The Official Burl Blog

I have finally gotten around to editing the posts so that they point to the location of backup images. If I caught everything all the images should appear now. But it looks like some of the images never got backed up and will never reappear.

I no longer have access to the server where the images that were included in this blog were stored. Consequently there are ugly place holders wherever there was a picture.

After a long battle Burl sucommed in late September or early October. The likely cause of death was starvation due to his having eaten all the nutrients contained in the burl. I probably could have extended his life if I had pinched off some of the less hearty shoots. But ultimately he needed to me moved into the natural environment and I was unable to find a suitable home for him. I have been remiss in posting his demise since I hadn't made any final pictures. Some viewers may find the graphic nature of this image disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
This will be the final Official Burl Blog post.

Burl is dying. It started with the ends of some of the branches withering. Then the smaller trees withered. Now all of the trees are involved to one extent or another. Some are dying from the tip back and others started there but are now the drunks are withering from the burl out to the tip as well. I don't think Burl will last the month. All of the trees have probably consumed all the nutrients that were stored in the burl. I have kept it well hydrated all this time.

I think the burl is past its prime. The ends of a bunch of branches or smaller trees are drying up. I am keeping the bowl filled with water so I suspect that the nutrients in the burl are becoming used up. The biggest trees seem to be the least affected so something might survive if I can find a place to plant it in time.

I didn't realize it until I looked at the graph at the top of the page and was thinking about trimming the unused space since I have not been taking any new measurements since the disaster, but today Burl has been in the water for three months. My original plan was to try to keep him here this long trying to document his growth then find somewhere to plant him. Not wishing to push my luck any further I stopped measuring him after the disaster. But I haven't had any luck finding a place for him to live out his days. There aren't many big yards in New York City.

There hasn't been much going on with Burl since the disaster so I haven't written much lately.

The weather here has been real hot lately and it looks like Burl doesn't like it any better than I do. He looks kind of droopy. But worse, the terminal leaves of some of the branches have withered. The branch that I broke had also withered and I twisted it off (hoping the twisting would seal over the xylem and phloem tubules and prevent "bleeding"). I really think he needs to be outdoors but don't have a place for him to go yet.

In spite of having sustained a grievous injury Colossus is still in fairly good shape. The top of the tree has not started to wither at all. It seems to have repaired the injury to an extent as the break no longer flexes when you lift the broken portion. The branch I broke just below the break in the trunk must have been more severely damaged and is just starting to show some signs of withering.
The break has a woody appearance as can be seen somewhat in this picture taken through a magnifying glass.
Things are not going so well for the runts though. They have not developed much at all, are very stiff, and are withering.