So you want tree color in The Woodlands Texas - Fall Color Ratings

Color generally means hardwood and decorative species, but let's make it deciduous native trees as our focus. Color is not only possible here, it is very achievable with the right mixture of trees. We have many natives and should use them wherever possible to maintain the ecological relationships about us. Let's view some of the trees in our neighborhoods and parks as examples to plant for color. These are but a sampling. I hope to add more as I have time. Note that photographs are captioned beneath the photo. Click on the photo to see a larger view.



A sampling from leaves picked up off the ground underneath those trees having color.



Yaupon provides the red berries for a festive season. This year, the squirrels are more into berries. This may be a fallout from the loss of so many acorns and pine cones. Bit for sure, this small tree add much color to our neighborhoods in the fall and winter. A 10 on my fall color scale.


The Sycamore provides varying color depending on the location in the sun. This one is surrounded by trees and gets less sun and less exposure to frost than some of the trees out in the open. A 6 on my Fall color scale color scale.



Sycamore



Redbud. This magnificent tree shows off its color each Spring and Fall. A 8 on my Fall color scale.



Bald Cypress. Although the color is not bright, it is uniform and showy. A 9 on my Fall color scale.



River Birch. With it ornate bark and lively yellow colors, this tree is one of my own favorites. A 9 on my Fall color scale.



Shumard Oak. A 10 on my fall color scale.



Pecan. Spectacular yellows are found in the forest with this tree. It's dramatic yellow leaves contrast to the deep green of the forest. A 10 on my fall color scale.

One of the most beautiful missing here.

The problem we face these days is the public admiration of our beautiful outlawed tree, public enemy number one, the Chinese Tallow. This invasive tree, we often love, is not presented as an alternative for planting. See the related article in this blog.

How did our trees fare from the fury of Hurricane IKE?

Here in The Woodlands, there was really a big mess after the storm. Right afterward, one could hardly go from one place to another. Day by day, more trees were cleared from the road and put to the side so that traffic could pass. Residents helped some where they could to make the roads passable.

Mobility was the primary issue of course, but our interest here is mostly on what could have been done to prevent the loss of trees or damage to the houses. All in all, I believe nothing could have realistically been done. There were some interesting things learned however.

Trees are usually top heavy around here, especially pines. Many of our pines grew up surrounded by the forest, especially peer trees as they all reached towards the heavens competing for light. Tree branches would die underneath the canopy as the trees aged, leaving the trees to spread out and mature in high places. The twisting winds of a direct hit of a hurricane generates many rotational currents that often twists the tree. So the top is broken off, like spinning off its top. The failure of the trunk will occur wherever the weakest point is located, often leaving 1/2, or 2/3 or 1/3 or even less of the tree above the ground. I show an example of this phenomenon in the accompanying photographs. No type of tree was exempt from falling. Some, including the pine tree were uprooted. I saw about every kind there is, down on the street or down in a yard. Our parks were heavily affected with many downed trees.


There were many trees damaged or fallen by the strong winds. Each homeowner had the responsibility to clean up the yard, front and back. Often, there were broken branches to be sawed into manageable size pieces of wood. A chain saw came in handy for that purpose. But afterward, it seemed to take forever before the trash trucks came by. Many homeowners had their yard maintenance contractors haul away the refuse. One reason for that was that the grass was going to die under the refuse. It was better to pay the contractors to haul the stuff away. Putting the refuse on the street was prohibited since it would stop the water drainage systems, which in fact actually happened during the storm. Neighbors pitched in to help each other to clear the storm drains during the height of the flooding and after the hurricane already passed through. So many limbs and leaves had washed into the storm sewer entrances, causing major street flooding.

Afterward, we had to clean up the small stuff which turned out to be a major chore also. It was amazing how many small stems and dead branches were broken by the winds and scattered on the ground.

One additional observation about the damage was what happened to the Yaupons. The wind swirled them around like a mix master. They entangled their limbs with each other and the winds made them lean in different directions than they did before. We thought they were far enough away from the house only to find out that some of the taller branches leaned close to the ground and reached all the way to pound the side of the house in the strong winds. Today, I have still have branches laying low to the ground that used to be high in the canopy and am trimming them back. In the middle part of the canopy where the Yaupons normally reach, the branches of other trees fell, such as pines and oaks. Getting them down out of the Yaupons was a chore. I just finished that chore!

One more observation that is worth considering for the future - if you cut your vines in your trees and leave them to decay naturally, a hurricane will change your mind for the future. The vines are very very slow to decay up in the trees. I ended up with bundles of old vine stems that became sails in the wind. That caused some of the trees and Yaupons to completely change their configuration, entangling many of the limbs. The good thing was that the Yaupons were very bendable. They swayed and danced with the wind regardless if the wind was twisting or straight lining with the wind.

One piece of advice - always trim the stuff away from the house at the beginning of the summer. That is needed to let the house breathe properly as well as protect the house from incurring damage due to tree or plant limbs too near the house. Also, board up windows vulnerable to tree limb damage even if the limbs seem far enough away, within reason of course.

In short, we love our trees and would be highly upset if anyone cut them down because they are a threat in a hurricane. We all know they are a threat in hurricanes, but we lost not one person here due to our trees! We are The Woodlands. Your trees are ours and ours are yours. Property value is dependent on you being a responsible caretaker of our forest. We do have covenants that include protection for our elder trees (these are part of a legal obligation every homeowner has agreed upon in buying a home here).

Tree identification by bark

I have taken the identification of trees in The Woodlands Texas a step further by photographing and documenting several species of local trees, found mostly in local parks. This is a living article and will be expanded as I find time.

The bark of a tree is an indicator of the type of tree, but it is very difficult to identify the exact species by its bark, although we will often find several variations of bark for the same type of tree, revealing the actual species. Look for the color and texture of the bark. Our goal is to be able to walk through the forest without looking up and calling the tree by its probable name. The leaves will usually make the final distinction in "name that tree".

Bark on trees here in The Woodlands is typical of Southeast Texas forests. One will find a great deal of white on the bark and often evidence of Woodpecker damage. The softer woods will typically have more damage than the hard woods. If you are interested in the use of bark, there is a fairly lengthy internet article produced by the US Department of Agriculture at this link.

Texture

Smooth bark: Yaupon, Magnolia, Crepe Myrtle, American Holly

Checkered bark: White Oak, Willow Oak, Chinese Tallow

Flakey or Peeling bark: Pine, Cypress, River Birch, Sycamore

Grooved bark: Sweetgum, Live Oak, Pecan

Deeply grooved bark: Persimmon, Weeping Willow

Directory in alphabetical order
American Holly
Bald Cypress
Chinese Tallow
Crepe Myrtle
Crepe Myrtle2
Elm
Live Oak
Loblolly Pine
Pecan
Texas Persimmon
River Birch
Red Mulberry
Southern Magnolia
Sycamore
Sweetgum
Yaupon
Weeping Willow
White Oak
Willow Oak



1-2 Sweetgum
Native Indians used to chew the bark of this tree; it was their chewing gum.

1-4 White Oak
The bark of this tree was used by American native Indians to treat Diarrhea and other intestinal problems.


1-5 Loblolly Pine
Pine bark has been found to be a good antioxidant. An extract from this bark is used as a natural treatment for the heart and cancer among other. The chemicals believed to affect certain diseases in humans will vary in each pine species. Refer to this article for more information.
1-6 White Oak


1-7 Chinese Tallow


1-9 Southern Magnolia


1-10 Texas Persimmon
The bark of the Persimmon has medicinal attributes, especially for diarrhea and dysentery.


1-11 Willow Oak



2-14 American Holly



1-13 Weeping Willow



1-14 Yaupon


1-15 Elm


1-16 Crepe Myrtle


2-2 Red Mulberry



2-7 Pecan



2-21 Crepe Myrtle



2-23 Bald Cypress

2-24 Leaves Live Oak

2-25 Live Oak

River Birch


Sycamore



Related Articles

1. Tree Identification by leaf
   

Public enemy #1 in The Woodlands Texas - Chinese Tallow

This tree must leave and leave now from our local ecology. In the Houston area, it is now the most populous of all trees and it is not native. There are approximately 1/2 million trees in our region and each adult tree is capable of generating 100,000 seeds in one year. This is an ornamental tree that is very destructive and is now outlawed from being sold in tree nurseries. It initially arrived from an idea that Benjamin Franklin had many years ago. He saw benefit in the plant, but it seems he did not understand the consequences of introducing it to our American forests. The tree is almost indestructable. It takes every opportunity to multiply, from weak or damaged ecological areas, to prairies and areas without trees, to just plain dominance with its killing chemicals, overtaking other weaker species. Yes, the tree has toxic leaves, toxic sap and toxic seed pods that serve as a herbicide to eliminate other plants. The green seeds and leaves are toxic to humans and animals as well. It changes the chemistry of the soil to spread its roots and sprout through its root system as well as through its seed pods. It creates mono-specific forests this way. That is, it becomes the exclusive species of the forest. I have an example in the photograph to the left, located on Reedy Pond in Indian Springs.

This is the ornamental tree we do love in the fall, because it turns such bright red and yellow colors. Sorry folks! But this species has to go!

The Woodlands Association has a program in place to remove these trees from common areas, but we must take care of the problem in our own backyards. How do we accomplish such a feat to protect our forest? The roots become a serious problem in everyone's yard that is infested with this prohibited species. I cannot see any other way than placing the responsibility on the RDRC groups, but first they have to amend the codes to have that authority. Any other ideas how to get these out of our backyards? Our trees are our most important shared asset! My tree is your tree and your tree is mine. Whatever I see in your yard I appreciate and what you see in mind you appreciate.

Some photos from Forestry Images¹:

How do you rid your yards of these? A chain saw is of course a good tool to use. However, I just used a tree cutting saw; it worked for a small and a medium sized tree. First you need to trim the limbs off and top it. That leaves a tree trunk to cut down. I will have a professional bring down the big tree I have. I cut two trees down in my yard and have two more to go. I found that a smooth cut is less useful than a chopped cut. The last tree that I cut down, I sawed to the core, then chopped the peripheral material out and then pulled the tree trunk down with a rope. That left some jagged surfaces on the stump, which helped me to kill the root system. To kill the roots, I took vinegar and cleaned my coffee pot with it. Then I took the hot vinegar and poured it carefully and slowly into the newly sawed stump. The vinegar was soaked up quickly by the tree remains. That should keep it from regenerating itself.

Disposal questions have been answered by the association, waste management, and two experts on trees. We can recycle the limbs, leaves, roots in the normal method. Our hot composting process for all practical purposes breaks down most of the allelopathic substances produced by plants, including this tree.

1. www.forestry.images.com

Arbor Day in The Woodlands 2008

This year, the event was in Stirling Ridge Shopping Center. There were nine varieties of trees given to each individual who was willing to stand in line and wait for them. There were festivities to encourage participation by youth and the usual booths by various associations, nature groups, Stirling Ridge Village, Brickman Group (contracted to care for our green spaces) and of course the development company. Each year I participate in this and have trees in my yard and green space behind my house to show for it.

All of the seedliongs were planted immediately this year because if you wait, some of them will become dehydrated and weak. The seedlings are generally easy to plant. We add humus to the natural soil to improve water retention and porosity of the soil, to encourage growth and help survival in the summer months. It takes two years of care after planting to keep the death rate down. Still even with moderate care, I lose about 50% of all seedlings I plant. I even automatically water the green area to encourage reforestation. That keeps the soil moist enough in the summer months to prevent death of the more hardy seedlings.

24 Bald Cypress trees were planted this year along a nearby pond and 24 Loblolly pines behind my home. I hope the two Redbuds survive this year. They did not survive last year. For these beautiful East Texas trees, one needs to slice the root ball to prevent balling constraints and encourage new root growth.

No Willow Oaks this year because I have a beautiful one in the back and they grow huge. I did not plant any White Oaks because they are also big trees and besides, I have several of them. No Chinquapin Oaks this year. I have one about 12 feet tall that I planted in a prior Arbor Day planting. It is prone to webworms, so I am not encouraging anyone to plant them. I did plant a Magnolia and two Pecan trees in the green area.

Arbor Day here means a great deal to our community and is a great family event for children to learn the value of planting trees and be able to watch their planting grow over the years. There is nothing like having a five- or six-year-old child be able to plant a tree and see it grow to maturity. A stake beside it to commemorate the day would be beneficial also.

Many thanks to the sponsors of this year's Arbor Day! The Garden Club volunteers had good suggestions and were willing to help anyone who asked for information as one passed through the distribution line.

Announcement of Arbor Day

I can't believe it is already here again! The event this year will be hosted at Sterling Ridge Shopping Center on Woodlands Parkway at Kuykendahl from 10AM to 2PM. This is the opportunity for every resident here in The Woodlands to add to the forest. Just go get your seedlings and plant them within a few days afterwards. It is not difficult to plant them and you can watch them grow. I have one pine in my yard that I planted 8 years ago and now it is towering above the house. I also planted numerous other trees and have watched them grow over the years. This year will be no different. I will plant in green areas near my home. Be sure you plant your trees in a place where they will not threaten the house or fence in years to come. Keep them 2+ feet away from the fence. Remember that the trunk grows out as well as up. I would not plant a tree closer than 8 feet away from the house, but some people like to have some trees close. Remember that the limbs of some species will reach over your house, such as a White Oak. They provide good shade to reduce electricity costs.

As the Leaves Fall, we see what we did not in the summer

Change of Color
Frost and low temperatures will cause the leaf to lose its chlorophyll, the green pigmentation in the leaf. Yellow and orange pigmentation are well known, but the red chemicals remain a mystery. This article by Live Science describes the natural process of color change in some detail.

New information about trees and the fall foliage.
The chemicals in a leaf which cause our brilliant fall colors actually reside in the leaf all year. But in the fall, when the chlorophyll goes away, the colors remain behind and then wow! Depending on the variety of tree, we can see bright colors on some and no color on others. This article describes why the trees need these chemicals (colors) to survive.

Tree Identification in my backyard by Leaf

I have begun to identify trees around the immediate area of my home and have started reaching out into the neighborhood and forest. There are more than 20 species in my yard alone! These Photos are mine. I will publish what I discover as I do more field trips in this area. My expectation is that this will eventually become a guide for easier tree identification as I expand the number of trees identified. You are invited to help me with this. This document will remain a resource for all of us as long as this blog exists (hopefully for many years). At the beginning, I am only supplying some leaf photographs here. I have added bark. I will add blooms and fruit later as time and season allows. I figure this should be a great resource for residents, visitors and scouts in East Texas.

Index


 Oaks
  01. Live Oak
  02. Southern Red Oak or Spanish Oak
  03. Water Oak
  04. White Oak
  05. Willow Oak
  06. Sawtooth Oak

 Others
  01. Bald Cypress
  02. Chinese Tallow
  03. Crepe Myrtle
  04. Dogwood (Flowering)
  05. Loblolly Pine
  06. Magnolia
  07. Pecan
  08. Red Bud
  09. Red Mulberry
  10. River Birch
  11. Sycamore
  12. Sweet Gum
  13. Texas Persimmon
  14. Yaupon
  15. Wax Myrtle
  16. Winged Elm
  17. Seep Willow

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The photo here represents a very common tree, the Live Oak. It is green all year. and develops into a very nice tree when exposed to the sun. Great for blocking light, shade and providing privacy all year long.

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Some people regard this tree as a nuisance. It's fruit is a thorny little ball that if you go barefoot outside, will create an "ouch" or two. It is known as the Sweetgum and its fruit the "Gumball". It is a natural part of our local forest and does well surrounded by other tall trees. It's top tends to die back when not protected by the other forest trees and without the swampy nature of our forest, but I have not yet resolved the exact nature of it's problem in that respect. The gumballs contain a chemical Shikimic acid that may be useful for fighting Bird Flu in humans. It is one ingredient of Tamiflu®. The pods are also useful for Christmas decorations and bottom fill for potted plants.

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Chinese Tallow
is an invasive species and not a natural inhabitant of our forest. It's roots stretch out on the surface and deprives the other forest trees of precious water and soil space. It has pretty fall foliage as exemplified by this early fall color change. It's dried pods can be annoying when walking outside barefooted. The Woodlands Association suggests the removal of these trees from our yards to encourage the natural reforestation processes of our area. The trees will grow quite tall in competition with the other trees of the forest.

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Our East Texas forests have two varieties of Persimmon trees, the American and this one which is the Texas Persimmon. The fruit looks tempting to eat and it can be used for food if timed correctly. The birds and squirrels will eat the fruit voraciously. It is what I call a pucker fruit. Taste it prematurely, and it will suck every last drop of water from your mouth or that is, it feels that way! Typically, one will find this tree in forested areas but where it can have sufficient sunlight to prosper.

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One of the most beautiful and grand of our native oaks is the White Oak. It produces acorns in abundance and grows to tremendous stature, providing excellent shade in the summer. Our squirrels love this tree! They bury the acorns in the fall and proliferate the tree in abundance.

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Winged Elm blooms early in the Spring and soon afterward throws its seeds all over the place. Therefore, it is a rather messy member of our forest when growing in our yard. It proliferates and some people will end up with this tree dominating their yard. It has to be controlled or it will be the entire forest in your yard. It loves to propagate in flower beds. Its large branches are difficult to cut because the bark is tough and and normal long tree limb shears will not cut them easily.

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Wax Myrtle
is more of a bush than a tree but it grows very fast is quite useful to build barriers for noise and lights. It does not shed its leaves in the winter. If trimmed to be a tree, it will grow to be a small tree. It can be manicured and shaped and thus the many area flower beds with this native bush.

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Yaupon
is a native small tree or bush that fills the forest with underbrush. The Robin migrates through here in the Spring just because we have its berry to help them move further north. It's red berry is considered a Christmas token, giving us a natural clustered native red berry on our doorsteps each year. This bush can be manicured and shaped to produce interesting configurations of green clumps in our yards. There are poodle shapes, ball shapes and even animal shapes produced with this plant. Some people consider this plant invasive. It is not an invasive plant. It does propagate by its roots as well as its fruit, but it is natural here. I encourage residents to use it as nature intended, as a living quarters and protection for small birds and animals, and food for various creatures and birds of the forest. An ancient Indian black tea can be made from its leaves.

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Crepe Myrtle
is well known for its ornamental blooms during our hot summer here. It is a native plant and grows profusely in our climate. To keep the blooms concentrated and within easy view, many gardeners cut them way back in the late fall or winter. This encourages new growth at people's height. Otherwise the blooms can be 20 feet high.

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Bald Cypress
is not a native tree, but was brought here about 1620 by early settlers. Since then it has taken hold and seems to be a natural member of the forest. It resides on creeks, rivers, lakes and ponds. We see them in yards and on ponds here. Their root structure at the base of their trunk is a means to balance themselves in the swamp. Those roots help protect baby fish. It is a coniferous tree and grows enormous but slowly. Native Indians used to prefer them for dugout canoes. Today its wood is a popular construction material.

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Loblolly Pine
is usually the big guy in the forest. Our area was once a timberland, cultivated and harvested for its pine and hardwoods. Grogans Mill was a place for cutting the timber into usable wood for construction. Green Pine Tea from its leaves is known as a survivor tea, for mariners and outdoorsmen. Pine tar has been used for hundreds of years. Check the link for landowners page and see its many uses.

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Water Oak is a magnificent fast growing tree when it has plenty of sun, good soil and space. This one is amongst other forest inhabitants and is therefore a slow grower and competes for every ray of sunlight with its neighbors.

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Southern Red Oak or Spanish Oak
is an interesting tree to identify by leaf which is not necessarily the same for all parts of the tree. The leaf structure varies and will look somewhat different in the same tree, especially between high places and low places.

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Southern Magnolia is such a grand and ornamental tree. The squirrels and birds love to eat the seed pods off this tree. It's very dark leaves makes it a unique resident in our yard.

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Willow Oak grows to 80 feet tall with small acorns

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Sawtooth Oak

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Seeping Willow (Eastern Baccharis), a bush more than a tree but part of the forest
Very common with little white flowers in early summer.

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Pecan (species not yet identified)

Single Pecan leaf

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Red Mulberry

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Redbud - beautiful early Spring tree flowers and full bodied tree

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River Birch is easily identified by its unique peeling bark

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The rapid growing Sycamore tree has a reputation to hold. It has about the largest leaf in the forest and it tries really hard to be the largest tree! If you have one in your back yard, you know what leaves are! You have mountains of leaves at this time of the year. You also have lots of shade in the summer and the tree may only be 6-7 years old. The balls among the leaves of the tree make it easy to identify.

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The Flowering Dogwood is the princess of the East Texas forests. She reigns in the very early Spring and in the height of color in the Fall. In the Spring she is decked out with white flowers. In the fall, she turns a deep red and is a standout in any crowd, especially among evergreens.