You may remember the mystery plant that was somewhat traumatically liberated from my compost bin a few months ago.
The drastic emergency surgery performed by my husband was a complete success, and it’s been thriving in its pot in the sunroom. However, it became clear that it needed to find a new home.
Coincidentally, out in the garden, my peach tree has once again succumbed to leaf curl, in spite of my heroic attempts to save it. This involved directing the gardener to prune it back hard and spray it several times over late winter/early spring. Hey – don’t laugh! I’m doing my bit to keep the economy going by outsourcing the hard stuff. Plus, I was overseas at the time in question, nursing my unappreciative husband.
Even worse, last week I discovered the dwarf nectarine I planted last year had also got infected. This was a real blow, as it had produced fruit in its first summer which I’d lost to the birds before I even realised they were there, and I had great plans to get bird netting on it ASAP this season.
However, every cloud has a silver lining as they say. (Why do they say that? Most clouds don’t have a silver lining in my experience. It’s the exception, not the rule. Clearly these optimists are out of touch with reality). So, this morning I ripped out the poor little nectarine, and have replaced it with mystery plant.
If it’s a tree tomato, as my botanist brother suggests, and it thrives, then this story will get a happy ending. Although how it ended up in the compost bin in the first place is anyone’s guess. In any event, the little battler deserves a second (third?) chance.