Garden: The Case of My Movable Trees

I have some potted plants in the side of our house, a forgotten section that's not really visible.  I have a row of ficus and until recently, a pine tree.

The pine tree was one of four that I had acquired 20 years ago. Three were planted in our vacation place. I stuck the extra tree in a pot, where it managed to grow under dire conditions.

Meantime, next to the pine tree was a resourceful ficus that was crammed in its pot and decided to take care of itself. This 15-year-old plant threw out of its pot, two roots, which started to burrow under the wall and into the ground. The ficus grew much larger than my other potted ficus plants; it was almost two-stories high. It was not only crowded in its pot, its oak pot was disintegrating. My two sons and I attempted to repot the ficus but it didn't fit its new pot.

I had to make decisions about these two plants, and finally, realizing that repotting them would only extend their agony of living in tight pots, I decided to give them away. I trimmed them to the height of around 10-feet, which I thought was more manageable than 15 feet. I placed an ad in Craigslist, and right away I got queries from people wanting the trees.

The pine tree went to a lovely young couple who had to work hard to get the tree into their van. They were sweet enough to send me a picture of the pine tree next to their house - see last bottom picture. They will be planting it into the ground once they find a good spot for it.

The ficus went to a young gardener/landscaper who wanted it for his yard. I was awed to watch him move the ficus to his van by himself. He, too, was crazy about the plant and will be planting the ficus in the ground.

I'm glad I didn't chop up these trees to get rid of them. The plants had served me for many years, and it wouldn't have been right to kill them. They are in good homes now, and will be very happy once they're planted in the ground.

The Pine Tree in its New Home! It will be planted in the ground.

Read also
Garden: Helping the Birds and the Bees with Feeder and Fountains
Sphagnum Moss Almost Killed My Orchids

tags: gardening, garden, yard, trees, plants, ficus, pine, home

This is all for now,
Cecilia