this time last year too, only to pop the odd few branches- enough to create a new canopy.

I am also holding a Lonicera nitida in my plant sick bay. It hasn't finally gone to the great greenhouse in the sky but I am not overly hopeful. Again, I lost one of these a few years back in a colder winter.

Fancy moving to Florida? I think I could cope with the storms and gators if I was guaranteed a bit of sunshine.

Talking of gators did you see the article in Nature Magazine?

"The alligator, one of the oldest and ultimate predators, normally considered the "apex predator," can still fall victim to implemented 'team work' strategy, made possible due to the tight knit social structure and "survival of the pack mentality" bred into the canines.

See the remarkable photograph below courtesy of Nature Magazine. Note that the Alpha dog has a muzzle hold on the gator preventing it from breathing, while another dog has a hold on the tail to keep it from thrashing. The third dog attacks the soft underbelly of the gator."

Here is the photo: Pack Dogs Attack Gator

This winter was bad all around. My Osage orange has yet to leaf out, though it is green under the bark. LOTS of twig dieback, though, so if it survives it will need a lot of reworking. Also have an old crape myrtle in the same condition.

Bummer.

Fiona, this is the normal outcome of alligator-dog battles:

I lost a few trees due to a couple of severe cold snaps and rushing them along. I brought out my trees and started to repot some in March after a warm spell. I assumed that "everything was waking up. I had a healthy Japanese maple and decided to repot it before the buds started moving. Bad mistake. It has yet to leaf out, branches are still green, roots still look alive. I put it in the shade and am hoping "for the best". I learned a lesson: don't repot until you see signs of active growth. A willow oak and dogwood didn't leaf out until a couple of weeks ago. Always learning adn in come cases, re-learning.

I lost both my Chinese Pistachio due to forgetting to move them to the greenhouse. A shame as I'd grown them for more than 10 years from seed and they were just getting to the stage where they could have become bonsai. I'll miss their dramatic autumn colour.

I lost several due to the winter and my not moving them indoors quick enough. But I had 2 happy suprises. The first to finally leaf back out was an Acacia--but of course its coming back from the roots and not from anywhere in its 1" trunk! And just 2 days ago a huge ficus Ben. started sending up shoots from its roots too.
Trunks in that one had fused nicely to create a 4-5" truck that was very promising. Now I guess its just promising to die back again if I repeat the mistakes of the past cold season.

Libby

My elm did also die this winter. I also had some others. One that were some sort of bush that died. An Ilex crenata, my big ficus tree, a podocarpus, 3 small fukien tea's that I got from my sister ( those were close to dead already), and a few more that were struggling.
I think I am doing something totally wrong atm though, since it seems like not one of my trees are growing much. Some look ok, then a bit worse, and others just stop where they are.

Kev Bailey wrote:I lost both my Chinese Pistachio due to forgetting to move them to the greenhouse. A shame as I'd grown them for more than 10 years from seed and they were just getting to the stage where they could have become bonsai. I'll miss their dramatic autumn colour.

Ouch! Ten years is a long time. I've never worked with Chinese Pistachio. I have some Japanese Pagoda (Sapora japonica) that I started from seed approx 12 years ago. They are very special to me. Salut, Todd

Ilost a few this year.

This is where real bonsai experience can be brought to the fore! Identifying dead trees, hah!

Would those be clockwise, Honesuckle, Lonicera nitida, Chinese Elm and another Lonicera nitida?

Always a few that don't make it and I rarely can firmly identify the reason. It's a lesson in moving on each year and the hardest part of bonsai for me! This time was a nice kotobuki black pine that I had just acquired last summer (for a fairly high price, for me), and a nice small apricot that I'd had for a few years with bark that was very rough and dark.

Kev Bailey wrote:This is where real bonsai experience can be brought to the fore! Identifying dead trees, hah!

Would those be clockwise, Honesuckle, Lonicera nitida, Chinese Elm and another Lonicera nitida?

The first is also Lonicera nitida. Honey suckle still so pretty good.

Oh what a shame. That first one had loads of character. They are normally pretty hardy beasts. What do you reckon did them in?

I think a combination of the winter and repotting a bit early . That first one really was a bit rotton when i got it.

The chinese elm i didn't repot this year ,so i guess the weather.

I lost this one also

Sorry to hear about your loses, Smithy. Shame your not a bit closer as I'm sure you'd find something in my garden to lessen the blow. Don't lose hope though. We've all been there.

i'm not as sentimental as i used to be . Its not nice losing them but what can you do.I do have a bit of a flow going on with nice things replacing some of the loses.
I'm sure though i could find something in your garden.