What did you do when your 1st favorite tree died

Littlejoe919

Shohin
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How did you move on? I currently don't even want to spend time at my benches beyond watering.
 

GGB

Masterpiece
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Told my girlfriend "I'm F***ing done with this horse s**t hobby" , tossed a couple long term projects in the trash, and watered a small handful of trees I told myself would make nice landscape plants some day. People tell me I'm a nihilist, they're probably right, BUT I returned to bonsai with a little more soup in my ass than I had before
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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I honestly don't remember. I suspect it happened right after my first child was born. I probably briefly became disenchanted with the hobby and might have neglected my remaining trees for a bit. Anyway, my first child will be starting her senior year in high school next week and I'm more enamored with the hobby then ever despite having periodic setbacks through the years. It's the nature of the beast, and even the best of the best lose trees. My advise would be to try to learn from it and move on.
 

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
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How did you move on? I currently don't even want to spend time at my benches beyond watering.

Learn from it. That's all you can do.

I have been listening to my trees for decades and I still don't understand what they're saying. But at least now I can understand the inflection of what they are trying to communicate. I can usually, at a glance, tell if they need watering, or shade, or more sun. But I still will lose one on occasion. Pines in particular are slow to communicate... until it is too late.

When I have a "favorite" deciduous tree, I usually propagate it before I do something extreme. Then I always have the offspring :) @BeebsBonsai will be the recipient of one of the cuttings from one of my favorite trees :)
 

A. Gorilla

Omono
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It was a Pinus strobus which my dad just randomly kept in a pot for like 15 years. It wasn't really a bonsai, just kinda like a pet? He dug it out his north woods property as a seedling. He just liked to have it around.

A couple years after he died I decided to go ham on it. Had fantasies of a quirky family heirloom in bonsai form.

Yyyeah, no.

Mom wasn't thrilled either.

The shame kept me away from thinking about bonsai for a long time. The humbling was helpful though
 
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Mike MoMo

Mame
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Pontiac Mi
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I cried a little. I Learned Lot. I have had about 10 percent of my trees die. It hurts! I have a dead Ficus on my bench that I look at daily as a reminder that I am not as good as I will become.
 

Rambles

Mame
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after the dark cloud of "well...$%@*..." passed, I removed all the soil, washed the defoliated remains in a mild bleach solution, and put it in a place to dry out to use it for an art project later.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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You can burn them to ash and ask a potter to use them as a glaze on a bonsai pot.
That way, they are not gone, just changed in form.
Good Day
Anthony

Awesome...best answer!

Little Joe.....,

Tighten your cinch and dig your spurs in tighter.
You get back the fuck on till you hit 8.

AR-307239971.jpg

Sorce
 

Anthony

Imperial Masterpiece
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The children, the children

This is why, we check resistance to heat, if a tree can handle a top - air temperature - of 90 to 93
deg.F down here and needs a fridge, We can work with it.

From what I am seeing [ see topic Native trees 50 miles ] folk keep pulling in trees / shrub that
cannot really live in their areas. Add on they have to pay for the beauty $$$$$$$$$$
Many of those soil complaints, insect attacks, bare rooting ................................... dies slowly takes 5 to 10 years.
Death must really sting.

The children, the children......................
Good Day
Anthony
 

Cadillactaste

Neagari Gal
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One's favorite tree lost...can't consume them though...you at some point move on. There are other trees on the bench...and a journey to continue on. Try and learn from the mistake...and a lesson learned is not waisted.
 
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