Our Very First Tree
W’s dad brought us our very first tree today! It’s an orange tree–Citrus sinensis ‘Trovita’–about two feet tall and a couple of beginning blossoms are already on it. The flower blooms are small and white, and they have a rich, heady scent that reminds me of gardenias or jasmine. The leaves are really green and glossy right now too, but depending on how much shock it got from transplanting it may look a little sorry for the next week or so. After that I expect it to thrive though.
I chose a low lying depression to plant the tree in so rainwater will naturally collect there when we get it. We dug the hole for it yesterday. W dug two and a half to three feet down so I could make sure the soil was loose enough for the roots to take hold, plus I wanted to put a piece of PVC pipe down low so I can make sure water gets deep enough to encourage the roots to dig down farther.
I added an inch or two of sawdust under the PVC pipe for drainage, then added a layer of dirt. On that I put a shovel of horse manure, then filled in the rest of the dirt.
I’m low on hay and won’t be getting more till tomorrow so I decided to use some of the fallen branches and sticks around here for the primary layer of mulch. The mulch isn’t as thick as I want it yet but I’ll continue adding more as I collect it each week. I did put a thin layer of loose hay on it too and may add more of that in time too. I also gave it close to seven gallons of water once most of the mulch was in place and the soil wouldn’t wash away 
So now I’ll have to take weekly or monthly pictures of my new little baby to show how it’s doing!
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