AusBonsai

Before winter I was going for a walk and came across a radiata pine that had been dug up by a road grader and left at the side of the road. It had no real roots and I had nothing to wrap the stumps of roots in but I picked it up and walked for over half an hour on a hot, windy day with a tree with no soil around the almost no existant roots. I really don't know why I picked it up.
Anyway I shoved it in a pot gave it some water and ignored it, waiting for it to die, which it slowly did over the next few months. I would occasionally walk past it and snap off a dead branch but it was too far from 'the heap' so it stayed where it was.

Well, this morning I decided this 'dead' tree was too much of an embarassment to have around, and besides I wanted the pot so it was finely going to 'the heap'. To my surprise I found that it is actually puting out a few little new shoots (my camera doesn't do close-ups). It used up any 'residual' trunk energy many months ago so it is obviously starting to grow some new roots.
It doesn't want to die so I will keep it around now - I already have an idea for styling even though it looks like s**t now. I have never had a pine sit around for over 6 months, practically dead, for this long and live. Nature is a wonderful thing.

Sorry about the background. When it has more life I will take a better pic.

I collected one one the way home from Wattos dig in Goulburn a few months ago, that looks all brown and dead, but will leave ti now to see
Ken

Nice story i have a Banksia Serrata thats on the mend, its pays to be vigilant sometimes.

All the best with your pine mate.

Those roadside radiata's are tough. Its amazing what they will grow in, and how they hang on. Near Mudgee is a cutting on a hill, pine are growing halfway up this sandstone cutting living on nothing. Not doing anything nice bonsai-ish. But still hanging in there.

Paul