I think I last wrote about my little trees back in August 2023. I’m pleased to say that most are still growing in their small pots on our back patio. I have a few rowan, a silver birch, a dwarf beech, a sessile oak and a few others that I can’t remember their names. How remiss of me.
I have recently bought a magnolia and I’m hoping it will give flowers soon. Perhaps it will be next year though.
During the long hot spell last year I lost one or two trees but most have survived. Being in pots, they need watering more than they would if their roots were in the garden soil. A watering does wonders for plants.
We have a small garden and so keeping the trees in pots restricts their true growth and they remain miniature. All it takes is a bit of prudent pruning, though I haven’t got a clue what I am doing when it comes to a pair of secateurs. I need to airgap the pots otherwise the roots work their way down through the cracks in the paving slabs in search of nutrients.
Oh, I have an olive tree as well.
Apart from the olive, all of them are deciduous, though we do have a couple of conifers out in front of the house. Over the last few weeks, each of them has been coming into leaf. The buds have been dormant throughout the winter and it has been a pleasure to see them burst and the tender leaves unfold, that is except for the oak.
For some reason, the oak took its time. Every day I would go out and check on it, feel that the buds were ok and bend the twigs to make sure they were not brittle. Everything seemed to be fine but as time went on I worried more and more that I had managed to kill it. Then, one day I was sure that one of the buds had started to expand and sure enough, after a few more days the first of many leaves appeared. My relief was palpable. Now it is a healthy little tree among my collection.
I needn’t have worried. Nature is amazing and each of the trees is going to wake up when it is good and ready.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 