You’ve heard the phrase “never buy a pig in a poke.” According to internet lore, the phrase dates to the 1500s, when merchants stuffed piglets in sacks, or “pokes,” and sold them sight unseen to unwitting buyers. The phrase today means “an offer or deal that is foolishly accepted without being examined first.”

I could fill an entire magazine issue with stories of times I’ve bought a pig in a poke. This instance involves tree saplings, which wouldn’t fit in a sack. I could see them fine — I just didn’t think.        

1st tree

This story is about three trees. Our 9-year-old grandson came bounding home from school with a pine tree seedling in hand. A group had passed them out to the third graders for Arbor Day.

“Can we plant it in the yard, Grandpa?” he asked.

How do you refuse a beaming 9-year-old?

“Of course, let’s find a spot,” I answered. We already have 60 trees on our 3 acres — what’s one more?

We found a spot and I dug the hole. I helped him spread the roots, water it and cover it with soil.

“How big will it get, Grandpa?” Graham asked.

“It should be as tall as the roof by the time you graduate high school,” I said. I’ve assisted with a local tree giveaway for fifth graders through the soil and water conservation district for decades, so I had that line memorized. I also told him the No. 1 enemy of pine seedlings is the lawn mower.

“Mark it with a flag,” said Grandma, who had joined us for the planting ceremony.

“Nah. I don’t have a flag, and I’ll remember,” I answered.

I did remember — the first time. Then I mowed again. I was daydreaming and scooted right over it. When I looked back, all I saw was bark and needles. I felt lower than a snake’s belly!

2 more trees

Graham was disappointed, but I promised him we would buy a tree and replace it. With Grandma’s help, we settled on a redbud tree. I even told him we would buy two redbud trees.

The big-box store only had one left, but it was healthy and had three little leaves. We bought the sapling and put it in the truck.

“Let’s try the store over there,” I told Grandma. “Maybe they’ll have some left.”

Sure enough, they did. The tree was even 30% cheaper. What a deal. We should have come here first.

“But Grandpa, it doesn’t have any leaves,” Graham said. I pricked the bark and saw green tissue.

“I’m sure it will bud out, or they wouldn’t be selling it,” I told him.

We took both trees home and planted them. The one kept getting more leaves. My bargain tree, well … it just sat there. No leaves, no buds. Graham came in carrying a twig he broke off. It was brown to the core.

“It’s dead, Grandpa,” he said. “We planted a dead tree.”

I checked the bark again. He was right; this time I saw no green tissue. It might have been alive when I bought it, but it was dead now. Naturally, we couldn’t find the receipt. My “bargain” wasn’t such a bargain after all.

Graham learned a lesson. Grandma hopes Grandpa did too. Don’t buy a pig in a poke, and don’t buy a sapling without leaves!