Coming Back to Life

Back in March, I received a package in the mail. It contained a 2-in-1 Asian Pear tree, a Christmas gift from my brother's family. I was so worried when I first planted it.  It didn't look so hot, the leaves became all droopy and slowly all the leaves fell off the tree.  I babysat it for the last 2 1/2 months, watering it everyday.  Then, in the last few weeks, I noticed that there were leaves forming on the branches.  I was so happy that it bounced back to life!  Here are the before and after photos.  I can't wait until the tree is big enough to produce Asian Pears.  I just hope the tree survives the winters here!!

Packages Galore!

It rained for two days straight here in Staten Island, grey, wet, and completely dreary.  I was a bit worried about the weather because our basement has a tendency to flood when we get an influx of rain.  Thank goodness the basement stayed dry this time, unlike last year when it rained non-stop for days.  Last year, we had 2 inches of rain flood our entire basement.   I was also worried because we had to be out of town Thursday and Friday of this week, because we were visiting family Upstate for the hub's birthday.  I knew that we were expecting deliveries of the new Amaryllis bulbs I had ordered and I received an email stating that our new Asian Pear tree and Red Currant Bush was enroute for a Friday delivery.  I hate not being home when we get deliveries.  Since we weren't going to be home to receive both deliveries, I left a note on my front door to request the UPS person to please put the packages under my front staircase so that it would be protected from the torrential rain showers.  When we returned home Friday night, the packages were safe under the front steps.  You GO UPS!  They totally ROCK.  Totally awesome, the packages were slightly damp, but for the most part, pretty dry!

Today, I followed the instructions and took the plants out of the box and put the roots in a bucket of water for a few hours and then planted them in containers.  I do want to eventually plant these outdoors when it's a bit warmer.  However, since we are still getting cold near freezing temperatures at night, I want to protect the new tree and shrub and plant them in a few weeks when it's definitely spring weather.  So after soaking the roots, I potted these in soil, and they will stay on our front porch until the weather warms up.  Here's a pic of our new Asian-2-in-1 pear tree, a gift from my brother and his wife, and their adorable boys.  They gave us these plants as a Christmas present.  This grafted tree will grow "Chojuro"and "Drippin’ Honey™" varieties.  I am so excited! The tree is self-pollinating and the fruits have different harvest times.  Chorjuro will be ready in September, while Drippin' Honey is ready in October.  I grew up eating these Asian Pears, they were always a special treat at our home.  I am so excited to be growing them in our backyard soon!  Also, a main reason we like this pear tree is that the fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months!  Pretty awesome!

The other plant in the package was the Red Currant bush.  One of our main goals is to grow as much fruit as possible on our property, so we are really excited to add this shrub to our landscape.  We also love currant jam, so I can't wait until this shrub starts producing currants for us!

Here's the other package, my Amaryllis bulbs from White Flower Farm.  This was an impulse purchase that I made.  Both bulbs were on sale, so I totally could not resist.  These are the last Amaryllis bulbs that I will buy for the rest of the year...  I promised myself.  LOL

I pulled out the bulbs to check on the quality.  White Flower Farm does not disappoint!  Look at the size of this bulb!  So worth the $8.45 that I spent on it.  Don't you agree?

What fun packages are you getting in the mail right now?