Never give up

[rowan]

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.

radiata.jpg

[kcpoole]

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

[Andrew F]

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

All the best with your pine mate.

[63pmp]

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