The Tiniest Tree

Not quite a year ago, I received 20 clove seeds direct from Hawaii. I didn't expect many of them to survive at my altitude, and I didn't know if any would survive the winter. I planted them indoors, some in direct sunlight, some in indirect sunlight, and two with a little of both. I didn't know how much light they would need, and I wanted to give all of them as much chance as I could to survive, to thrive.

Sixteen of the seeds sprouted. Fifteen grew. I gave one away. One couldn't decide if it wanted to grow up. I moved it into direct sunlight, then I moved it again to provide maximum sunlight. Last November, it still couldn't decide if it wanted to grow.


The day after I broke my wrist, the tiniest clove sprouted a leaf! Over the next few days, a second leaf appeared.


In the meantime, one of the seedlings suddenly and inexplicably withered.


All of the seedlings seemed to go through a dormant stage during winter. I moved all of them into direct sunlight and provided a grow light during December and January. I used a space heater to keep the babies warm when the central heating couldn't quite combat our multi-day blizzards alone.

In March, almost all the survivors began sprouting new leaves. Maybe these tropical kiddos will adapt to Colorado after all!

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