I've been thinking about this for awhile, since things are changing a lot now. Giving away my fruit trees.
I bought them last year. An apricot, a pear, a Braeburn apple, and a crabapple to pollinate the Braeburn and be beautiful in the spring. And a Stella cherry, because I always wanted to have a cherry tree, but they run forty feet tall and need another one to cross-pollinate. Stella cherries are dwarf cherry trees, only run fifteen feet or so I think. (post-publish edit; they are also self-pollinating)
They are all about three to five feet high, and did okay last season. And now is the time to give them away, if I'm going to, because if I'm not here by next spring, I won't be here to do it. And who knows what might happen to my little trees, if nobody cares for them.
This is a hot climate, and who knows how much it will change? Could be rough. I don't know why I bought these fruit trees. I knew I didn't want to stay here. I guess I just wanted company.
But, but. I posted an ad on freecycle this morning, asking for somebody to come and adopt my fruit trees, as this is the time. I explained what they were, and a bit about what to be expected. And, they have to help dig.
Yes, it would have been nice to see them flower in April. That would have been nice. I'll probably still be in these parts in April.
But they stand a better chance of surviving if I work on giving them away now, during the best transplant window, so people more committed to living where I do, can instead see them flower in the spring, and maybe even for more years.
When I looked at the local freecycle site this morning, I noted their banner - new? did I not notice this before?
"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference."
Okay. I'm in. And when I wind up wherever I wind up, I'll be able to find another freecycle site (they are EVERYWHERE, it's quite amazing) and write about how I am looking for fruit trees that somebody would like a good home for.