Leaves Love. They Aren't

 

When I was in Annapolis earlier this year, for my aunt’s funeral, I took an early walk around the city and stumbled upon the campus on St. John’s College.  I’d long admired the program, with its focus on the classics and its best of both campus world’s with one there and the other in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which had always sounded dreamy.  Strolling on the campus I spied a huge tree that I didn’t recognize and my Seek app told me was a “willow oak.”

 

The nursery I’d gotten my chestnut trees from in Georgia, Tyty Nursery won’t ship trees after June.  It has something to do with blooming and it’s all in the tree and the consumer’s best interest I’m sure.  Accordingly, I’d given up on ordering anything new.  Bouncing around on line though I stumbled upon Nature Hills Nursury, in Omaha Nebraska and they don’t seem to give a damn what time of year it is.  Willow oaks of four feet in height could be had for a mere forty dollars and about ten days ago I impulse-purchased two of them.  They arrived today. 

Online it seems that don’t grow naturally much beyond Maryland.  Still, I matched the requisite growing zone.  The live oak, by comparison did not and thought it looked beautiful I imagined it wilting in the ‘live’ winter we have here that isn’t kind to droopy, moss-covered things.  My wife, was skeptical: “we have too many oaks.”  “Ah but look at these leaves, love.  They aren’t like any other tree we have.”  “Put them over there, away from the house.”   I found a place down from the driveway near a smaller tree that had died, where there was light and then another spot that could be seen, from a distance on the back porch.  Siting them out I tried to imagine them as towering hundred-year-old giants, though I’d never see them that way. 

 

It’s been raining a lot and the soil, particularly along the slope where I dug the first whole was very wet.  I planted it, filled it in with potting soil and topped it with mulch and some tree-food and went off to dig the second hole.  In this location, the soil was wetter still.  Water seemed to be flowing into the hole once I’d dug it.  I had a call to do around 3:30PM and went back inside before I planted it in determined to have a look and confirm that willow oaks like water.  I found two or three articles that seemed to confirm my prejudice, they seem to be hearty drinkers.

Back outside, later on the hole looked like a small pond.  I filled it as best I could with potting soil and placed the tree in, telling myself I needn’t water it.  I wonderd if the two trees were already speaking to one another counselling me on a soil-istic upgrade.  Covered now in mulch it looks alright, but I’m concerned, I suppose that this may not be the ideal environment. The sun will be out tomorrow.  Let’s see how it goes. 

Wednesday, 7/14/21