Ok so we know sometimes we neglect to water our little trees, cut off too many roots or something similarly bad. When the leaves start to drop off and it’s looking a little sorry for itself it’s a bit worrying. But how can we tell for sure whether its alive or dead?
There are two simple tests that you can carry out to determine this.
1. An easy one I like to do is bend a small branch. If it is brittle it will snap and therefore it is dead. If it bends as normal it is alive and well. Be careful with this however, do not bend the branches too far or you will snap healthy ones. It takes a little bit of practice to know how far it will bend.
2. Scratch the surface of the tree on a piece of newish growth and see if it is green underneath. You need to scratch off the two layers of bark to get to the cambium layer. If it is not green that part is unfortunately dead. You should check other parts of the tree also if the first area was dead, but if no green is found it’s probably game over for your tree i’m afraid.
Those are the two most simple tests to carry out. Just because a tree has no leaves does not mean it is dead. A tree can start growing leaves months after you initially thought it was dead. The main thing to remember is that if its green underneath the bark, it’s alive.
The final thing to remember is that trees planted in pots can leaf quite a while after trees planted in the ground. Being in a pot is equal to being about 100 miles further north (in the northern hemisphere).
All to true, I have had bonsai come back from almost certain death. I am watching a holly I dug up from the wild this year … just a tad bit later than I should have. It has lost it’s leaves put branches remain soft and there is plenty of green underneath the bark. I also get that faint aura of life that I’m sure we all feel from time to time.
I will keep posted of any new life.
Good post!