Regrowth and Regret

    She told me she was disappointed with the pomegranate tree she had bought several years before.  It was pale and spindly, and had never borne either blossoms or fruit.  She kept it though because, following in the path of her mother, she would never discard any living thing as long as it still showed some signs of life.  In my house, the little tree remained in much the same condition, with no signs of renewed growth.  After a year, I went online to see what the problem might be:  I read that pruning often helps to set flowers and then the fruit.  I cut off several small branches and a large sucker which had grown directly out of the trunk.  In a matter of weeks, the tree began to thrive;  it has begun to fill out its branches, and at present boasts two bright little pomegranates.  I only wish I could have shared this with her.
      The website also said it is possible to propagate a new pomegranate from the old tree's cuttings.  So I took the big sucker and placed it in a vase of water, but so far nothing has happened.  The big sucker just sits there in my kitchen, drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette.