Feed Potted Trees Centrum Vitamins Last Fall

My three trees on the porch have already grown over a foot since they leafed out a month ago. It's like they are from the Matrix or something. It's been cold and hot and cold like a roller coaster. Last week we went from 87 to freeze warnings in two days. Luckily we didn't get the freeze save for the heat island effect. Those trees actually had to be restrained during the high wind warnings, too.

 "What's up with your trees. It's like they have grown a foot!" my neighbor ask. When I relayed to him the fact that they had grown a foot already, he ask, "what are you feeding them?" as he chuckled. When I went into more detail that I had given them each a Centrum Vitamin in the fall, his whole expression changed. I think he thought that I was making fun of him. 

Centrum Silver was just sitting on the shelf of my cabinet after my doctor told me that he didn't want me taking them anymore. The bottle had just been repurchased when he told me that. Then, I heard a commercial from a local tree arborist about the things your trees need to be healthy. I got the bottle down from the shelf and started reading the label again. Gee, everything the tree doc said a tree needed to stay healthy was on the label. So, I put three tablets in a milk carton and filled it up with water. Shook the jug pretty hard to help with the digestion in the water. 

 Then, I paused. I wasn't totally sure that this was going to work, but I could always start another pot of trees growing. This wasn't my first growing trees rodeo. One that was planted in 1970 is about 50 feet tall now. The second one had to be removed because I had planted it in the wrong spot and it was going to cause problems with Edison wires coming into the house. And, then, Texas summer and the heat got one on my porch because I get direct afternoon sun. The porch heated up to 140 one summer. I knew something had to be done to cut down on that heat buildup. It was cooking everything including my cooling bill. So, I got some big heavy ceramic pots about eighteen inches deep and a good foot across, stole an acorn from a squirrel for one, dug one up from  along side the house where the lawn service had blown the seed from where it had fallen  into  the flower bed. And, the third one came from seed pods on a red bud tree in the park. 

Now, the darn things are about 12-foot high and growing like a weed. The amazing thing is that the temperature on the porch last summer dropped 15 degrees overall. I can now grab the top of the gate with my hand as I turn the key on the lock. That's when it really hit me about what trees actually can do beside producing shade and tons of leaves in the fall. Now, I'm going to have to talk to the arborist about keeping them cut back so they stay healthy and in the pots that they are in. It has occurred to me that I might need to find someone that is wanting to plant a tree in their yard and rotate them out that way. Start a new one and give one away. These are just into their third spring. The trunks are about the size of  the cap on the Centrum bottle!

The Clock Town on Main Street in downtown Grapevine.

Nat and Willy were late coming out for their daily shoot out. I almost missed them. I did miss the first part.

Blue Bonnets were on a hillside and must stunning.