Introducing Brutus

About a month ago, I mentioned Brutus, my grapefruit tree. He's a stalwart companion, a stoic who accepts changes (atmospheric or otherwise) as they come. He's been with me for about 15 months now; early in my law school career I purchased him for a few bucks off of an old lady selling house plants on the street. I've basically ignored all of her directions (don't over-water, give him only indirect sunlight) but he seems to be doing alright. Anyway, now that I have a camera, I thought I'd share him with you.



That's Brutus on the left with his current neighbor, the Poinsettia. The Poinsettia doesn't realize it, but he's slowly being fed to Brutus. As his leaves dry up and fall off, I'm grinding them up and mixing them into Brutus' topsoil. Like me, he's a hungry little devil, and will eat pretty much anything; I mulch scraps into his pot - apple cores, dried rose petals, cucumber skins, etc. I'm steering clear of meats right now, mostly for the smell. (You can see some Poinsettia leaves drying in the bottom of the shot.)

Brutus has grown an enormous amount in the time he's been with me. When I got him, he was only yea high; now, after months of delicate care and one hot, moist summer, he's hey high.



I'm not sure when he'll be ready to start producing fruit. I imagine not for a while. I'm honestly not sure what I'll do when the day comes - doesn't every parent secretly dread the onset of puberty? Maybe I'll sneak into a greenhouse and hope he picks up some ambient polination.