Greed and damage

Three years ago I planted one Chinese honey tangerine tree because it is my favorite citrus. The tree grew and bore well. The following year, I planted another one, along with a red navel, a white navel, a red grapefruit, and a white grapefruit. These trees did well also. Two of them took a year off from blooming to settle in, but most of them went ahead and bloomed and set fruit lightly.

When I bought the grapefruit trees, the nurseryman advised me to cut the fruit off the first year so the branches would not get broken. I pruned off the fruit where they were too clustered together on one branch. The tree also dropped some fruit that first year, and no branches were lost.

I fed and watered the trees regularly, through a dry winter and a dry dry spring. Since early summer we have had rain almost every day. The first tangerine tree bloomed and set fruit well despite the dry spring. The thickest branch became so loaded with fruit that it began to bend two weeks ago under the added weight of the rains. I kept an eye on it but did not trim any fruit or support it. I was greedy. Two days ago the branch broke and I pruned it off, along with its more than twenty tangerines.

So far the tree is fine, and there are a few fruit on the other branches, but I am filled with regret and disappointment in myself. I should have helped the tree.