Every year, end of May, early June, the maple trees on our property rain down thousands of helicopter seeds. Great quantities accumulate on the roads and pathways, creating a loud grating sound when rearranged by wind, shuffled through by feet and sadly, crushed under tires.
And every year I carefully select the plumpest, most ready seeds and plant them. Typically I plant 20, or slightly more, my ability to limit myself dwindles as the end of the seed season does. There is very little soil in the city, and I see potential lost in each seed that fails to find soft ground and perishes to the elements. I wish I could give every seed the opportunity to experience being a tree, if only for a summer.
Great joy to watch them split their skins and send up miniature versions of their future selves within 3 days of touching soil. In a few days they are already several inches tall and pushing hard to shed their shells. I assist sometimes on those whose casings refuse to yield, and instantly two plump cotyledons spread out and seem to sigh.
Those fresh young shoots are ravenous for sunshine and in a short space of time I have my own miniature maple forest on my balcony. I love to watch them grow. Being pot bound they seldom get higher than a foot, but they have magnificence holding their leaves proudly out, two by two at 90 degree opposites.
I try to overwinter them, but they are wild things and need the outdoors. One survived 3 years with me and was about 4 feet tall, but the rest perish. Currently several have leafed out, which brings me joy commonly reserved for June. Sadly they don’t make it, no matter how much love and attention I give them. I dream of having a place to plant them outside, where onlookers would not question my activity or ultimately have me fined and hauled away!
My love for maple trees began at an early age. At home a lovely sugar maple blessed my bedroom window view. We had all kinds of trees, plants and flowers on a half acre of land. Dad rescued a little red maple from a store and planted it on our front lawn. I was out there every day watering and talking to it until it became one of the largest trees on our lot!
During a storm my bedroom view maple broke, and Dad was out there the next morning mending it. He was worried I’d lose my tree! He affixed two large diverging branches together with a bolt and chain so the wind would not further damage it.
My little pot bound home grown maples will never get that large, but I care for them dearly. Summer is still a long ways off, sunshine scarce and the air in the apartment definitely not spring quality. All of my plants suffer the winter blahs and some give up. But I keep a careful eye on those tender young maples and hope they see one more season at least.