[A Forest Tale] Ryceman3 - Starting at the beginning...

[Ryceman3]

I just realised that today is May 1 ... so this entry is late and probably should be relegated to the disqualified pile, if so ... I'm OK with that.


The main reason my entry is late is because these are not the trees I wanted to use in this comp. I don't have room for any more than one entry, and I had some Leptos that I set aside. I needed to get some more seedlings to add with them and then I was going to get this forest underway. All of this would happen over Easter ... but, lock down/social distancing etc meant no travel, and no travel meant I wasn't going to get down to the native co-op for more seedlings (not to mention it was closed)... so that project has been put on hold. I was then thinking about other stuff I could enter - but I wasn't super motivated by what I had on hand so didn't do much about it.

Anyway - here is my entry in all it's glory...

AFT-M CUT_01 0420.jpg

I'm calling this "Starting at the beginning" for now, because... well, apart from seeds these are all about as immature as you can get. But, because they are Mels I am banking on some good growth over a relatively small amount of time and we'll see what develops from here.

[MJL]

All good mate - it's in. I extended the date to today for BB Brian. Cheers for entering.

[joannreid]

Nice. I really like this one. I’m looking forward to watching it develop.

[Ryceman3]

Mmmm ... almost one year on and I think what I have done is create a seriously neglected forest apocalypse ... it may be over before it even really got started.
I was away over Easter and so the watering was left to my automated system - which works great as long as the trees being watered remain upright. Obviously over the 5 days I was away, these little guys managed to tip over (as they have a habit of doing given their size and the pot size) so ... no water for however long and the conditions were fairly warm and dry... alas - crunchy foliage and a generally sad disposition.
To be fair, I have clearly done buggar all with them and really should have got them moving in a bigger pot earlier. I was just waiting for some inspiration to hit, and ironically over Easter I had decided on a direction!! Right now they are soaking away in an attempt to revive and then I'll see if I can stick with my thoughts for their development, but things are looking a little dour right now. If they do find their way to the big forest in the sky, I might use a few other M. Cuticularis I have to develop a similar thing in their honour... obviously not as part of the comp though. We'll see!

Dried Cutic_01.jpg

Dried Cutic_02.jpg

[TimS]

What a bummer! Is there an opportunity to use this to your advantage in some way if they don’t pull through?

I have often though about creating a forest of dead eucs and charring them to create an ‘after the bushfire’ type thing, then if they did recover with epicormic growth then it’s still true to form with natural recovery after a burn. Then I lost interest in growing natives and the idea got shelved.

Maybe there is some angle to play out here to really take it in a direction few have ventured and is unique?

[Ryceman3]

What a bummer! Is there an opportunity to use this to your advantage in some way if they don’t pull through?

I have often though about creating a forest of dead eucs and charring them to create an ‘after the bushfire’ type thing, then if they did recover with epicormic growth then it’s still true to form with natural recovery after a burn. Then I lost interest in growing natives and the idea got shelved.

Maybe there is some angle to play out here to really take it in a direction few have ventured and is unique?

Mmmm... I can see the concept and appreciate the thought but I think this material is a bit young/thin to really make that an authentic direction... we’ll see if they bounce, at least there’s potential for a bit of a learning experience in that! Thanks for your thoughts/feedback though.

[MJL]

Howdy Ryan,
I hope the little trees bounce back for you ... as you say, not an ideal start!


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[KIRKY]

Too many in that little pot. If?? The roots are still alive you may be able to salvage it by slip potting and sitting them in a tray of water.
Cheers
Kirky