Summer 2023 Hall of Shame (extremely hot summer)

[namnhi]

The summer was extremely hot... temp in triple digits for weeks if not months. Many pines along the streets are dead as well.
Am reluctant to have a record of some of the trees I really care about are dead.
Soon we will have a winter hall of shame so I figure let have one for the extreme summer as well.
I lost 4 JBP that are the best looking ones. These are about 20 year old that i grown from seedling i bought from Matt O. Still sad just thinking about them. RIP!
I wonder how everyone fare for the hottest summer.

 

[Kodama]

My condolences

 

[Dav4]

That sucks for sure. All part of the game but that doesn't dull the pain much. Here's to a better growing year in 2024!

 

[bwaynef]

Don't hang onto the carcasses. There's a guilt that prevents me from letting them go, but its cathartic when I'm not looking at what's out of my hands now. Learn from it what you can, but move on. (I need to take my own advice w/ a stewartia that couldn't deal with triple-digits in MAY. That one hurt.)

 

[nuttiest]

Sometimes watching the bark rot is interesting.

 

[Michael P]

None of my trees died outright last summer, but I am seeing lingering problems on tropicals. Temperate zone trees are still mostly dormant. I hope I don't see the same on them.

 

[namnhi]

Sometimes watching the bark rot is interesting.

These barked up beautifully...that makes it even more painful.

 

[Paradox]

Fortunately for me, my area didn't experience the heat that manifested itself in the south and west of the country. In fact, we had fewer days above 90 and fewer heatwave in 2023 than in 2022.

I lost a couple of trees for reasons unrelated to heat though.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Living near Lake Michigan, my 100 year old house never had air conditioning installed. In summer, you simply opened a window and a cool breeze would come in after dark. Weather has warmed, the "Lake Effect" that was so reliable in the past has failed several summers in the last decade. In late 2022 finally installed central air conditioning. I was actually able to sleep at night summer of 2023, but my trees suffered too. I had a few losses. I did not take photos. One issue is an issue I have had my entire bonsai career. The "long weekend" most of my trips away are 2 and 3 day weekends, which is too short to arrange someone to come in and water, but just long enough for a single hot day to cook trees in the yard. I have several logistical obstacles to installing an automated watering system. I need to just sit down and work out methods that would work. No excuse really. Just need to do it.

 

[nuttiest]

These barked up beautifully...that makes it even more painful.

Yes, they did. They were outdoors this winter?
I had some older trees die last year after periods where the night time temps were above 80 for extended days... some that looked like they were going to die didn't perk up until late fall. I never know if it was really weather, I hate that part.