Kievnstavick's 2023-2026 ROR Contest

[Kievnstavick]

I finally received the trees I had been waiting for. Realistically I should have ordered them a few weeks earlier, but my first shop ran out of stock and I didn't want them to get here before I returned home.

So without further ado, here is the beginning of my entries.

10 each of Amelanchier canadensis. It wasn't my first choice of Serviceberry as I wanted one more native to my area. I went with saplings as the roots would be easier to manipulate then having to work with some beefier rootstock. The A. canadensis at my locate nursery were "full-grown" fruit trees, ready to be put in the ground. It was also too late in the season to work on anything that I got at the nursery. So I got some saplings from the Midwest. Arriving here just as they started pushing some leaves.

 

[Kievnstavick]

Trial #1
None of the pictures I took before covering turned out well, so instead you get the after potted pictures.

Nothing much to look at yet. Hopefully this season gets some good growth in.

 

[Kievnstavick]

Trial #2
This rock easily chipped if enough force was applied. A small plate on the top was broken off, and some of the roots placed in the new void. The broken plate was then jig-sawed back over the roots. I am hoping for a "roots breaking down the rock" sorta vibe. We'll see if it turns out or not

 

[Kievnstavick]

I received my "not-rocks" today. They will more or less be a test for some future projects that I have in mind.



Raccon skull and a Coyote skull. I was surprised to see how intact the Coyote skull was as it was labeled as "shattered or crushed. Suitable for art only." I'm not sure if it was mislabeled or what.

I fully expect these to slowly break apart from the roots, but we will see how they hold up and what they look like further down the line.

 

[cishepard]

I find that the trouble with bone, particularly skulls, is that they get a bit soft and “mushy” when left out in our PacNW weather. They basically rot away over a fairly short amount of time when constantly wet. Maybe seal them with resin or something?

 

[jradics]

I was thinking the same thing. Soak or really coat the skulls with a wood preservative to buy you some time before the inevidible decomposition

 

[Kievnstavick]

Thank you both for the suggestions. I'll look into it and see what I come up with.

 

[Kievnstavick]

After the initial spring and early summer growth, I ended up with only two living. Although my raccoon skull planting didn't end up making it, I did find that the bone was already growing some pink spots which is probably the organism that would be breaking the bone down. All in all, I did not do a good enough job sealing it. I think if I can find a resin skull would probably work out better if I can find one that isn't terribly expensive for my trails.

These are what the two look like back in august. I don't remember what is planted in the pond basket, but it is probably just a casual rock. The round nursery can should be my mass-production nursery bonsai pot. Next year I should be starting the slow reveal process and probably a chop to get some diverging growth lower down.