Trampled under foot

[Tracy]

This morning I was doing a little cleanup after strong Santa Ana winds created some minor messes in my yard.  At one point I was really focused on the task at hand and stepped back into a small but somewhat valuable seedling I have been growing for about five years now.  It was a bit of a heartbreaker when I felt something under foot, looked down at all the leaves broken off my small Encephalartos nubimontanus.  I had transplanted it to a new spot at one point which slowed it's growth, but getting it as a single leaf seedling and working with it for five years didn't make it any easier to see the damage.  I know that most of the plant is currently subterranean.  I'll hope for the best and leave it in place after carefully trimming off the leaves that I unceremoniously crushed this morning.  Fortunately I do have another one that is quite a bit further along, so no fear of stepping on it by accident.  I guess this is what we call unintentional editing.

I know I'm not the only one who has had this experience at least once (I won't yet share how many other similar incidents have occurred over the years).   Perhaps you have a similar story of guilt, think of this as a call to the confessional of plants edited,  trampled, or otherwise hurt unintentionally.

[Darold Petty]

I fell backwards off a stepladder and broke off 5 Howea fronds.  This is a big deal because the palm only grows 1 or 2 per year in my northern, cool microclimate.   

I obtained two seedlings of Ravenea glauca 'Andringitra' from about 80 seeds, the first one died by itself, and the second one I broke off during careless handling. 

These are quite succulent and fragile as tiny plants.  

[GottmitAlex]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

This morning I was doing a little cleanup after strong Santa Ana winds created some minor messes in my yard.  At one point I was really focused on the task at hand and stepped back into a small but somewhat valuable seedling I have been growing for about five years now.  It was a bit of a heartbreaker when I felt something under foot, looked down at all the leaves broken off my small Encephalartos nubimontanus.  I had transplanted it to a new spot at one point which slowed it's growth, but getting it as a single leaf seedling and working with it for five years didn't make it any easier to see the damage.  I know that most of the plant is currently subterranean.  I'll hope for the best and leave it in place after carefully trimming off the leaves that I unceremoniously crushed this morning.  Fortunately I do have another one that is quite a bit further along, so no fear of stepping on it by accident.  I guess this is what we call unintentional editing.

I know I'm not the only one who has had this experience at least once (I won't yet share how many other similar incidents have occurred over the years).   Perhaps you have a similar story of guilt, think of this as a call to the confessional of plants edited,  trampled, or otherwise hurt unintentionally.

Hoping for a good recovery.

[GottmitAlex]

16 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

I fell backwards off a stepladder and broke off 5 Howea fronds.  This is a big deal because the palm only grows 1 or 2 per year in my northern, cool, humid microclimate.   

Hope you're ok.

That is a downer (no pun intended) what happened to your Howea.  I can only imagine how I would feel if something like that happened to my H. lagenicaulis. They grow two leaves a year as well.

Edited February 5, 2020 by GottmitAlex

[Darold Petty]

Thanks, no injury to me, just my palm.

[Tracy]

15 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

I obtained two seedlings of Ravenea glauca 'Andringitra' from about 80 seeds, the first one died by itself, and the second one I broke off during careless handling.

While the Howea incident was a bummer (fortunately no injury to yourself), the Andringitra accident was a real tragedy given how difficult the seeds are to acquire.  I haven't heard any recent updates if anyone has had any success with Ravenea glauca "Andringitra" but would love to get one based on Len's habitat photos!

[Josue Diaz]

my dogs ran through the yard (as they do) and trampled an encephalartos cerinus underfoot. Breaking the tip of the caudex off. in a year's time, it had grown back two tiny new plants to replace the main growth point.

[Tracy]

55 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

my dogs ran through the yard (as they do) and trampled an encephalartos cerinus underfoot. Breaking the tip of the caudex off. in a year's time, it had grown back two tiny new plants to replace the main growth point.

I have definitely seen that trauma with a cycad can cause it to pup.  I think that E cerinus is a species that normally remains solitary so you have a little novelty going.  My other E nubimontanus has a main caudex with at least 6 pups erupting around the main caudex so I don't really want the one I stepped on to start splitting into multiples already (assuming it does come back).  Medium to large size dogs can definitely wreak havoc in a garden!  Fortunately I've trained mine to run on the pathways.  She walks around the entire yard, but doesn't cut through the yard when chasing toys unless I initiate a bad throw.  Unfortunately we have visitor dogs occasionally in the yard that don't follow the rules.  I noticed the newest leaf on one my Licuala peltata was hanging by a thread after my son brought his roommates dogs over to use our outdoor shower to bathe them.  Licuala's are sloooooww here so it was a bummer!

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

  Medium to large size dogs can definitely wreak havoc in a garden!  Fortunately I've trained mine to run on the pathways.  She walks around the entire yard, but doesn't cut through the yard when chasing toys unless I initiate a bad throw.  Unfortunately we have visitor dogs occasionally in the yard that don't follow the rules.  I noticed the newest leaf on one my Licuala peltata was hanging by a thread after my son brought his roommates dogs over to use our outdoor shower to bathe them.  Licuala's are sloooooww here so it was a bummer!

Big or small, training definitely has helped me avoid dog related plant disasters or vice versa. Squirt bottle used when young is a quick and harmless teacher.  That said, when unwelcome intruders, aka Cats or other furry critter dare enter.. its almost impossible to stop a 22lb black and white bolt of lightning from ridding the yard of cursed trespasser. Even so, it's rare something gets knocked over.

Now if one expands the topic to what harm potent male dog pee can do.. then yea, lol.. have had a few things get burnt a bit from said bolt of lightning marking various pots where Cats or Birds had been. Will be interesting to see how things go once back in Gopher territory. Didn't have them where i lived in San Jose when he was a pup.. Squirrels were the chase of choice there. Gophers could be a true test of just how obedient a Basenji can be.. an 8 year old may listen a bit better than a 2 year old.

[Merlyn]

Off the top of my head, I remember tripping and crushing a Foxtail palm I'd just bought.  And a bear rampaged through my back porch and stomped on two Arenga Australasicas that I had just purchased and potted up.  Both died.  And I bought an Allagoptera Caudescens seedling 2 years ago, potted it up and then forgot to water it or put it in my "nursery" area where it would get daily watering.  Fortunately a PT member had a bunch more nice seedlings for sale recently, so I have replacements!!!    So far I haven't managed to accidentally kill anything that I have a strong attachment to, or a lot of time spent growing them.  Yet...

[Tracy]

On 2/4/2020 at 5:07 PM, Tracy said:

Fortunately I do have another one that is quite a bit further along, so no fear of stepping on it by accident. 

My other Encephalartos nubimontanus would do damage to me if I accidentally stepped into it.  It's also big enough to be dog proof even for the bigger dogs that visit my yard from time to time.  I have another cycad behind it that is still a seedling so I used stakes and garden tape to create a little warning barrier around it for protection.  Probably should have done the same with the other nubimontanus and it would be in much better shape.

[Silas_Sancona]

14 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Off the top of my head, I remember tripping and crushing a Foxtail palm I'd just bought.  And a bear rampaged through my back porch and stomped on two Arenga Australasicas that I had just purchased and potted up.  Both died.  And I bought an Allagoptera Caudescens seedling 2 years ago, potted it up and then forgot to water it or put it in my "nursery" area where it would get daily watering.  Fortunately a PT member had a bunch more nice seedlings for sale recently, so I have replacements!!!    So far I haven't managed to accidentally kill anything that I have a strong attachment to, or a lot of time spent growing them.  Yet...

Can't imagine walking out into the kitchen after awakening to see a Bear trampling through the yard.. I'd likely be thinking " yea, think i got up a bit  too early today ", lol. Not something i think i'd want to try and shoo away either 

As far as accidental "Plant a'-cide, where do i start.. worst case was when i first moved here. List of stuff i lost right away is pretty long.. and brutal, all because i'd run out of funds after the move and couldn't put up shade cloth in time to protect stuff that first summer. That said, there have been times i had to put certain things out of their misery, so to say.. or, as was the case in the summer of 2017, had to accept losses i'd incurred after i suffered serious heat related issues and couldn't tend to certain things for about a month during the hottest/ driest part of the year.  Perfect example of.. as the saying goes.. "Stuff happens, roll with it"

Luckily, like you, i've been able to keep a majority of the most valuable things going through it all..

55 minutes ago, Tracy said:

My other Encephalartos nubimontanus would do damage to me if I accidentally stepped into it.  It's also big enough to be dog proof even for the bigger dogs that visit my yard from time to time.  I have another cycad behind it that is still a seedling so I used stakes and garden tape to create a little warning barrier around it for protection.  Probably should have done the same with the other nubimontanus and it would be in much better shape.

 

Would say the same thing about most of my bigger/ spinier cacti specimens that aren't kept in the shade house. While i do tip one of the Barrel cacti and an Opuntia sp., just to instill the idea of " leave that alone for sure" when a curious nose sniffs around for the presence of cats, haven't really had many issues w/ having to remove spines from said nose or paws.. Seems to know " yea, that will hurt if i sniff it " That said, i'm sure the time will come when i'll have to stand outside w/ the squirt bottle, just in case, esp. once i expand my Cycad collection again.. Don't plan on having too many "dangerous" spiny things placed where he might regularly get into them anyway..

Could always be worse, imagine Bears knocking on your back door like @Merlyn2220 described.. Not sure which would be worse though, opening the curtains and seeing a Bear or a Mountain Lion sunning itself on the patio.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
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[Merlyn]

So far (keeping my fingers crossed) the only thing the local black bears have actually attacked has been my white birds of paradise.  Last winter a 4' bird got ripped apart and in December an 8' one got mangled, with pieces strewn all over the yard.  Our bears are about the size of really large dogs, generally 200-300lb and not too aggressive.  The one that trampled my Arengas walked up to the back door and was peering in, probably looking at our cats as snacks.  I took a couple of steps across the room towards the door and it fled at warp speed across my 2 pots of Arengas.  If I'd left it alone it probably would have just wandered off.  

[Tracy]

On 2/4/2020 at 5:07 PM, Tracy said:

This morning I was doing a little cleanup after strong Santa Ana winds created some minor messes in my yard.  At one point I was really focused on the task at hand and stepped back into a small but somewhat valuable seedling I have been growing for about five years now.  It was a bit of a heartbreaker when I felt something under foot, looked down at all the leaves broken off my small Encephalartos nubimontanus.  I had transplanted it to a new spot at one point which slowed it's growth, but getting it as a single leaf seedling and working with it for five years didn't make it any easier to see the damage.  I know that most of the plant is currently subterranean.  I'll hope for the best and leave it in place after carefully trimming off the leaves that I unceremoniously crushed this morning.  Fortunately I do have another one that is quite a bit further along, so no fear of stepping on it by accident.  I guess this is what we call unintentional editing.

Well it wasn't much but the trampled Encephalartos has survived and pushed out one new leaf.  It was clearly set back in that only one leaf is coming up, but at least I now know it survived.  Sometimes we get lucky!