AusBonsai

Hi all,
Wondering to myself what everyone does to their dead trees?? Were talking really old fantastic trees that you've loved for a long time... how does one pay their respects to such trees.

My input; remove all the dried foliage and bark then preserve as a deadwood display in a pot with decorative stones instead of soil or something...

Look forward to hearing it all

Its hard to throw them out isn't it! I have some I just keep hanging around as (somewhat sentimental) inspiration. Like if they had a great shaped trunk i don't want to loose them but just keep them as a guide/inspiration for future stuff. I know people who have lost wonderful old Japanese imports - a dirtect result of the harsh chemical treatment from quarantine - but they keep the skeletons and they are wonderful to study. leafless (because dead!!) they really reveal form. and even dead they show decades of skillful growth and training and are certainly a great learning tool and artistic inspiration

Hi Moganic , mate no good hanging onto them . I have lost around 5 trailer loads of tree's over the last 12 months or more . I would have a huge forest of dead truks laying around if i was to hang onto them . Lesson learned , Don't break your leg.

Cheers Alpine

I saw an innovative response from a Canadian (I think) to trees that had died during a development competition. The dead trunks were charred then arranged with rocks and understory plantings as a landscape after fire. looked good too!

I put them in the green bin.
If they are dead from some disease I certainly don't want them around.
After all, they are beautiful but in the end only a tree and once dead, just wood.
Michael

Interesting how the amount of trees anyone has affects how they treat the dead ones...

I only have about ten trees of which only one or two I would consider close to finished. If either of these two died it would be indeed very difficult to just bin it...

Alpine, given how busy you always are I'm assuming you have heaaaaaaaaps of trees. But do you have any trees that have been there from day 1? Maybe one that means a great deal to you or something to that effect. If this tree died would you simply bin it also?

Some people use them as aquarium decorations

Mulch, compost, it goes back into the ground.
No point hanging on to it for too long

sacrificial burning on the next bonfire to ward off bad tree killing spirits ;for me

rawhide wrote:sacrificial burning on the next bonfire to ward off bad tree killing spirits ;for me