If you've read any of our previous stories, you know by now that when we find something that we like, we try and duplicate it as closely as possible. That's how we ended up with a tuinkabouter, and that is why we now have a Joshua Tree. On our trip last September to Palm Springs, we took a side journey to Joshua Tree National Park. There, we really got to like these odd plants that grow in the harshest environments imaginable!
Joshua trees are related to the Yucca plant, and grow in the Mojave desert in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. (There's more information here if you want it!) The name comes from the Mormon pioneers because the tree with it's upraised arms reminded them of the prophet Joshua who was waving them towards the promised land. I sure hope those pioneers kept moving, because the Joshua trees grow in some very hostile environments!
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Our rented Jeep Cherokee in Joshua Tree National Park during our Palm Springs vacation. |
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| There are trees of all sizes and ages as far as you can see! | They grow slowly (1.5 inches per year) and when they are this tall and have this many branches, they are very, very old. |
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I got close to one to see what it felt and smelled like! (It feels prickly, and doesn't smell at all.) |
| So we bought a packet of seeds at Park Headquarters determined to grow our very own Joshua Tree! We were told that when they first sprout they look like a weed, but don't pull it out! They also start out slow and the one at Park Headquarters looked like some stray grass and it had been growing there for two years! But we're patient and were determined to give it a try! | |
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Alas, after a month or more, our
baby seedling had not sprouted and we were sad that we had to throw it
out with the trash when it started looking like a piece of cheese left
in the refrigerator too long.
Berlynn's cousin, Debbie, remembered our plight and called one day and told us that the local nursery in Henderson, Nevada, carried Joshua Trees! We knew what we had to do on our Thanksgiving trip to their house - it became a quest for a Joshua Tree! |
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| Debbie and Bob drove us to the nursery, but it had some disappointing specimens. We were wondering what to do, when Bob suggested we look at another nursery just down the road. | Sure enough, Dan's Plant World had a much nicer selection of mature multi-branched plants. It didn't take us long to pick out one that would find a new home at the Lodge! |
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| The nurseryman pulled our new tree from the sandy soil - they are sold as "bare root" plants - and carried it to the front of the store. | Debbie named our new acquisition "Joshie", and we carefully placed it in the back of Bob and Debbie's van and then later moved it into the Land Yacht for the trip home. |
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Joshie looks really good in the living room at the Lodge, now we just have to remember NOT to water it for the next two months! We'll move him outside on the deck during the summer months, but Joshie will stay inside during the winter to protect him from the snow and frost. |