Have you ever planted a tree to remind you of someone?

10 years ago

We want to do that here.

I want to plant 2 Japanese Purple Lilac Trees in my yard.

My mom is in the hospital. We almost lost her. She had a pulmonary embolism out of the blue, and then a day later developed congestive heart failure.

Mom on a ventilator; it's just unspeakable...

My sisters, brother and I are heartbroken over this. However, as of yesterday afternoon she is conscious, doing much better and may get off of the ventilator in a couple of days. Where the ventilator before was breathing for her, it's now only supporting her breathing. And what before looked unlikely, the nurses are now saying if she keeps up her progress she will survive and get to go home in the future.

Anyway, it's always been known that mom's favorite color is purple, so my daughter wants to plant some purple trees in our yard to make it feel like grandma will always be with us, no matter what.

I can get some bare root Japanese Tree Lilac online pretty easy. Would that be a good choice? There aren't many purple trees to choose from in my zone. Are they wind tolerant? Easy to grow? Do people plant trees for reasons like this? I thought my daughter's idea was beautiful..

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
hey

yes people do ...

and then they lose them.. and get bummed ... whereupon .. you replant them ... its the memory you sustain.. not the tree itself ..

i always hesitate to plant a monoculture ... and suggest ... you make a bed ... of purple .. a tree.. a shrub other than lilac.. looking to spread the flower season .. some perennials.. and then annuals... you ought to be able to find quite a purple spectrum ... dont limit yourself to one tree ...

and then you are spreading the memory among a host of plants... rather than one that dies ...

link below to a post from a week ago ... same idea ...

good luck with mom.. and her memorial ... and good work with the munchkin ... she will be your legacy ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
ilovemytrees
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Ken. I remember that post about commemorating a child's birth with a tree.

I just ordered 2 Japanese Purple Lilac Trees on Ebay. They are tiny little seedlings, at 18-24 inches. I wanted something that was just beginning its journey....

We're planting them in our front yard. We'll plant flowers as well. There are evidently some flowers voles stay far away from. I think your idea of creating a bed of different plantings is an excellent one. Before I do that I want to see if we can manage one year without vole damage.

Thank you for the good luck about my mom. She is doing so much better. Albeit with her age, 81, congestive heart failure will rear its ugly head again within a year or so. My vibrant, quick to humor mom has lost her pep dramatically in the last year. She has changed so much. We were bracing ourselves that a health event was on the horizon.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
OK, I'm confused :-) Japanese tree lilac is Syringa reticulata and these only come in white. What is a purple Japanese lilac?
ilovemytrees
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Gardengal. Here is a link to the auction of where I ordered the trees. You'll see a picture of what the tree looks like, at maturity. The seller couldn't be any nicer.

The tree is the Common Purple Lilac shrub, in tree form.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tree-Lilac-Seedlings-18-24-in-Nice-Roots-Ready-for-Sp-ring-/221397645098?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0amp;hash=item338c53f72a

***I just wanted to update that mom was just taken off the ventilator. I am so grateful!

This post was edited by ilovemytrees on Wed, Apr 23, 14 at 15:54
lkz5ia
10 years ago
Maybe plant purple leafed trees since flowering lilac isn't going to last much more than a week, so is green the rest of the growing season.
surya55_gw
10 years ago
Glad to know your Mom's better. Another suggestion for a purple-flowering tree is Royal Paulownia. It's a great beauty and there's a lovely story attached to this tree as well. A great idea would be to have your Mom out of the hospital on a day when she's able to just drop a bit of soil in the hole and witness the planting of the tree.

Have you ever planted a tree to remind you of someone?

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

ilovemytrees
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Have you ever planted a tree to remind you of someone?

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

ilovemytreesOriginal Author

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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