R.I.P. Fred

Awwwwwwwww!
WOnt he come back to life? You jsut never know..so many of my plants play dead for a while and I think They should be binned..but..sometimes if you jsut wait a few more weeks..they all of a sudden start to show signs of life again! xx

Not much hope, I'm afraid, Pixi - SPLINTERED, he was, and in three shattered little pieces. Sob.

Aw no :(((((((( x

So sorry, poor Fred.

doh - sorry to hear that Gattina :((

That's terrible Gattina . . . he was a thing of beauty.

Why was he so hard to find?? Was he a very unusual Cotinus? So sad :((

I could take a cutting of mine to send you, but he's normal!

No, he was a perfectly healthy, normal, common or garden little cotinus Palace Purple - it was just he was the only one I've ever seen for sale out here, and I only found him by accident, tucked away behind some empty and rather grimy greenhouses at a small nursery, in a dried up, undersized, unlabelled plastic pot. The woman who took my money didn't even know what he was.

That's even more upsetting, knowing he was a "rescue" Cotinus . . . hopefully you'll get one when you come over here in April??

If there's room in the suitcase and I can find one that's not the size of a house, Sheila. We had grown close, though.......

Oh I'm sorry to hear about Fred. I wonder if he's still alive at the roots, and might wake up later on.

Sorry to hear, Gattina. There's no chance that the roots might regrow?

Serendipity moves in mysterious ways; you found Fred purely by accident... or was it "meant to be"? A new plant won't be the same as oneyou've watched grow up, but it might be some conoslation.

I shall shear his stem off below the torn bits (there will only be 3 centimetres left sticking up) to reduce the risk of rot and see if spring brings a phoenix regeneration. Fingers crossed, but I think he's a goner.

checked your photos - glad you had "Fred" as a tag! sweet little thing; how tall did he get to be?

I only found him this last summer, quite late on, so he didn't have a chance to get any bigger, poor baby: he was maybe 25cms tall.

ah, right. no chance that the place you got him from will have more? but if the woman didn't know what she was selling you, you can hardly ask for it by name! but she might have more where once she had one ...

Worth a try.

it'll be something to look forward to, once you're able to travel again. just so long as you don't get your hopes up very high in case you don't succeed the first time*x*

poor Fred, R.I.P

I was also thinking it might be worth going and rooting amongst the ladies pots, you might get a pleasant surprise..

Well, when her excuse for a greenhouse is open again some time in April or May, I shall go and see, but don't hold your breath......

Sorry to hear about Fred, Gattina, I should join in with you with my tears as well, as my lovely gaura has gone to little plant heaven, and its the first time I've ever had one of these. I even put it in the greenhouse for the winter, but that didn't help it either.

Oh I remember commenting on your beautiful gaura, Rose - what a shame. Why did I think this was fairly hardy - would you always have to protect it overwinter or was it just too harsh a winter for it this year?

So sad about Fred! Hope he does recover. 'Help' isn't always what it started out as, is it!

No, Nariz. :o(((((

I don't understand why i lost it Gattina. This wasn't a bad winter for us here at all. But it only takes one night of a severe drop in temperature to finish a plant off. So, I'll be on the look out for another.

smiles, buy two if you can, for insurance?

Oh Dear, G.
If you think you could smuggle a small one back in a suit case there may be hope...;0)

I'm planning for all sorts of exports......

I hardly dare write this, but the tiny 2" stem that is all that remains of poor Cotinus Fred looks as though there might be a couple of minuscule red buds breaking just below the cut. HE LIVES!
I shall go out a couple of times a day and whisper endearments and encouragement to him and maybe one or two strengthening mantras. Can you all send some of your good, positive British vibes out here for him please?
Unfortunately, in the meantime, his potmate, heuchera Bert, is looking very sickly, and I fear for him, too. Maybe a little warm weather might revive him. Fingers crossed.

Oh! FrankenFred back from the dead..

I told you to trim him :)) Cotinus really do respond well to heavy pruning, I didn't get to do mine as it never went fully dormant. I got out there yesterday for the first time. So much tidying and potting to do.

Yeah, Pimp, but there's pruning and then there's PRUNING! Taking off everything above a 2" stem is a bit drastic. You're right about how much there is to do, and the weather's so lovely now, I don't know what to do first. I'm still feeling quite fragile and can't do nearly as much as I would like without keeling over. I just have to point OH at a task and press the button, but it's not as good as doing it myself.

good news re ne-Fred. have you tried stroking the stem, or what's left of it, very lightly up and down with fingertip and thumb while you're talking to it and giving it positive vibes? Saw this on a programme years ago, can't remember which, and not sure it'd work on as little Fred as you have left anyway. The theory is that stroking plant stems very lightly for a few minutes, but repeating it frequently, makes the stems shake very slightly and the plant thinks it's windy and will increase the thickness of the stem to cope with the "wind". Mot aware of any controlled experiments in it, though.

Sorry to hear yo're not feeling 100%; is it the comparatively sudden change in the weather? annual bug? got a bit of a cough and a sore throat here, don't know if that's "seasonal" - I usually only get one cold a year, but it lasts for about eleven months *s*

wrapping up a parcel of good vibes to send you- and Fred-wards

afterthought: could you take pics now and, hopefully, more as Fred grows back, and do a Fred-recovery blog later?

Let me get round to unwrapping new camera first, Fran. Still playing catch-up.
I was a very silly Gattina and tried to do too much, making the most of the time while OH was away and not breathing down my neck, and it triggered a fearsome bout of diverticulitis. I seriously thought I might be dying about a week ago, and was lying on the bathroom floor at 1.00a.m., trying not to pass out with the pain, cellphone clutched in my hand, wondering how bad it had to get to justify calling the air ambulance out. I'm still here, but not 100%, and all the spring cleaning has been undone again since OH got back.
I always say that I shan't do it again, but I do. Antibiotics are working, but they make me feel rather sick. A good way to lose weight, but I can't recommend it.
I think if I tried stroking Fred's stem, I might knock those tiny buds off, so I shall just whisper comforting thoughts instead. Italian or English, do you think?

Rest, first G..Plenty of time for gardening yet..Besides you could be the Smart A**ed lumix owner that has actually read the instructions.. Did you see Sheilabub's pic's ? I'll be redundant soon!!!

I am pleased for you Gattina, I know how upset you were.
New shoots sprouting from my Berberis, I had to cut it right back last year as it was looking really sick, it was a case of trying anything to save it at the time, hoping I`ve saved its life, like you I keep offering words of encouragement, lol...
Take it easy for a while..

What do you mean "soon", Pimp? ;o))))) I didn't need something like this, especially just as the weather turns gorgeous and I want to get outside, weeding, digging, sowing and planting. Spent most of the past week sleeping instead Terrible waste of time.

put yourself first, always, Gattina! they'll keep till you're ready to get back to them.

I think Italian always sounds so lovely for "sweet nothings"

Well..If you hadn't let the housework slide, there would have been no need for such strenuous physical exertion now would there? Perhaps you waited until OH was out of the way...Or he may have indeed spotted your Tardyness?

If I could have persuaded him to stay away for longer than 5 days, Pim., I wouldn't have been so stressed. When he's here, I just can't blitz the way I need to. I have to keep stopping to make tea and lunch, and dinner, or he stands over me to check what I'm doing, and goes through the rubbish bins, retrieving what I've just discarded, or just GETS IN THE WAY and makes more mess! My OH is one of life's hoarders. Seriously. I have come across socks with school nametapes and moth holes before now, and he's 72! Also 30 year old tax returns and bags full of used envelopes and magazines dated 1972. Box after box of junk mail, shopping lists and old school magazines, and paperwork from four jobs back before retirement. He brought great cardboard boxes full of assorted rubbish when we moved here, and when we got married, his mother said to me "I've dusted his crap for thirty years, it's your turn now." I thought she was joking. She wasn't.
Don't worry, it works the other way, too: when I'm away he gets up to all sorts. I don't ask.