Monday, June 09, 2008

A Tree Grows in Bloomington


Sometime in the mid-90's at Christmastime, we toured the Wagner's greenhouse. At the end of the tour we were gifted with a small Colorado Blue Spruce sapling. We dutifully brought it home and placed it in the fridge till the ground thawed the following Spring. Needing a quick spot to place it, I chose the garden.

For the last 10+ years, it thrived in our garden. However, soon it began to shade my garden. So, every Spring for the last 5+ years, we always made a plan to move it. This year, it became obvious that it either had to be moved or used as our Christmas tree.

Not wanting to chop it down, we decided to move it. I use the term "we" loosely. Mr. D called the extension dept. at the U of M and they told him is wasn't impossible. Difficult, but not impossible. After all, the thing was probably 7 feet.

All the proper authorities were notified and our yard was spray painted various colors of the rainbow to identify the various deadly things buried in our yard. Then, Mr. D dug a nice hole to place it in. We chose the front yard where the willow tree used to be back in the day nigh onto 7 years ago.

Mr. D started the process last Thursday until it began lightning. He wrapped the exposed root ball in an old flannel sheet and finished the job on Saturday.

Do you have any idea how much a wet root ball weighs? Neither do I, but I'll bet it's a lot!

With Tim's help, he was able to get it on a tarp. And with the added mule power of me, we were able to slide that puppy to the front yard and place it in the already dug hole.

Then, it began to droop. So, we watered it ever so slowly all night long. Yesterday, it was still droopy, so we put the sprinkler on it for a couple hours. Lo and behold, this morning, it was all nice and perky. But, alas this afternoon, it has begun to droop.

I will keep you posted and leave you with a word of advice.

Never try to move a Colorado Blue Spruce tree that is 7 feet tall.

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