Does anyone else name their trees?

shinmai

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My very first project, before I had much of an idea of what I was doing, was a Home Depot $12.95 rhododendron azalea. Naming her 'Iggy the Azalea' was obvious and cute, albeit intellectually cheap.

Being as I am a huge Prince fan, a lavender star flower became 'Darling Nikki', in memory of His Purpleness.

The thirty-year-old Satsuki pictured on the 'Azalea Maintenance Question' thread became 'Grace', for reasons which should be immediately obvious.

A Natal plum easily became 'Natalie', and her surname will become self-evident as her branches lignify.

Yet to be christened are a particularly sinuous ten-year-old microcarpa, and a grafted ginseng ficus with roots that look like a Henry Moore sculpture. More perplexing are two virtually identical Satsuki's, each about 7" tall, that I got via Brussel's via Amazon when they were on sale for eleven bucks each (normally $30). They're essentially twins, but I cannot bring myself to go to the "Mary Kate and Ashley" place. I'm open to suggestions.

Last but by no means least, I recently attended a wonderful workshop at BC Bonsai, and came home with a forest planting of bucida spinosa. On the drive home, a light bulb came on, and that one became "Jenny". A grand prize of [your choice] two quarts of used soil of questionable origin, or one IKEA crappy grafted ficus mallsai dying of root fungus, to the first person who can tell me what dots I connected to come up with that one.
 

shinmai

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Nice try. God, I loved that song when it came out.
 

Potawatomi13

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Some oriental masters name special trees after unique attribute;). Personally "may" in time.
 

Rambles

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Well, I don't have any now, but all of my barberi get named some variation of "(adjective) Bastard"

I only have two things with names, but they aren't bonsai. "Zombie Tree" is a variety of weeping red lace-leaf maple that had been thrown away because it looked dead. I could pick of the tree and 40 gallon planter full of soil with one hand. I nursed it back, and six years later it is still doing quite nicely and about due for another repot.

The other is "Mr Addams," a contorted filbert, as in winter time it looks like a tree Fester Addams might grow. Wanted to style it, but it is a graft and the base of the stock is almost twice as wide as the trunk above it. Plus, my wife wanted something in the yard that WASN'T cut up and wrapped in wire.
 

Giga

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I have two out of 60 tree's named. One is named after my great Dane that passed away this year as he found the tree and it's a old bald cypress. The other my wife named that as both collected that tree and had to carry it over a mile in a stroller - very funny story. Only significant tree's for me get named. Some other may get names, but the ones that have names get a nice tag made and hung on a low branch so its visible.
 

GrimLore

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Names? Hell, I have to ask Crystal what some of them are :rolleyes: Names would just make it to complicated. I have plans to name one or two down the road. Not the plant but the design if all goes good....

Grimmy
 

Anthony

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When they are in cultivation at least 50 to 100 years they get names ------

Like ------- Fragrant essence of 8675309 :):cool::eek::rolleyes:

Or ---------- now my bed sheets smell like you :):mad::D:eek:
 

AlainK

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Once I thought that I might name a tree when it becomes an "excellent" (not perfect, I said "excellent" ;) ) bonsaï.

But firstly, I don't have "excellent" bonsai, and secondly, I can't think of a name to give my favourite ones: should it be Japanese, French, English, Chinese (Chinese would be fun :D ) or Latin ?

I think that if ever I have a tree that is a "masterpiece", someone else will name it for me. For it will then be a work of art and a work of art exists only when others than its "creator" define it as a work of art.

Note: you can joke about my post, everyone can separate the wheat from the chaff, can't they?...:p
 

ralf

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Nice name for a burning bush. Any pics?...

It should be the famous foemina the "Phoenix" I guess...

Re: names
As I try to keep a track of the basic horticulture and development of each tree in the Access it makes it easier to ID them.

Am I the only stupid of the bunch?
 

Anthony

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@ralf ,

we have drawn designs of the major efforts. That's how we keep the trees in their generalised shapes.
Saves mightily on memory.
Good Day
Anthony
 

rockm

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I don't have any cutesy wootsy, precious names for my trees...I call all of mine "#@!*& Tree!" when I drop one on my finger/foot, etc. I call my heaviest tree (125 lbs or so), "that FU$#&* gut buster" and my second biggest (only about 60 lbs) "that tall heavy bastard over there," whenever I have to lift either of them or move them any distance. My wife calls me a stupid bastard for having such large bonsai.
 

Soldano666

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Here we go.
Mother Treeresa
Katreena
Treesus Christ
Treeanu Leaves
Leaf Garret
Treeranasaurus Rex
Johnny Appleseed
Gnarles Barkley
Kate Branchlet
Forrest Stump
Spruce "the boss" Springsteen
Sylvestries Stallone
Carl....
I know I'm forgetting a few
 

Tidal Bonsai

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I have only named one of my trees, a split trunk Shimpaku Juniper that I got from @Stickroot. I gave it the name Enelysios, because this name derives from "struck by lightning" in Greek. This was a blessing by Zeus that sent you to paradise. I will post pictures once this pre-bonsai gets wired and repotted. Right now it's in it's weird teenage phase, haha!
 

Maros

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Here we go.
Mother Treeresa
Katreena
Treesus Christ
Treeanu Leaves
Leaf Garret
Treeranasaurus Rex
Johnny Appleseed
Gnarles Barkley
Kate Branchlet
Forrest Stump
Spruce "the boss" Springsteen
Sylvestries Stallone
Carl....
I know I'm forgetting a few

Treeanu Leaves, Forrest Stump, Spruce "the boss" Springsteen, Sylvestries Stallone are my favorites....

You are real poet. Hats off.

And I do name some of my trees. Mostly to those which are worth it, like their "nom de guerre" for fighting with life and succeeded. So they definitely must deserve the name if they want one.
 
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