If you guys have read this old post, you already know half of this story. For the rest of you, here we go. Way back in 2007, right before we got married – and before we even started this blog – my parents gave us a tiny Japanese maple. It was a little 24″ offshoot that had started growing near the large maple in their backyard. We planted the tiny little thing in our backyard, said a few plant prayers for it, and it grew a smidge in the 3+ years it lived there… though we don’t really have any photographic evidence of it.
Since it was meaningful to us – having some wedding significance and having come from my childhood home – we dug it up before selling that house and brought it with us when we moved to our second house. Perhaps you’re starting to see where this story is going.
Since our last move took place in the winter, we were almost certain that our transplantation efforts killed it. But much to our surprise, it survived…
… and even managed to grow a bit bigger, although you never really noticed it in photos because it got lost amongst some other purple bushes that grew in around it.
Since our last move, my parents have moved out of my childhood home making this little tree even more special to us. So of course we had to dig it up and bring it with us again, even if it’s not as little now. Note: dig up your plant before you put your house on the market since anything in the ground during showings is expected to convey unless you indicate that it’s coming with you in the contract.
Digging it up was pretty easy. I made a wide hole around it and then gently lifted and wiggled until it came loose. The root ball seemed to be pretty small, so I was able to fit it into a plastic bin that I had handy. It had become a bit heavier since its last move, which is how Sherry captured this not-so-flattering shot of me hoisting it up while getting a leaf to the eye.
We decided to move it over to the new house as soon as we dug it up – just so it wasn’t in the way during showings. It barely fit in our car, but barely works just fine for us. Even if it means Sherry has to ride in the backseat with maple leaves up her nose. We secretly wondered if other drivers would think we were cruising around with a giant marijuana plant in our car, just begging to be arrested. But no one stopped us. We’re not sure if we’re relieved or concerned.
It sat in our new backyard for a while (through showings and moving and us getting settled for a few weeks) and then we buckled down and said “we have to get this thing in the ground before we kill it” (we had drilled a few holes in the bottom of the bin for drainage but knew it wasn’t going to thrive in there forever). Finding a new spot for it was a little challenging because there are still so many question marks about our landscaping, but we decided this spot on the periphery of the woods that surround our deck is a safe bet. That way it’s visible from the house and has plenty of room to grow (unlike last time).
Now we just have to cross our fingers that transplanting it in the heat of summer didn’t kill it. We used some compost and some garden soil when we planted it – just to give it the best shot we could – and thanks to lots of rain lately, it seems to be doing ok so far.
Actually, our main worry has been the deer. Of which (if you’ve been following our Instagram) we see lots of lately. We know they like to eat some low-lying shrubs, but so far our maple seems unappetizing. I even caught this one giving it a sniff and then wandering off. Move along, little buddy. Move along.
Anyone else have success (or failures) transplanting things? Or do you have any sentimental items (flora or otherwise) that have made a few moves with you? We can’t believe this maple is now living in its 4th yard, counting my parents’ place where it was “born.” They grow up so fast. Single tear.
Kate says
We planted a maple tree SEED when we first started dating that was pretty special to us. It lived and grew pretty big, big enough that we decided to move it to our family farm when we moved from our first house. All of the kids in our family have a tree dedicated to them at the farm so it seemed only natural that our “love tree” should live there too. It did fine until last summer when it was 100 million degrees in the midwest for multiple months in a row, and unfortunately the Love Tree didn’t make it :( Luckily it doesn’t seem to have been an omen for our actual love so far haha!
Kate says
PS: I hope your tree fares better!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh boo. But that’s pretty impressive that it came from a seed!
-John
Heidi P. says
Good luck little tree!!
I’ve always planned on dividing my perennials whenever I move to take half with me.
Pruning tips: Never prune more than 1/3 of the branching at a time. Best to prune in the fall after leaves have fallen or in the spring. Cut as perpendicular as possible and as close to the crotch as possible without cutting into the collar. That’ll help it to seal properly over time. Prune branches that are coming out too close to each other (like right on top of each for example) or that are growing too close to the trunk (like at an acute angle as it comes out of the trunk). Best of luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the advice, Heidi!
-John
betty says
i’m sure all this rain has helped the transplant! it seems like it wont stop raining in richmond!! i transplanted some cherry tomato plants a few weeks ago and havent had to water them since..
Teri Pickens says
I have 14 Crape Myrtles in my yard. They all came from two $2.99 6″ pots ten years ago. I moved the original 2,two times and the rest have been transplanted the tree times in my present yard. I have found that you can move trees any time of the year but the hotter the season the more water they need. I try to move trees in late winter (February here in LA) and they tend to have time to get established before it begins to get hot! Don’t forget to fertilize! I love reading your posts. They are awesome and motivational for me. I love that you and John love your home the way that you do! Keep writing and I will keep reading!
Kelly says
We were given a Meyer Lilac in 1996 when our then two year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. As our daughter grew stronger, the tree grew bigger. Both bloomed beautifully! We moved that lilac three times since then (once to a different state and climate zone). It sat in a bucket in the back of our empty lot for five months while we built one of our houses and it not only survived, but bloomed every year. Unfortunately, it has been dying the last few years despite having tree experts efforts to save it. It’s sad, but we are so glad we moved it with us all these years.
Best of luck with your maple!
Megan says
We bought a 2′ Japanese maple last year and had to move it more in the shade. Luckily (especially for you guys), Japanese maples have small root systems. Hope he lives!!!
Noelle says
We transplanted a green bush from one of the front corners of the yard to the back corner of the yard, where a big gnarly un-kid friendly rose bush had been removed and a giant hole was ready and waiting. We don’t know what type of bush it is, but it was green and stayed green year round. After a few months I was sure it was dead. All the leaves had fallen off and the branches looked dead. This spring, not only did it grow new leaves, it had tiny purple flowers too! We were thrilled to see it living, but even more excited to see purple flowers on it. I’m thinking the previous rose bush left some nice qualities in the dirt for it. Seriously though, I’ve got no clue why it survived, I can’t keep a cactus alive. I had just planted some purple rhodies in the back near this awesome bush, so finding purple flowers on it was a huge bonus.
Adley K says
My dad has had night blooming cereus plants that he obtained after my grandfather (his father) passed away. While they look a bit strange, the blooms this plant can produce are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The interesting thing about these plants is they only bloom during a full moon. The last time they bloomed was the night before I completely moved out of my parent’s house in Ohio to my place in Virginia. In total, the three plants had a combined total of 12 blooms. My dad literally called all of our neighbors at 10PM to have them over to look at the plants. Please do a google image search on the plant – it is totally worth it to see these blooms!
Once I move into a place that has ample light, my dad has promised that I will get one of the plants :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wow. So cool looking!
-John
alisha says
beautiful!
Amanda says
When my husband and I got married about two years ago, we used blue hydrangeas as our wedding flowers. For one of my showers, my mom gave me two blue hydrangea plants (after using them to decorate for the party) and we planted them on either side of our front stoop. I’ve already told my husband that whenever we sell our house, we’re taking the hydrangeas with us – even if we have to plant a couple non-sentimental ones in their place!
Up until this year, they flowered in time for our anniversary, which is a nice reminder. But with the weather so wonky this spring, they were about two weeks late. :-/
Jane says
My husband and I were married in a formal garden owned by the city of Kalamazoo, MI 37 years ago. It was surrounded by gorgeous ferns, and when the city decided to level the garden to make a baseball diamond (!!!) we received permission to dig up some of the ferns. As we were newlyweds living in an apartment, we planted them at my inlaw’s farm. They were transplanted 12 years later at our first home, and now flourish in our last home. We are still sentimental about those ferns witnessing our vows!
Matt says
Guys, we had been given money to plant a tree when our daughter passed away, over the last year and a half we have been afraid to do it because “What if we move?” We are going to go for it and get a smallish magnolia – thanks to everyone for their sentimental transplant stories. Wish us luck…
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck! And so sorry to hear about your daughter. If you still worry about being able to transplant it, you could also just put it in a visible spot where you’d be able to still see it from the street if you ever were to move. Then you could at least do drive-bys. :)
-John
meg says
Try Deer Scram from Amazon It works really well AND doesn’t smell like urine (always a plus!) like other products.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip, Meg!
-John
Kathy says
I love this little maple tree story!
Just six months before we moved to our first/current home, my mom passed away in the summer. Her coworkers had sent a beautiful basket of flowering plants to her memorial service. When we moved here, I brought one of the little hydrangea plants from the basket and planted it in our backyard. Now, 12 yrs later, it’s a huge shrub that blooms beautifully every summer–reminding me of my mom.
Bboss says
We have Lily-of-the-Valley that my husbands grandmother planted at the family homestead in PA that we have planted at both houses we have owned. Also, we have this enormous piece of kyanite my husband picked up when he was a field geologist. I made him bring it when we moved.
NathanD says
We moved from another state to our current house. We dug up and brought with us our favorite hosta plant. It didn’t do so well at first, but it has finally started to adapt to its new climate. We are glad. It has been with the family for six or seven years now.
Chelsea says
We just started building a house and the land had 4 small pine trees growing right where the house would sit. They weren’t very old at all (maybe 3 years) and I’m guessing they ended up there through pollination. I wanted to keep them so I transplanted them to the edge of our property, where I can see them out our kitchen window & hopefully one day they will block the neighbors :) It’s been about 3 months now and they are still green! All we did was water them maybe once a week for 3 weeks!
Nancy says
I am readying to plant some Hosta bushes that will be a three generation transplant. They were originally at my Mother’s childhood home. When my grandmother sold that house, she took a few of the plants with her to her new home. That is where my mother lives now. I have just moved into my own first home, and my Mom has graciously offered to let me dig some of the original Hosta up to transplant in my garden.
Alison@soiledrotten says
Love how meaningful this is! You guys were my original inspiration to start Soiledrotten. Thank you : )
YoungHouseLove says
Congrats on your new blog. Love the name!
-John
Sydni says
One month ago today, my husband and I planted a Japanese Maple as a unity planting at our wedding instead of sand or a candle. He has survived the whole month in a big container and hopefully will keep doing so until we can plant his happy roots in a real yard that belongs to us. Thanks for the tip on digging up trees before selling!
tracy harp says
I was not blessed with gardening genes so I love easy to maintain plants. Three houses ago, I started collecting interesting varieties of hosta plants, getting many of them from friends. Hosta are great because you can take just a part of the plant with you. We took 7 plants with us two houses ago and in September when we moved to a rental we brought 3 of our favorites. I am sure when we get settled into our own home in a couple of years, I will take parts of them with us again. It does provide a sense of “home” no matter where you go.
Sayre says
When my husband and I bought our trailer in the woods, my grandmother gave us an orange gerber daisy as a housewarming present. It lived on my front deck, which got very, very hot in the summer. It “died”, so hubby tossed it into the woods and we forgot about it. Fast forward about 7 years… My son is old enough to be interested in the woods around the house, so he and hubby go exploring and guess what they find? The orange daisy alive and thriving! Hubby dug it up and put it in a clay pot and it came back to live on the deck. We know now that it’s a plant that dies back and comes back – and it’s moved with us twice. It now lives (still in the little clay pot) in my front flower bed with roses and aloes. BTW, we moved into that first house 18 years ago.
Anna says
DO NOT COUNT ON DEER NOT EATING YOUR MAPLE!!! In “our neighborhood” the local deer herd is up to 25 graceful, lovely eating machines. My tallest Japanese maple is simply a trunk with a tier of leaves at the top – where the deer cannot reach. Since this maple has such a deep meaning for you you need to be introduced to a product called “Liquid Fence” a spray with which you can protect all of your special plants. The smell is simply awful, when wet, but does protect for a few weeks at a time. Just so ya know ….
Federica says
Ciao,
Vi seguo oramai da molto tempo copiando spesso le vostre idee.
Le vostre case sono sempre state bellissime e credo che questa ultima sia favolosa…sistemata un po’.
Un caro saluto
Federica
Laura says
We have a viburnum bush that my husband’s mom gave us as a gift on our first anniversary. It and two hydrangeas that were also first anniversary gifts moved with us from our first house. My husband’s mom has since passed away, so it’s nice to have the viburnum as a reminder of her.
Cristina says
Oh, I am saying plant prayers for you–the best time to plant trees here in Georgia is late October – late March.
My husband is a tree nut… I mean enthusiast. He came across a rogue Japanese Maple in some woods he was working in, and dug it up and planted it in our yard. It’s thriving in its second year.
But the best story is that he likes to collect acorns and other tree seeds and try growing them himself. As part of our wedding centerpieces we had seedlings he grew himself. Of the 20 seedlings we had at the wedding, we now only have one (maybe 2). It happens to be a Chestnut Oak, and it has moved with us to two apartments, and to the house we purchased in 2011. It’s still doing well, but we’re worried about when it outgrows its pot and needs to be planted in the ground. We don’t have a good place for it in our yard, we’re pretty sure we’re not in our forever home, and it means so much to us. I know it’s in good hands with my husband though… but sometimes nature doesn’t do what we want.
Julie W says
Love this story!
My great-grandmother died when I was in 7th grade (not gonna tell you how long ago that was. Ok, it was 20 years ago!). She and I were very close, and I took it pretty hard. My grandmother decided that I should have one of the gorgeous pothos plants that someone had sent for the funeral (side note, I also took a cutting from a pothos plant at my grandmother’s funeral). Since then, a piece of each plant has survived countless moves, neglect, direct scorching sunlight, and flying out the open t-top of my ’83 Camaro. Now a runner of each plant lives quite happily in an old lantern-turned-vase in my kitchen. I smile and get a mini-flashback of the good times spent with my grands every time I look at it. It’s one of those things that I will hang on to as long as possible.
Shawna says
We have a ton of apple trees and obivously the deer love them! We put fence up around them until the trees get a little more established. But I am sure you wouldn’t want to put a fence around this tree but a cheaper alternative is Irish Spring Bar Soap. You can either drill a hole in it, put a string on it and hang it from a tree branch or put some shavings of the soap around the base of it. For some reason the deer don’t like the smell. :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s cool to hear. Irish Spring smells much better than it sounds like some of the alternatives do!
-John
Amy says
When we bought our house there was an established japanese maple in the front yard, along with a little sapling in the back growing near the foundation. We transplanted it over a year ago (so it can be with it’s friend in the front yard) and it’s doing surprisingly well. As far as pruning goes – you can prune to shape it. We are trying to keep ours relatively short since otherwise it would block all the sunlight in our kitchen. We also prune off a lot of suckers near the bottom of the younger one (I leave a few so it will achieve the shape I want). They are awesome trees and are great to photograph on a sunny day.
Tammy says
My grandmother bought a hosta for her first home in 1941. When my mother got married and got her first house in 1965 she got a section of the hosta. My parents lived in 4 different houses, transplanting a chunk of the hosta at each house. When I bought my first house in 1998, you guessed it….I got a chunk of the hosta. I moved to my current house in 2004 and it is still with me. I intend to give a chunk to each kid when they get their own home. :-)
Meg says
We planted maples for each of our kids on their first birthday and they all did well for a few years but one hard winter and the deer ate them. I would agree with others, put up a temp fence around the tree at least during winter.
Bethany says
My grandma gave me a couple small pieces of her clematis vine to plant at my first house. It grew up an arbor and was beautiful, never have I loved a plant so much, so we reserved it in the listing when we sold our house. Dug it up, but didn’t have a place to plant it while we were in transition to the new house, so my mom plant-sat it for me and gave it back last year. Now it’s at our new house and I’m hoping it will eventually grow to cover the pergola we built.
Holly Robertson says
I’m not sure if anyone has said this but try a Gator bag. It will continuously water the tree to keep in moist.
http://tinyurl.com/pzntsfm
Your little tree also needs lots of sun to be happy, and a tidy hair cut. With less leaves to worry about your tree can concentrate on growing a healthy root ball. Which should be as wide or wider than the spread of branches. You can get fertilizer spikes too, but I would read the doses very carefully. Most are for full grown trees.
By the by, I’ve been reading your blog since the beginning and I think this is the first time I’ve commented. You guys are Awesome. Thanks for writing.
Sarah says
For the deer:
I grew up on an apple farm and when new trees were planted we would hang soap to keep the deer away. Those little bars of soap like you find in hotels? Yup just a hole drilled through those, wrapper left on and then hung on the trees using twisty ties (and it took forever to do that to an entire new orchard). If its how farmers protect their livelihood could be worth giving a shot to protect your little tree.
YoungHouseLove says
So smart!
xo
s
alisha says
I am a VERY sentimental plant person! When I was in first grade, my class took a trip to an authentic Johnny Appleseed Apple Orchard (my hero…told ya I’m a total plant geek) and we each got a Johnny Appleseed apple which we got to keep the seeds from so we could plant our own.
Well, my folks were in the process of selling the home they had built with their own four hands (it had been on the market for 3 YEARS and my dad was commuting across state daily for work), so we planted the seeds in a small turtle-shaped planter so we could bring them with us.
Imagine Childhood Alisha’s fury to discover my poor, harried mother had tossed the (not really showing signs of life) seeds from the planter in haste to pack up our house when it finally did sell! I cried and yelled and cried some more. I think I even threatened to “Stay behind” during the move myself. Hell hath no fury like Childhood Alisha scorned.
My parents realized then and there that I meant business when it came to protecting trees! (The protest signs I made at age eight when my dad tried to trim a tree on the new property depicting a Christmas tree wrapped in chains reading “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!!!! I FEEL, TOO!!” may have confirmed their suspicions.
In the years since that I had collected three baby pine trees (McDonald’s Happy Meal prize, Earth Day poster contest prize, end of 7th grade gift from teacher) that were originally planted in my mom’s front flower bed. They eventually outgrew the space and needed to get transplanted to my parent’s side yard where they are still growing.
I used to make my parent’s swear that if they moved again they would let me dig up each tree and transplant them along with us. But at 20+ feet I don’t know if that is still feasible (or if I am that crazy) I guess loving me means loving my special brand of tree-crazy.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love the story Alisha! Hilarious, and so sweet.
xo
s
Sarah says
I think the duplicate filter ate my last comment. Trick for the deer from living on a farm: bars of soap (like the super stinky ones you find in hotels) with the wrapper left on and a hole drilled in it. Hang on the tree with a twisty tie. We used to spend HOURS hanging soap when my dad planted a new orchard. Hey if farmers trust their livelihood with this method I’d say its worth a shot with your little tree.
Lindsay says
Totally off topic, but your first house’s laundry nook was featured in an MSN article, based on a photo taken by ‘The Nest’ magazine! http://living.msn.com/home-decor/spring-refresh/slideshow?cp-documentid=257375359#4
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Thanks for the tip Lindsay!
xo
s
Deb says
The only tip I have for transplanting trees/shrubs is to use a root stimulator, called Ferti-lome, you mix it when watering early on or at time of transplant. It has always made the trees/shrubs thrive. Best of luck with your Japanese Maple!
Katie says
My boss brought a tree with her when their family moved from Chicago to Richmond over 20 years ago! It is now a huge tree in their yard and they call it the “Chad Tree” for their son. They took a picture of him in front of it every year for the first day of school.
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo
s
Julia at Home on 129 Acres says
I transplanted a bunch of bleeding hearts and shasta daisy from my parents’ last week, and I thought I’d killed them all, but they’re finally starting to perk up again. I moved two big bushes last night and I’m hoping that they’ll survive. The most important part of transplanting in my experience is drowning the plants with water as soon as I put them in the ground and for a couple of days after.
Judy Welles says
This is a bit different, because our lemon tree is in a container and always has been. We’ve kept it not only alive, but thriving, for 19 years in a range of climates from CA to PA and now OR. The trick is to bring it inside in the winter (which now means giving up our breakfast room, as the lemon tree takes up the entire space). When we lived in PA, we actually hauled it upstairs for the winter to the one room in the house where there was space for it. It’s a Meyer Lemon, prolific in fruit, and the blossoms smell wonderful! We had to prune back the root ball and the branches in order to fit it in under our pickup truck’s canopy for the move from PA to OR, but it never even flinched.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds amazing! I’d love to have a lemon tree!
xo
s
Helene says
Our housewarming gift from my in-law’s was a maple tree as well. They were generous and bought us a big one so we couldn’t bring it with us when we moved. We were devastated to drive by and see it was chopped down by the new owners. My husband had also recently built a large cedar sand box which we saw being loaded into a truck headed to the dump! We love our new house, but it hurts.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Who would chop down a maple?! You could get $100 for it on cragislist with someone digging it up themselves and hauling it away!
xo
s
alisha says
We have a pair of mature white Crabapples in our front yard located where we found out some previous owners held a wedding ceremony decades ago. One was not blooming well this spring and my husband offhandedly remarked that maybe we should replace it with a dogwood which would do better in the shady location. I read him the riot act of why I would NOT allow the two to be separated–I couldn’t stand the idea of an elderly couple driving by the house to discover their wedding trees were no longer a pair!
Angie says
I love sentimental plants. When my husband and I moved into our first apartment together, I was excited to see a mulberry tree growing over the outdoor staircase since I had one at my childhood home. We used to climb it and eat the berries. Turns out, they’re not so cute when you’re draggin berry juice onto your carpet.
Marcella says
My mom bought my grandma azaleas for mother’s day 3 years in a row, which were planted in front of her townhouse. While I was engaged my grandmother moved into an assisted living home. She thought it was going to be temporary and therefore refused to give up her townhouse. My husband-to-be moved in there, she passed away months before our wedding & I moved in after we were married. It became our first home together. when we purchased our first house, I decided I wanted to take her 3 azaleas with us. so, we did & planted them in our yard. that was 6 years ago and they seems to still be thriving. I think of her every time I see them especially because they bloom every year right around mother’s day. I have warned my husband that we must take them with us when we move again! so I completely understand the sentimental value of your little maple & your desire to keep it with you. (sorry for my lenghty story…I love your blog, but I’ve never left a comment before!!)
Carolyn L says
I took my mom to Cape May for Mother’s 2 years ago and we got Beach Plum Tree saplings at the winery. We love ours so much, we’re definitely taking it with! We also have (seriously spreading) lambs ear from my grandmother’s old garden… She’s always with me and I update her on it’s progress every spring!
Tracy Carson says
I honestly read this entire post thinking, what in the world does this precious story have to do with a pair of PANTS? When are they going to tell us about the PANTS? I got to the bottom, scrolled back up confused, and realized that I had read the title wrong. Ha! Got a little laugh out of the way our brain works with things that are familiar to us (i.e. Sisterhood of the Traveling PANTS!”
Chaucea says
LMAO!!!
“We secretly wondered if other drivers would think we were cruising around with a giant marijuana plant in our car, just begging to be arrested. But no one stopped us. We’re not sure of we’re relieved or concerned.”
That whole image conveys “The Petersiks Move to Agrestic”.
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! Agrestic. Little boxes on a hillside..
-John
Kim says
When we bought our home in 2009 the sellers called us AFTER closing asking to take the plants with them b/c they were sentimental. We felt bad and told them they could take a few as long as they replaced them with the same size/type of plant b/c part of the appeal to this house was that it was fully landscaped. They stole EVERY plant in our backyard and didn’t replace any of them. We were angry, but decided to let it go because they still live in town and we knew from a few other experiences that they were crazy.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! That stinks!
xo
s
Andrea Nicole says
Love it! I hope this tree continues to give you both years of added happiness! I have a spider plants that my 3rd grade teacher gave to me as an “I’m sorry your parents are moving you out of the city, but here’s a plant” gift. She was my all time favorite, so I cherish those plants. And that one plant she gave me nearly 20 years ago have morphed into about 15-20 seperate plants, scattered all over my house. I plan on taking many with me when I finally fly the coup!
Sarah S. says
My mom brought home a small fig tree from my grandma’s funeral in 1988. It’s still going strong! She keeps in indoors in a big pot and has even kept it in the basement during the winter and it’s still doing great. We call it grandma’s tree and think that’s why it’s doing so well, because we named it.
Athena says
My husband and I have a weird one of sentimental plants. We got a planter for our patio 3 apartments ago, and tried growing wildflowers. They totally died, without ever really flourishing (we had two spots for them, and they were highly pathetic). But, the planter was apparently decent enough soil to attract a seed from one of the nearby plants on the wind (we were on the second story). It started growing, and we thought, eh, what the heck. Go for it little random thing!
Fast forward to our next place, where it was doing well all by itself…when a stray cutting of a nearby tree fell into the planter (we were on the first story, so it was less surprising). My husband thought, what the heck, I’ll plant it and see what happens. Probably it’ll die. Well…guess what? It didn’t. It’s still growing, and it’s one of the little bush trees that live around here.
THEN, we moved into this next apartment, and we caught a stray plant from the wind (this time we’re on the third story!), and it’s been doing great throughout the spring and summer. So, now we have a planter that has several things growing it that we keep getting stray plants growing from every place we’ve lived in the past 4 years.
We’ll be taking it with us when we eventually move from this place, and it’s becoming surprisingly sentimental for us, how we keep picking up stray plants and taking them with us wherever we go.