Just for purposes of commisseration and support:
I've killed several trees this year. One was a small sweetgum I collected from my yard. Not sure what did it in, but it didn't last long after collection. One was a mulberry I collected. I've had tons of mulberries popping up around the yard. I successfully collected about ten of them, but one of the larger ones I accidentally chopped through the trunk just below the soil line--an act of sheer stupidity, there's no other excuse--and although I tried to root it as a cutting it didn't take. I also started some giant sequoias from seed, got nine of them to germinate but then all died, mostly from damping off I think.
But we have to be philosophical about these things. Live and learn. Or maybe kill and learn. We will survive to do bonsai another year.
