Taking Care of Baby

In years long-passed, my gardening efforts might have been considered a little haphazard. Though not without good intentions (and we know which road those pave), my horticultural knowledge, advance preparation, and follow-through were sometimes at a bit of a paucity. I was a too-young single mother trying to raise two kids right, working a job or two at a time, and scrambling to keep up with the multitude of life's demands. Plants in my care were often given a stern lecture when plopped unceremoniously into unprepared holes: "If you're going to hang with me, you're going to have to hang tough. I don't have time to mollycoddle you. Water, feeding, attention to pests and disease, and protection in winter will be touch and go. But buck up, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" Some embraced the challenge like soldiers; others languished on the spot and demanded to be returned to the nursery.

The kids are grown and gone now, and I have a little more time on my hands. And though still not without my share of gardening blunders, a lot more thought, study, and effort go into it these days. But nothing compares to the effort put forth for the newest arrival.

By the time the UPS guy pulled up to the curb with my little Tamukeyama Japanese maple, I had been working on its new home for two days. I'd read, and re-read, the planting and care instructions on Pacific Coast Maples' web site. The sego palm had been removed, and, in a carefully selected location, had I dug out a hole 6' in diameter and six inches deeper than I suspected the root ball would be. I turned over the soil, removed debris, gently put earthworms back in the pile, and mixed 50% of the original soil together with equal amounts of mushroom compost and Black Kow. A light dash of acidic fertilizer, such as you would use for azaleas, camellias and hydrangeas, was stirred in to the mix. I finished preparation 30 minutes before the arrival of my prize.

Safely packed in a box inside a box and carefully tied to a tall bamboo stake, my wee maple wasn't much worse for the wear for its trip all the way across the country. I had been warned to expect a bit of stress-induced color loss in the leaves, which would normally be a richer purple-green this time of year. Other than that, there was a small amount of browning to the tips of one area of delicate leaf tips, but that, too, was to be expected. Overall, it was a lovely specimen and a healthy tree. Thirty minutes after landing on my sidewalk on the 10th of July, she was planted in her new home and being watered. She didn't get the "hang tough" speech from days of yore; instead I promised the moon and years of adulation and doting pampering to come.

When she was tucked in for the night I couldn't help but stand back and admire my little sapling, imagining what it would look like throughout the seasons, year after year....

Three days later the browning and curling of the leaf tips had spread considerably and, like a mother whose new baby has the sniffles for the first time, I suspected the worst and flew into a panic. After years of dreaming of having one of these trees, considerable expense (on my laughable budget anyway), and significant preparation, my baby was sick! What to do!?

I took photographs of the leaves from all directions and, together with a detailed description of the planting steps and current symptoms, emailed them to "Dr." Greg at Pacific Coast Maples. He called me back and patiently assured me all was well. He had looked at the photos carefully and could see that, though I might lose a few leaves, the buds themselves were still quite healthy. He reassuringly went over the care and maintenance with me again, and spent far more time with me than my perfectly healthy paltry purchase warranted.

But the babying, Black Kow, and sweet-talking have paid off. The browning ceased, leaf loss was at a minimum, and in two short weeks my little tree has grown a full four inches (I measured). A delicate burst of lacy, bright, crimson leaves have sprouted from the top, with new buds are unfurling every day.

Aw, isn't she beautiful!