![\"IMG_4171\"](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/IMG_4171.jpg\")
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Inside that plastic white envelope were 12 trees! \u00a0Each of those sticks is one tree. \u00a0Yes, one tree!<\/p>\n
I’m not sure exactly what I expected. \u00a0And yes if I thought about it for more than 2 minutes I would have realized that they wouldn’t ship heavy trees in pots for $10. \u00a0So here I was with 12 sticks with a few roots and a tiny leaf or two.<\/p>\n
The instructions said to plant them immediately. \u00a0Like as in today or tomorrow. \u00a0The 12 sticks with roots came in a plastic bag covered in a goo that kept them hydrated. \u00a0The instructions said to soak them in water for a few hours them carefully untangle the roots. \u00a0I had been told that I would be sent trees that were appropriate for my area. \u00a0 You may be wondering how I would know which trees were which. \u00a0Each stick was painted a different color and they came with a color coded chart.<\/p>\n
This is what I received (I am writing it all down here so when I lose the list I can look here to tell what’s what!):<\/p>\n
2 Sargent Crabapple (painted purple): grows to 6′-10′ tall<\/p>\n
3 American Redbud (painted white): grows to 20′-30′ tall<\/p>\n
2 Washington Hawthorn (painted dark blue): grows to 25′-30′ tall<\/p>\n
3 White Flowering Dogwood (painted orange): grows to 25′ tall<\/p>\n
2 Crapemyrtle (painted red): grows to 15′-20′ tall<\/p>\n
If you notice none of these are small shrubs. \u00a0They may be appropriate for my area but not really for my yard! \u00a0I have a small piece of property and before this adventure didn’t own a tree. \u00a0My backyard has lots of shade from my neighbor’s trees which makes my backyard a lot cooler. \u00a0It also doesn’t leave a lot of room for planting trees of my own. \u00a0I could fit something smaller in the front yard but I would have to convince TB that digging up some grass to plant a tree \u00a0isn’t a terrible idea.<\/p>\n
Now that they were here the next issue was finding somewhere to plant 12 trees. \u00a0They said I could plants them in a temporary spot until they got older and had to be moved. \u00a0 I didn’t think they would last a day stuck in the ground in a place where Opie and his dog friends had access to them. \u00a0Even though it said it wasn’t optimal I went with putting them in pots. \u00a0Luckily TB found a bunch of half used bags of organic potting soil to use. \u00a0We mixed them all in a wheelbarrow and filled the pots we had available. \u00a0We were short pots so we doubled up a few in each (another thing I’m sure wasn’t on the instructions). \u00a0None of this was what the instructions said to do but was really our only option on short notice.<\/p>\n
I figured they wouldn’t last the week, they looked so frail. I am happy to report that they arrived on April 18th and all are doing well. \u00a0(One got yanked out from a storm the other day but I stuck it back in so we will see how that goes.)<\/p>\n
So here are my trees as they look today, a little more than a month after they arrived here as sticks.<\/p>\n
The American Redbud –<\/p>\n
The Sargent Crabapple –<\/p>\n The Washington Hawthorne –<\/p>\n The White Flowering Dogwood –<\/p>\n The Crapemyrtle –<\/p>\n I have some very nice friends who have offered me some more pots so I can at least get each tree in it’s own pot. \u00a0I am going to let them hang out and grow for awhile until I figure out what to do with them. \u00a0I can really only pick one to keep. \u00a0From there I will have to find homes for the rest once they are big enough.<\/p>\n So for $10, some pots and some soil I get to help add some trees to the world. \u00a0Trees are so very important. \u00a0 Not only do they clean the air, their roots help stop erosion, they are home to many kinds of wildlife and they provide shade to keep us cool and lower out electric bills using less fossil fuels.<\/p>\n If you are interested in getting your own baby trees go to the Arbor Day Foundation tree program.<\/a>\u00a0 If growing trees isn’t\u00a0your thing but you would like to help them with their good tree planting work, go to the Arbor Day Foundation to donate<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n