A cold April - Acer Negundo bonsai forest 23/4/2024

  April started with sunny and warm weather. Trees were already blooming, I got a chance to photograph those in a hurry (fig.1). As usual, I went out of town and I left the forest in the care of thirty parties. 
     Fig.1.A lilac in full bloom, early April a.c.
  I made an unfortunate discovery upon my return home. The bonsai forest broke dormancy too early (in my opinion) during February. Temperatures were over 8°C, no blizzard, sunny days and an "optimistic breeze" that spring would come early. And it came... and went on.
   
    Fig.2.Bonsai forest as of 23/4/2024

  One of the "pioneer" trees is slowly dying. 

    Although it got a proper start in late February, one of the trees got a slow start. Unfortunately, I wasn't home to change place of the pot so all trees can have equal sunlight. The four ones got bigger and bigger, the fifth one being unable to surpass the growth of its "brothers from another trees".
  Causes? It past already a long time since I potted it. The roots of the trees are all bound and (I think) there's little room left for new roots. The dying one is cornered for good, by a logistic movement I made when I planted the forest. Probably the recent over-watering and low temperatures affected the growth. Early April got summerish weather. Scale insects probably ate the vital juice in late autumn and weakened the tree.
 Temperatures as low as 6°C.
   
  I definitely got a shock to my heart when I read the thermometer. Damn it, "back to winter, huh?".
  The "death" of a tree cannot be predicted by any means. A solid 200 years old oak tree ("Quercus robur") from a local park was literally pulled out by a ten minutes storm in 2022 (fig.3).
    Fig.3.Oak hit by the storm
  Manitoba maples ain't got long life. I think they survive well in their home country, Canada. Eastern Europe weather got different perks than Canada's and I don't know the exact history of how Acer Negundo got in my hometown, whether is the original tree or a cultivar. Most of my trees were randomly found and yeah, like the word say "you got with both good and bad". 

Other attempts 
   Yeah, I'm feeling very bad after I got the news of this dying tree, but... trying is the only option so a project can make it through the time. 
   Bonsai isn't a project with an exact start and an exact end. It might be a "demo" version, then you move to the "definitive" one and so on. 
   Nigel Saunders, a bonsai enthusiast from Canada, tried in early 2019 a Manitoba maple forest. Unlike me, he got the trees planted in his front garden for several years and one day he potted three of them in a forest. All good and beautiful, isn't it? 
    Fig.4.Nigel's Acer Negundo forest as of 2020
  It was one of my favourite projects. I got even more interested after I got my own one and waited for updates. However, his forest gradually wilted, in a video I spotted two trees, one already was out. Now I can fully understand what Nigel meant with these maples, <<they don't like in pots>>. His trees got a nice trunk and hoped for this bonsai project, "for the future". No updates were ever posted, I obviously realised why. He got also other trees that need patience and care. 
  These videos were very important for me and development of this particular tree, however as of 2024 I'm using my knowledge to develop the Negundos further. 
   Further development 

   Last two years are an infusion of "war" terms I heard everywhere. Since the first day I got the project of my bonsai forest, I always thought "just imagine one day I'll be separated from my bonsai projects".
  
    Fig.5. Forest as of 23/4/2024
  One week away from home and I start to question "what's going on with my trees now?". 
  If that fifth tree won't make it, I'll replace it next year. I don't know, I hoped for a new pot, but now I won't touch anymore the design of this project. If that will happen to other trees, it means the trees got a disease I am not able to face at the moment.    I still get scale insects and it's annoying to get rid of them. May will be another month and another difficult time. God knows if the weather will warm up after Easter, at the moment I'm still questioning myself whether to bring my trees inside or to leave them there in such low temperatures. Until next time... 🌳👋💡
 

  

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