Horse Chestnut Raid

Day 262: Once I've got it in my craw to act, everybody better just get the hell out of my way. After I had to take the Whatzit Tree out because it was diseased, I started looking for something to replace it. I decided I wanted a tree which would mature to have a broad crown, i.e., a "shade tree." I had a couple of things in mind.

The "last resort" option was a big-leaf maple, not one of my favourite trees. They're too prone to breaking in the wind. Other choices included a black walnut, horse chestnut or a catalpa. The latter two grow fairly rapidly.

There was one other stipulation to the Quest: shoestring budget. "Cheap" was okay. "Free" was better.

I checked a couple of open spaces where I'd seen black walnuts growing. Nope, no seedlings. Then I paid a visit to a park with catalpas. I brought home several pods and planted the seeds. They're currently chilling in the fridge. I'm also experimenting with a hardwood cutting.

All of this aside, I struck gold yesterday. I was on my way home from kayaking at Lake St. Clair and spotted dozens of little baby horse chestnuts growing on the road verge beneath a parent tree which was on private property. If the county mowed, the seedlings would be doomed. I had to act promptly, and thus I let a plant raid dictate my other activities today.

About 9 AM when traffic was fairly light, I parked nearby and crossed the road, trowel and plastic bags in hand. Ten minutes later, I returned to the car with half a dozen horse chesnut trees which I immediately put in a bucket of soil brought expressly for that purpose and dumped a quart of water on them. Then I went bicycling because the trailhead was only a mile or so away. Several hours later, I got back to the car. It was like an oven inside, but the horse chestnuts were happy and showing no signs of wilt. I potted them up in gallons as soon as I got home.