Last year, I purchased a fruiting mulberry tree and two flowering dogwood seedlings. The box of each was about the diameter of a No. 2 yellow pencil and not much longer than the famous writing instrument. Both mulberry and dogwood trees will take at least a decade to reach a mature height of 10 to 15 feet. You can add a few more growing seasons to my classes before they reach maturity; Due to the small size they came from the nursery.
I, unfortunately, have been waking up for years, and when I think about planting a tree like this in the present, knowing that I could have exited the planet, stage left, by said time the tree will be large enough to adorn my garden with its shade or enjoy its fruits or habit Her blossom.
Why then, you may ask (go ahead, ask), would I stack the deck, so to speak, against myself and possibly enjoy the benefits of said tree by not planting one with some substance, such as a normal-sized five-foot tree from a local nursery ?
Well, it's like this: Since I'm of a certain age and nearing the end of my time here growing trees, shrubs, etc., I've chosen to “go young” and rely on enjoying my plantings on the front end, rather than the typical back end of their growth.
Knowing that these three young trees are likely to survive the rigors of growing alone somewhere in the yard – riding lawnmowers are hell on newly planted trees, and we can forget to water them when mixed in with all the other trees and shrubs. And flower beds – I chose to create my own small nursery near the garden where these trees can get all the care and love they need, seedlings like these.
In gallon-sized recycled black plastic pots, I added a mixture of topsoil, compost, and organic fertilizer that served as a temporary home for my tender plants. Instead of being ignored and forgotten somewhere in the big yard, my raspberry and dogwood seedlings spent last summer being pampered (and enjoyed) near the eggplant and pepper plants, thus doubling in size by the end of the growing season.
I expect that after another summer's pampering, these seedlings will fall into the category of small young trees and be ready for their final resting place; Either in the yard or in the large flower garden near the road the following spring. By then, I hope they won't be in their final resting place, and I can continue to enjoy their journey from scrawny seedling to mature tree status.
The five-foot-tall dogwood tree that was planted last year will become a six-foot-tall dogwood tree this year and looks the same as it did when it was first planted. My “front pleasure” trees are on their way from yellow #2 status to great little tree status while I enjoy the hoped-for accomplishment of seeing said seedlings finally transition to mature specimen status.
My hope is that I will find myself still hanging out outside my country house well into my early 80s when I can enjoy the fruits of my labor from the here and now. The question of course is whether somewhere down the line, will I consider planting more trees for a future I enjoy more, or will I come to my senses and leave it alone?
For my own sake, I plan to never come to my senses, and when the time comes to “plant,” I hope they (whoever they may be) will first have to snatch the shovel from my cold, dead hands, and finish planting the tree. I was in the middle of planting, and they thought, “What was he thinking? This is an oak tree that will take decades to mature. How on earth could he imagine enjoying such a tree at this age?”
At my age, the “front end” is where all the fun is. Live for the present, not the future, no matter how old you are.
– Michael Jones is a columnist and contributor to the Gaylord Herald Times. He can be reached at mfomike2@gmail.com.
