Last spring Owen became captivated by the idea of having a banana tree. He doesn't really eat a lot of bananas, so Maddie and I were a little surprised by his sudden passion for this particular plant.
One Saturday we went to the nursery in search of flowers for the flower bed under our mailbox. Owen was drawn over to the banana tree section. As he searched through the plants he found the perfect tree, purchased it and brought it home. One of our trees in the orchard died so he planted the banana tree in it's spot.
About a week later a city worker showed up on our door to inform us that we had to move the plant. The orchard is actually on an easement and we quickly learned that you must have a permit before planting any trees on the easement.
The city worker informed Owen that a permit would cost $300.
Owen has a newfound passion for banana trees, but would he pay $300 to plant a $50 tree?
The answer is.....NO.
We pulled out the homeowners paperwork we received when we bought the house and paced off the backyard to find where the exact line of the easement began. Next, he found an empty spot right on the other side of the easement, still in the orchard, and re-planted the beloved banana tree. Problem solved!
Over the last several months we have watched this little banana tree grow from having 2 leaves to about having 8 leaves. It also grew in height a couple of feet. The banana tree was the greenest and healthiest tree in the orchard. Now all we needed to do was wait for the fruit to arrive.
As the fall season began, so did the Santa Ana winds. These winds sweep through Poway and much of Southern California, every fall and can gust up to 60mph. The banana tree seemed solid. A few Santa Ana's came through and it stood strong.
Sadly, last week's winds must have been too gusty for our precious banana tree. When we went outside this morning we noticed it was laying on the ground. The bottom of the stalk, just above the ground must have split and the tree bent right over.
Owen is bummed that he has to say goodbye to his tree. He had great hopes for a delicious banana harvest next spring.
We may have to head back to the nursery next week and see if we can find another banana tree that will fit the bill.
3 comments:
I'm not sure what to feel for Owen's banana tree, I have mixed emotions. While its sad to see a tree perish in such a way, I find it difficult to find sadness when its still 15 degrees celsius there. I'm pretty sure his plant would have succumbed to our -30 degree weather much quicker than the winds.
Please give my deepest condolences to Owen on his loss....Hoping you'll find the perfect banana tree specimen to fill his need!
Sounds a little fishy that a city work showed up a week later.
Here people go around looking for any excuse to phone city hall and squeal on their neighbor for things like this. They must have boring lives if this entertains them.
Oh well I guess it was better to move then instead of when it was 20 ft tall.
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