By Melissa Watts

My heart was thumping heavily, and my petite frame was full of anxiety. I fretfully watched my Baby Tree forcefully dance the jitterbug from the furious winds of the season. Pressed firmly into the glass patio door, my childlike button nose and chubby porcelain cheeks were an unrecognizable blob. This particular spring, I spent many of my days positioned here. I was only six and not yet old enough to understand the overwhelming feelings keeping me glued in place, but simply put, I was in love.

It was April, and one week prior, several spring storms had crashed through our neighborhood leaving behind scattered evidence of their brief visit. I knew the broken branches that had fallen from the tree would die and must be in the ground if they had any chance of surviving. So, my little muscles worked hard to shove one end of a very long and skinny branch into the dirt. Observing my struggle, my grandfather, Papa, offered his help and together we dug a hole about a foot deep and staked the remaining branch up, which still stood about five feet above the ground. I wanted nothing more than my Baby Tree to be healthy and grow to a mammoth size with giant branches thickly covered in leaves of green.

Fast forward twenty years and my Baby Tree, now named “Missy’s Tree”, vastly towered over the entire yard, far surpassing my wishful visions as a child. This beautiful tree provided our family with numerous days of peaceful shade where we all joyously gathered time and time again. When planted twenty years ago, no one had any knowledge of the destruction this tall beauty would cause. Unexpectantly its massive root system naturally rose to the surface of the earth in search of water, and in doing so, the roots completely destroyed my grandparents’ beautiful backyard patio.

Experience has taught me that to avoid unwanted and unforeseen damage in your yard or garden, always research what the mature growth size will be of anything you plant. A seedlings natural growth should not and simply cannot be limited to its manmade surroundings.

Melissa Watts, an intern in the 2024 Master Gardener Class. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com