Magnolia Fruit May Surprise You

Magnolia blooms turn into fruit and seed, This seed is rather unusual in that it must stay moist to propagate. For that reason, most people buy seedlings or wrapped small trees to plant. So you get two-for-one beauty by having a Magnolia in your yard.  I planted one some 15 years ago in The Woodlands, and it is producing beautiful white flowers and red fruit every year now. Maybe you will want to plant a Magnolia tree this Spring to add to your personal forest. It is of deep southern culture. Creatures such as squirrels and birds love their fruit.

Magnolia fruit

Hardwood Trees after the Drought

Some parts of Texas remain under an extreme drought, but here in Southeast Texas, we in The Woodlands Texas are only "dry". After several years of low rainfalls and extreme summer heat, our trees have been severely stressed. Under stress, the trees are vulnerable to disease. One such disease that takes advantage of this opportunity is a fungus called  Hypoxylon canker¹. I had three trees alive with this disease for 14 years in my yard. In the 14th year, we had our severe 2011 drought, which killed all three trees. One hardwood, a Sweetgum, was killed from the disease 5 years ago. One killed in 2011 was a Red Oak (probably from Oak Wilt disease) and another was a Sweetgum. Now in 2012 another Sweetgum has died. All these hardwoods first lost top branches and decay set in at the top, gradually killing from the top down. After the trees die, the condition continues in the wood and behind the bark, revealing itself with obvious signs as in the photo below. Treating this condition is very difficult. Preventing the disease from continual advancement is accomplished by plenty of water. So extreme drought accompanied by extreme heat, creates just the right conditions to cause this fungal disease to thrive.

Note the black condition inside the bark 

Bark falling off the tree about a year later after the kill

The Texas Forestry Service predicts a loss between 100 million and 500 million trees in Texas from the 2011 drought². That is a lot of trees! The impact from disease remains unknown. We will experience that this year and beyond! Certainly I am an example of the consequences of the drought on our hardwoods.

¹ Hypoxylon Canker and Oaks, East Texas Gardening
² Texas Forestry Service - Second phase of Drought Assessment

Tree Planting Time Again

In The Woodlands, Texas, on the southern flank of the great East Texas forest, it is time to plant trees again. Arbor Day for 2012 will once again be celebrated in Rob Fleming Park in the Village of Creekside Park on Saturday, January 21 from 10 AM to 2 PM. There will be festivities with special events for children, as always.

In the spotlight will be free tree seedlings. I usually get about 12 seedlings each year and make an attempt to grow them. What I have discovered is that they are very susceptible to the summer heat. This past summer was the worse ever and my survival rate was only about 10%. That required a lot of frequent watering!

This year, one of my favorite trees is being offered - the River Birch. The bark of this tree gives it a rustic look in the yard, a signature no other local tree can boast about. This medium sized tree is ornamental and drought tolerant. If I plant nothing else, I would plant one of these. Another favorite of mine is also in the spotlight of seedlings this year - the White Oak.  This tree grows fast and huge, and produces an abundance of acorns to attract wildlife. A great shade tree! My squirrels love it.

Don't forget to plant pines also. Loblolly seedlings will also be distributed. Plant several together in the areas you really want them to be, because over the years, some will die off.  If four are planted one foot apart, one is likely to make it to maturity if you keep them all watered. Sun shading by nearby plants also helps in the summer sun. This pine will grow two feet per year, so in ten years you will have a substantial tree to enjoy.

One word of advice - always seek native drought resistant trees. If they grow here normally, many have likely survived significant droughts. This that grow in the East Texas forests naturally protect one another by utilizing the canopy to their advantage and do not normally require much water. But when placed next to concrete or into non-native soil, a tree requires extraordinary care.  Often the soil we plant them in is not very nutritionally rich enough to encourage aggressive growth, so we add nutrients. If the resultant soil is chemically altered, we face issues with survival, especially if those nutrients are heat generators. Decomposing materials are heat generators. Utilize the natural soil of the forest floor to the best of your ability. A pine will grow in about all the soils here while not all these trees will prosper in all soils.  I wold provide sufficient sand to the River Birch because you will find it flourishing near the creek naturally. Low areas with plenty of sand, like on Spring Creek provide an abundance of prospering trees, even in a drought such as we experienced this past summer. All of these trees love sandy loam soils.

Another word of advice - destroy any invasive trees, especially the Chinese Tallow. As the name implies, the tree comes from China, does not belong here and even kills trees around it by using its root system to deprive water from neighboring trees. It is against the law for a nursery to sell this tree. If you see it in a nursery, please report it. Please do not nurture these trees.

Other seedlings on this year's list are: (1) Two small early spring flowering trees - Dogwood and Redbud. My Redbud has grown so so slow, but remains alive and well after five years; maybe it will bloom for the first time this year! Two experimental Dogwoods did not survive that I planted last year. They were part of a nationwide study program. (2) Red Maple, Wax Myrtle.

Trees are fun and add diversity to our lives. In their adult lives, children can return to the place they planted trees when a child. We do the same as adults. I occasionally visit a home where I lived twenty-five years ago to see the Red Maples planted then in the front of each home. They make a beautiful canopy today on that street,which at the time was very bare. That was definitely a good idea to coordinate neighbors to line the street with a ten gallon tree. Though a tree may may take a long time to mature, it provides enjoyment for years afterwards, even to you returning to see the result of your work.

Hug a tree today and it will give you pleasure tomorrow.

A surprise in the Mitchell Preserve on Spring Creek

When taking a walk in George Mitchell Preserve off of Flintridge Dr in The Woodlands Texas, I ran across a small strand of trees which turned out to be Orange Trees. At first I thought the trees were a native lemon, but after asking friends, the species turns out to be Poncirus trifoliata, an Orange tree covered in huge thorns, adorning a lot of fruit, producing even through the drought. It withstood the very hard freezes we experienced the past two years.

Flying Dragon

The fruit is thick skinned, bitter and full of large seeds. It is a Japanese native tree that withstands the cold, heat and  drought. It was found growing prolifically and unattended in the sandy soils near the creek. It is invasive but appeared to be compatible with the surrounding vegetation.

Wild Orange trees typically have thorns. Grafted and cultured trees are often without thorns.

Watering Trees in The Woodlands, especially during a drought

One stand of  trees die in the forest among others that survive

How to water trees in Southeast Texas applies to more than the Woodlands, but tests were run here, and I have had good enough success and failure to bring recommended methods forward and proclaim some best practices. I did this because of the generalities published elsewhere and the usual assumption that a tree stands by itself. I contend that life in our forests has some trees depending on others and all trees competing for moisture. Some trees are more resilient than others when it comes to no available water supply. This article is not only about watering a tree; it is about watering a forest. The photo above shows a stand of trees that died due to beetles and drought. Drought weakens the trees so that the beetle can attack it. Disease is often the result of drought. Healthy watered trees will have a 200% water content but a drought stressed tree will have half that.

This summer has been especially extreme through high heat, little rainfall and at times extremely low humidity. That combination causes fire danger AND threatens the lives of our trees, bushes and plants that normally can survive normal drought. During my experimentation this summer, I lost considerable turf in my yard trying to see where the threshold is on watering my trees. We have been under water conservation measures, confined to one inch of water per week, with two specific watering days allowed. Ours has been Thursdays and Sundays. You are allowed to hand water at other times, to keep your garden flowers from withering away and to care for special areas that may not survive the twice-a-week schedule. With these constraints, I worked out various ways to keep the trees alive.    

I have lost no large trees that were healthy before this summer dry season, but lost most of the trees planted on Arbor Day this year, half of the trees I planted last year and even a few trees planted three years ago on Arbor Day. I have planted and cared for trees in public areas as well and believe I lost some of those this summer. So why do I start with the trees I lost? Finding the balance between conservation of water and conservation of species is difficult, but my issue was mostly with trees already suffering from disease and past droughts, not necessarily my practices, except for one tree I never dreamed I would lose.  

Of utmost importance have been the 20+-year-old trees in my yard. These have been a priority. They are not replaceable without considerable expense. The 40-50 year old pines are huge. I would really hate to see them go! To cut one dead tree down of this size would cost nearly $1000.

So, here are the methods I have tested and proven to work. I can tell that these methods and strategies work by comparing with my neighbors who do not have such strategies. My neighbors had less loss than the surrounding green areas of forest, but they lost healthy big trees - mostly Oak and Pine. I did not.

Bucket Method

The bucket method  
I went to a local general store to purchase 12 5-gallon buckets. For me, I chose Home Depot because I happened to be there for some other reason and saw exactly what I wanted for sale. Spending about $30, I took them home and tested one with three small holes drilled in the bottom.

That turned out to be too much of an outlet, so I drilled one small hole in the bottom of each of the other buckets (about 1/8 in. drill bit) near one side of the bucket, not in the center. You need the flexibility of placing the hole near a small tree, so the hole was placed on the perimeter of the bottom, not the center. Water is pulled by gravity into the ground, so the area directly beneath the hole is place where the water will go.

Bucket configuration for one tree

     So I started using this method to water my Magnolia tree. Both of my neighbors lost their Magnolias. After I started this technique, mine became much healthier and now the larger one flourishes. The buckets are placed at the drip line of the tree. Note how uneven the configuration is above - that represents the outline of the limbs on that tree. Typically, an established tree will have roots branching out in the mirror image of the tree, under the ground about 4-6 inches. Many times we train our trees to root just one-two inches under the ground and even on the surface itself. That will dry out in three days under normal summer conditions. Where the tree can normally find water, that is where its roots go. Such a broad statement has it's exceptions as you might imagine. Hard clay soils tend to push roots to the surface and soft sandy soils lends itself to deeper rooting, but the rule still applies. I personally have both  situations in my yard. If watered frequently and shallow, the roots will depend on water being available all the time in shallow soil. The general recommendation by noted experts is to water every 10 days. I agree with that in times of severe drought. In times of exceptionally high temperatures, low humidity, and wind, smaller trees really need more frequent deep watering, as often as every 5 days. I normally do not water for two weeks or more if we get an inch of rain. This summer that has not happened one time! Before I left on vacation, just before the 100+ degree temps, low humidity and wind arrived from Tropical Storm Lee, I watered all my trees using the bucket method. Nine days later when I returned, there was no damage except my 15-foot Bald Cypress went brown like it does each late summer. It always comes back when the temperature is more moderate and the rain begins. By watering it when I returned, the browning immediately ceased and the tips of the branches remain green to this day.        

Using buckets for a random forest configuration of trees - canopy intersections

The bucket method is also good for forest areas, although a forest floor is best is it is generally with an inch of water soaked once every month, it will survive with the buckets every 10 days. Where the canopy of one tree intersects with another is a good place to place a bucket.

Remember that some trees are more  resistant to drought than others. My small 3-year-old Magnolia in the green area behind my home died from lack of water, because I did not water it before I left on vacation. It did not survive a 20-day fast; neither did four small pines in the same general location. Lesson? Water the trees thoroughly before you leave on vacation and have someone else do it if you are gone more than 10 days. If the situation is normal and there are accumulations of rain that exceeds 1/2 inch, my strategy is to not water the trees at all, except if the temp is 100+ and/or I have trees that have been in the ground less than 3 years. In those cases some of the trees get watered every 5 days. Sometimes, they have to be watered just like the flowers. Just keep an eye on them and the soil.

Measuring water delivered to the trees

 General area watering method
This method is always preferred but will not allow you to conform to watering regulations. You just program a watering system to deliver one inch of water at one time to your yard. That will get sufficient water to your tree roots every ten days. I have found that a cat foot container works well to measure the amount of water delivered.  Just dip a ruler in it and see where the water line come to the ruler marks. Using a uniform delivery sprinkler works well to get sufficient water to your trees. I have used an automatic shutoff timer for this method, and it works well. This is laborious but less so than the bucket method. The full inch must be delivered in one watering, you cannot deliver 1/2 in twice a week and get down far enough for many trees. There is a way to tell if you are getting sufficient dirt wet  in one watering. I test the ground with a long screwdriver. If it won't easily go into the ground 8 inches, it is not watered enough. But again, there are exceptions. If you have a heavy clay over your tree roots, You may not be able to get sufficient water that deep. Exceptional situations warrant exceptional processes. Just use common sense, but stay within the governing laws of the community.

Helical configuration of a soaker hose

Soaker Hose Method
I use this sometimes when I want a general area soaked down for a special tree. Lay out the hose beginning at the drip line and start a helical configuration towards the trunk. Never go to the trunk because a mature or aged tree is not effectively watered next to the trunk. Its roots stretch out where from where the leaves begin to the outer leaves vertically. You want the outer perimeter drip line of the tree to get the most water. This method can get expensive and cause you to use more water than permitted under neighborhood conservation measures. You can also measure delivery by placing the food can under the soaker hose.

So in general - I recommend the bucket method to conserve water and the general water method every 10-20 days if there are no constraints. I use the soaker hose for one special tree. All my pines get the buckets except for an occasional general thorough deep application by sprinkler or hose. This summer I applied of these general watering applications for the trees.

References - I have read many articles and seen several videos on this subject, as well as heard the experiences of others. I have no specific sources for you to access. These are my conclusions from the experience I have personally acquired, added to my own [past experiences and observations. Read related articles in the Commentary for additional insights and observations. If these methods do not work for you, I am sorry. I am only sharing what I have experienced and know works for me and my yard and has for over ten years.

Post publishing note: A question was asked me on email about the beetles. Apparently I have not identified the primary species of beetle that kill sour trees in Southeast Texas in prior articles. It is the IPS beetle, not the Southern Pine Beetle but we do have Southern Pine Beetles here and they do damage our trees.
Reference: University of Florida article on beetles, 1997 

What is this tree?

This tree is truly a very special brilliant diamond in a massive and dark green forest. It stands out as a princess early every Spring to announce that the dance of life is about to commence. By necessity, it must attract pollinating agents such honey bees when the climate is dominantly cold. Yet is is abundant and thrives as one of the first trees to make this announcement alongside of its beauty competitor, a sapphire of the forest, the Redbud.

Drought tolerance of trees in Southeast Texas

In 2011, we are experiencing the worse drought ever recorded in Texas. In The Woodlands, our forest is our most important asset that cannot be immediately replaced. We need to protect this asset.

Trees often reach deep into the soil to find moisture but some have shallower roots than others. The questions  "Are my trees dying?" and "How can I prevent my trees form dying?" have been raised by many of my readers and friends. Although I have written one other article on this subject, this year is different and we need to address the issue as it is. Here are the answers and some references to put you in the know. I have asked the same questions, so I share my findings and observations. Personally, I have trouble with pines, Magnolias and some hardwoods. I will list trees by name below and give you drought and water tolerance information. A very important thing to remember in the summer - there are trees which hibernate as a defensive mechanism. Unless you are sure the tree is dead, do not remove it until next Spring when it does not bud and produce leaves. If you know the name of the tree, you can use this as a  reference (and other internet sites) to see if it is hibernating, and then rid yourself of it if it is dead. Or you can consult with an arborist.

A tree will have a water content of 200% normally. In a bad drought, it will fall to 100% with the tree living. A large tree needs a lot of water to reach normalcy after it has declined to the severe drought level. At an extreme level, many will die for thirst. You can't allow a tree to reach that stage, because it likely will not recuperate.⁴

First, do water your trees!! Use a drip irrigation technique or an injection technique. I use a drip irrigation hose and a hand-held nozzle sprayer.  I also use a rotating sprayer if there are plants near the tree that also need to be watered. A friend of mine suggested going to a home supply store and getting a bunch of inexpensive buckets. Put a couple of holes in each one and fill with water to drip irrigate several trees at once. He uses this method for small fruit trees. You can use a triangular placement method. For trees I simply cannot live without, I lay  the hose around the tree in a helical configuration extended to the drip line.  Drip irrigate under low water pressure for one hour. I can see the water dripping, but it is not dripping fast. In 100 degree heat, without any rain, I will do this every 10 days to two weeks. For trees that can stand drought more such as pines, every three weeks. The Texas Forestry Service recommends watering each tree every 10 days 1-4 inches.¹ The volume depends on the type of tree. If the roots are shallow and the ground is porous, 1-2 inches is about what I would use for the frequency I recommend.  Both the frequency and volume are dependent on the soil, species and weather. Always water in the evening to the early morning to match the hydration cycle of a tree. ⁴  If a tree has a low drought  tolerance, you need to pay close attention to it under heat stress and make sure you water the tree in advance of stressing it to the point of wilting. Watering is preventative medicine, not a cure. A nice little article I found searching via Google was in the Lufkin newspaper. ³

Here is a list of the trees I researched. I have most of them in my yard. I have adjusted some of the wording  to include local observations.
+ Bald Cypress: drought tolerant. Defense is to simply shed its leaves and hibernate. Small ones will eventually die if the dry period is for a long time. Tree is beautiful if kept watered. If no access to water, the tree will appear dead by leaves turning a dark brown.
+ Blackjack Oak - drought resistant - self defense is to hibernate and come back next Spring. Leaves turn brown and tree looks dead, but is not. Disease can kill the trees during this hibernation.
 + Bur Oak - very drought tolerant

+ Chinese Tallow: very drought resistant. Tree is hard to kill and invasive. These trees do not belong here. Please do not plant them. Instead, remove them from our ecosystems.
+ Crepe Myrtle - very drought tolerant. Excellent for cul-de-sac island.
+ Dogwood: low drought tolerance. Needs its water once a week.
+ Live Oak  - very drought tolerant. Also salt resistant. A Texas survivor. Tree likes its water and will grow much more rapidly when adequately watered.

+ Loblolly Pine: drought tolerant but highly intolerant under an attack by beetles and very vulnerable when small. Doesn't wilt, just dies. Hose configuration helical but from the trunk, not from the drip line.

+ Long Leaf Pine: very drought tolerant when large, vulnerable when small. Use same helical arrangement as Loblolly. Also highly vulnerable to insect damage and disease when under drought stress.

+ Magnolia: drought resistant - is susceptible to leaf browning and even death if no water at all
+ Mulberry: drought tolerant
+ Pecan: drought tolerant - needs water in fruit bearing months. Does best near and with water.
+ Redbud: drought tolerant, its leaves wilt easily but tree recovers at night
+ River Birch: drought tolerant - a strong survivor
+ Sawtooth Oak - drought resistant - will defoliate in self-defense against drought. Looks dead but is not.
+ Shumard Oak - very drought tolerant
+ Southern Red Oak: drought tolerant. Evidence indicates increased mortality in drought years
+ Sweetgum: low drought tolerance - watch closely for stress
+ Sycamore: drought tolerant
+ Texas Persimmon: extremely drought resistant. Survives when many others fail but also vulnerable to insect attacks.
+ Water Oak: low drought tolerance. Name says it all.
+ Wax Myrtle: drought resistant - definitely has its limits. Entire branches will die without water
+ White Oak:  very drought tolerant - may lose some limbs in drought
+ Willow Oak: drought tolerant. Does best where there is water.
+ Winged Elm: very drought resistant.Sheds leaves under duress
+ Yaupon: extremely drought resistant. Probably the most tolerant of all native trees. Lack of water affects berry production

+ There are many more trees to catalog. Generalizations are made such as "pecan" that is not necessarily true for all species. Breeding for drought tolerance is possible and in the case of food-bearing trees, is often the case. We are also likely to find exceptions to native species. I find articles through Google Search for the tree name and "drought", I can find the needed information on many trees. If you would like any additional name included, please let me know, and I will be glad to research and document the findings.

¹ Effects of Drought on Trees - Texas Forestry Service
² Tree and Shrub Irrigation during a drought - Texas AgriLife Extension Service
³ Native Plants - watering trees in a drought, Lufkin Daily News
⁴ Drought Damage to Trees - Warnell School of Forest Resources,University of Georgia

Tree Planting Time in The Woodlands 2011

Arbor Day is always a fun day in The Woodlands Texas.  For the past few years, the festivities are held at Rob Fleming Park in the Village of Creekside Park. Lots of people in the area go to the event to obtain free tree seedlings. It is generally promoted by The Woodlands Development Company.  This year the following trees were distributed.

1. Bald Cypress - native that loves water. Perfect for wet areas of the yard or on a body of water. These trees grow wild in or near ponds and marshy areas. They are well known to thrive in swamps. They will develop knobs from their root systems at the surface. Therefore it is not a good tree if you required grass in the shade under it. It grows slow. My 10 year old tree is about 15 feet tall growing in very good moist soil in the backyard in the sun. Trees on the pond grow slower for lack of nutrients. The tree sheds its leaves in the hot dry months of the summer and in the fall. They live for centuries. Perfect for a fishing hole on a pond. I have planted 100-200 of these trees since I moved here. 
2. Flowering Dogwood - small early Spring native bloomer that thrives in partially shaded areas. It needs some sun but tends to flourish under the shade of larger trees in the forest. The tree turns a solid white before most trees even start leafing out in the Spring, typically in February. There are many in The Woodlands and in Southeast Texas. 
3. Laurel Oak - one of our large natives oaks, known to tower about 60 feet high. It is a large (70 feet) fast growing tree with a relatively short life (50 yrs.). It is not cold resistant, freezing at about -3 degrees F; that is only 8 degrees under our known record low. 
4. Loblolly Pine -  is not the native pine here but it is used by timber companies because it is more resistant to disease than the native Long Leaf Pine and a development company or lumber farm likes it because it grows very large (100 feet) faster than other varieties. Most of The Woodlands used to be a timber company. 
5. Red Maple - large native tree (90 feet) having rich colors with of varying reds in the Fall. These are abundant among our forest trees and a favorite around homes. 
6. Southern Crabapple - a well balanced native tree when planted alone in the sun and growing in moist soil. It is a medium size fast growing shade tree that has beautiful white flowers in the Spring. 
7. Southern Wax Myrtle - small to medium sized bushy tree that is very useful to obstruct vision between homes or cut down on noise. It grows fast and is susceptible to varying boring insects which can cause weakness in the limbs. It is popular to provide a screen quickly and naturally. Some people let it grow wild. Others prefer it trimmed into shapes. 
8. Wild Common Apple - small native variety that actually produces small apples. It grows to a height of about 30 feet.   

This year for entertainment there was a clown, face painters, musicians, recorded music, slides and a variety of children activities. For the adults, there were booths of information pertaining to nature, trees, recycling and even a recent trend - Zero Trash. Volunteers from the Woodlands Garden Club were distributing the seedlings. I planted half of my seedlings that afternoon. The volunteers were very generous, so I ended up with a lot of work to get them all in the ground.  There are five more Cypress trees on the pond to replace some of those lost in the drought. Reforestation occurs every year for me. Droughts have taken a heavy toll on seedlings for the last two years. 

Arbor Day in The Woodlands and Houston 2011

On Saturday, January 22nd, 2011, The Woodlands celebrates Arbor Day with a seedling give-away of  6 species, has kids events and entertainment. The event is held in the Village of Creekside Park at the large park. For location of this major, please refer to the parks section of the Woodlands Commentary. Also each hour, a larger tree is given away in a drawing to visitors if they are present. This year, these seedings will be distributed to help make our community a better place to live - Loblolly Pine, Red Maple, Southern Crabapple, Bald Cypress, Laurel Oak, Southern Wax Myrtle, and Wild Common Apple. You can plant seedings in public areas here, as long as you do not destroy property in the process. Providing a child the opportunity to plant a tree and watch it grow is one not to be missed! It s gratifying to see a tree that you plant be a large tree in 10 years or so, so come out and get one or more seedlings, compliments of The Woodlands Development Company, The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, the South Montgomery County YMCA and The Brickman Group. There is no entrance fee and the seedlings are free.

Also on Saturday, January 22nd, Houston celebrates its Arbor Day with organized group tree plantings (25000 seedlings) as a project, sponsored by Apache Oil and Gas.  Click on link for more specifics. There is also classes taught and storytelling in an Arbor Day festival at the Houston Arboretum on January 29th from 10AM to 4PM.  Click on link for video and location. That is sponsored by WM Waste Management.

Fall colors on Trees

Here in Montgomery County and everywhere in Southeast Texas, we begin a little bit later than in the north to see fall colors. Sometimes, we see almost nothing at all except for the Chinese Tallow which is considered an invasive species and outlawed from trees nursery sale inventories. That tree is very ornamental in the fall, one trait that brought its popularity in the past century. In reality, this is not a place for a fall showing of trees, but sometimes it really surprises me what the native trees will do. Technically the Fall season has arrived, but it will be a while before the trees think it has arrived due to our southern position.

What causes the differences we see each year? It is the weather, pure and simple. Rain while the leaves become deprived of nutrients is a key component in determining the colors. The sugar content of a leaf is very important to its coloration and brilliance. If we get an early frost, the leaves are more likely to drop as ugly dried brown leaves than colored leaves, although it depends on the species and the moisture as well. Because we have had a near average rainfall this year, I am expecting a better fall show in this area. We have a fairly large population of native hardwoods interlaced among the evergreens, enough to give us a spectacular show when the conditions are right. I have seen a few trees already beginning to have fall colors, even though it is very hot. Too much heat can offset the beauty  given by the water. If we do not receive much rain and the heat stays with us, fall will again just be a blink of the eye. We need long and cool night with some light rain. More details can be found in this link: Explanation of Fall coloring

USDA Forest Service reports the fall colors for all national parks at this link. This may give insight into what is happening as the fall unfolds in the southeast. 

Bald Cypress in The Woodlands

Cypress trees are found here on ponds, creek beds and lowlands. I have planted many on the pond near our home in The Woodlands, Texas. Talk about slow growing! Talk about living to be old! They can be 800+ years old. These trees do their best in wet but fertile soil as one would expect. The soil on the banks of the nearby pond is not very nutrient rich. In fact is is heavy clay. Our 8 year tree has been pruned several times, not by us but by people who do not appreciate what it takes to grow one of these. We have one in our backyard that is doing very well and is turning into a fruit bearing tree this year after about 7 years of growth from a small sapling. It must now be about 12 feet tall.  Notice the low hanging branches. These often provide protection for deer and other creatures during the day in the forest. It also provides shade for fish in the water. The knees grow in water and land. Is is speculated that they enable the plant to get oxygen when the roots are submerged, but I have my doubts that anything of that sort is important to the tree. I suspect it has something else to do with survival in the water. 



Viewing the fruit, one is led to believe that this might be edible. Wrong! The tree is a conifer.  These little balls turn into a plated cone, like a pine tree and sends seeds into the air for sprouting new trees. Right now the fruit is very pretty on the tree. This happens to be our maturing Cypress of about 12 feet.

Another interesting characteristic of this tree is its shedding of leaves. It does this in the late fall and dry summer. That seems to protect it from severe weather. It sprouts new leaves when the rains come and turns green again. It is not hardy when it comes to fire. Several of the ones I planted were exposed to fire and did nto come back. Some did, leafing out from the roots but not the burned trunks.

Woodlands Forest Understory Wins One

The residents in The Woodlands Texas won over the development  company in some conservation of forest last night at the Sterling Ridge Village Association Meeting. Joel Deretchin brought some good news to those who were concerned about losing vegetation which shielded their homes from view. Yaupon is too often thought of as a trash tree. It provides important berries for birds and wildlife, as well as provides the undergrowth to help protect our large trees. A forest is not a tree and a tree is not a forest. To save the forest, we must also retain the understory, not just retain the large diameter trees, but the full forest of canopy and understory.

A green area in the Tarramont Park area shields homes on the golf course from traffic, giving the residents their privacy. The Woodlands Development Company decided to remove it without talking to residents, to provide a view of the golf course from the road.  After a few residents observed the activity, more came to an awareness of this project. Many residents expressed concern and became very outspoken on the issue. The Development Company stopped the project and formulated a plan that hopefully will include the residents on future clearing projects.  They will replace that which they removed and leave the green area in place.

After a certain point in development, the company needs to include residents on anything they do. This type of issue has risen many times. After people invest in properties, they have a large stake in further development and changes about them. The development company has the responsibility to include them in future decisions to change green areas. The Yaupon and other understory species are an important part of our forest. We need more sensitivity of their presence and role.  Green areas are important to residents. There are proven psychological and value advantages for having the full diversity forest in our midst.

As the people in the room clapped, I could see an element of surprise on the face of Mr Deretchin. This was much more important than the development company realized. It is also a lesson on general policy of inclusion of residents. It had the potential of blowing up and being blasted out to the news media with a red flag of resident investment risk.  

Spring has sprung even before winter is over - seeds of the elm

One of the first trees to recognize that Spring is here is the Elm. It blooms and sows its seeds before most trees even show buds for flowers. This happens right at Valentines each year.In the sunlight, the seeds can appear magnificent, and putting a light through them, one can see how they will be blown about by the wind and establish themselves far away. I have dozens of them coming up in the yard every year. A very prolific tree which migrating birds love. The leaves don't begin to appear until the seeds start to fall. Such an amazing tree!

One more summer gone, many tree years gone, Winter's Respite

There remain a number of trees to cut down after the terrible loss we had this past year with beetles in our pines. Based on what I saw, the 1000+ trees that had to be removed from public areas along roads, paths, parks and medians, most of the trees were older than 10 years. Many were 30+ years old. Let's just say conservatively, they were each ten years old on the average. That would present us with a 10000-year tree-year growth loss. I could not say what number of tree years we have in our forest, but it is a very very large number, so the percentage of loss remains fairly low. Yet intuitively, none of us can rest peacefully with the results. The primary reason we must not just write this off is the mere fact that there is a forecast for ensuing years of continuing and even worse drought. Then too, we lost a large number of trees in 2008 to the hurricane. The combined two events raise our alarm to a higher level than the norm.

How are we going to deal with rain shortages, water conservation and preserving our trees at the same time? We must put some financial resources into our future. If this year is only a taste of the future, we should be doing something about it and not just let nature take its own natural course. The one valued commodity that we have, unique from other communities, is our large trees. Without them, we are just another large subdivision on the outskirts of Houston - waterway or not, parks or not, nice homes or not. Nothing really matters except our trees.

Woodlands Pine Trees - we are losing the battle. Now Pine Bark Beetles!

Pine bark Beetles are having a field day, because our pines are weak from the 2009 Texas drought. As you travel about in The Woodlands and Southeast Texas forests, you will see dying or dead trees. A dying tree is turning brown, typically from the bottom limbs towards the top, whereas a completely dead tree has no green leaves at all. The water delivery system has been cut off. Sometimes one, sometimes several trees are dead in a "stand" of trees. One business I visited just today had a problem with this insect. Someone from the Association had already been there to advise the business to remove the infected trees as quickly as possible. That business planned to cut them down this evening. I inspected the trees and discussed the issue with the manager. One tree dead, one adjacent tree dying and two more infected. In that these beetle attacks are classic, by the book, I believe they will lose all four trees. They have already received a guide on what species of trees are recommended to replace those they are losing. These beetles are slowly killing our mature trees and those not so mature. Since it takes decades for a tree to reach 50 feet in height, we are losing what we prize as our trademark - the pine forest trees. It is happening to all species but the Loblolly tends to be more adaptive to the beetle than the Shortleaf or Longleaf. It is not difficult to identify a tree that has been infected. On my street alone, we have lost three large pines this year to the beetle. I have seen three other pines lost in our neighborhood and several others in the park nearby.

This Woodlands tree to the right, infested with these insects, appears to have the pox. A bubbly mass of sap and a bit of the drilled out cambium layer shields ants and other intruders, like woodpeckers from the tunnels built for their eggs and subsequent larvae. The result is a nice tube cavity suitable for eggs to develop and which can be expanded by the young as they mature. This insect deprives a tree from water when many of the insects attack simultaneously. Since the beetle can explore, attack and finish their reproduction cycle in a matter of a few days, they accomplish  complete tree destruction by their numbers and can carry on their attack to a full stand of trees in one summer. Their life cycle is very interesting. One beetle will serve as an "explorer". He finds a tree, bores into it and when he is able to reach the inner layer, he excretes a chemical that attracts other beetles. Hundreds can be drawn to one tree and they can collectively kill the tree to make a nice habitat for their offspring. The eggs hatch under the bark in the incubation tube and the cambium under the bark serves as food for the hatched larvae. The larva then changes into a pupa.

This ugly little thing is a live larva, found under the bark and beneath the inner bark layer of an infected tree here in The Woodlands. If you recall your biology, you know the pupa of a beetle is equivalent to the worm stage of a butterfly. The larva stage of the beetle is equivalent to the worm stage of a butterfly. Instead of eating leaves, this beetle eats the cambium or the live part of the tree trunk, the part that creates the outer ring of wood and the inner bark.

This is the area of the tree from which the pupa was extracted. You can see the bark (outer layer), the cambium (orange second layer which has living cells) and the wood (light brown inner layer). The cambium is the food for the larvae and pupae.

This is the adult, courtesy of  the University of Georgia Bugwood Network.

A stand of infected trees (or perhaps better stated "trees under attack)", is on the Woodlands Parkway. Two trees are dead and two adjacent trees are now under attack. Since it takes about 8 days to kill a tree, this will be completed in only one more week. Then others will get infected unless these are removed now.

Some interesting facts about the beetle: they do not die off in the winter. They tend to attack the same tree several times over, but their lifecycle is slower than it\ is in the summer. The insect is active all year long. Adults will lay eggs and leave their eggs host to attack another tree, but they will also reemerge and lay eggs in a tree previously attacked, even using the same tube. They lay about 30 eggs per mating sequence. They do have enemies - the woodpecker, mites,  and two types of beetles. I am reasonably sure I saw a Checkered Beetle on a tree infested with the Pine Bark Beetle.

When inspecting trees, one will find another visual hint of an infection, the running of sap such as you see on the right. Inside the bark, there are probably pupae causing the flow of sap to flow out of the tree instead of up water moving up the tree.

You might also see this - the powdery cuttings of the inner bark or outer cambium.

How does one treat this problem? Unfortunately, the remedy is very difficult. Generally, in forest management, the trees are cut down and isolated from others in a stand.  They can be allowed to stay or burned.. At a residence or park, there may be insecticide remedies or natural predator remedies but the insect attacks are so quick and  thorough, there may not be enough time to react. Prevention measures against a flying insect is not very promising. At the time of writing this article, I have not ascertained the best approach, although I would prefer to take the natural predator avenue. This is the next step in my study. I believe it is best to get this concise information to readers in order to educate what might be happening in their piece if the forest.

On September 26th, I visited a booth of the Forest Forest Service. We discussed this problem and the following is from my learning there. The forest service is currently inundated with concerns from all over the state. A prolonged drought weakens our pines to the extent that they become not only vulnerable to the beetles but are significantly at risk of death. This year has been a very bad year for the IPS Bark Beetle. This species attacks the weak trees and does it in stands or groups close together, unlike the Souther Pine Beetle and turpentine beetle, which attack healthy trees and takes out one at a time here and there, not typically in stands. A tree infected with the engraver beetles will often have three IPS species in it. The six-spined calligraphus is the largest at 5mm and attacks the large diameter portion of the tree - trunk and limbs. The eastern five-spined grandicollis is the mid sized at 4mm and attacks the smaller branches in the mid part of the tree. The smallest at 3mm is the southern avulsus which attacks the small branches, typically at the top or the furthest from the root system, in recent growth parts of a tree.  One species at the base, one in the center and another in the top. Our trees in The Woodlands are susceptible, because they typically grow in shallow soils with a clay layer beneath it, making the soil not give up the water that the tree needs in a drought.  Typically the IPS Beetle, also called the "engraver", is 3-5 mm in length. The other beetle now active in the forest is the black turpentine beetle, a lover of fresh pine sap and thereby the name. They however are typically found in stumps and injured trees usually associated with logging but in our case, with the injuries from hurricane Ike.²  
It is important to note that a home owner could have a healthy tree and three days later the tree could be dying from these beetles. The engraver beetles act fast and in mass!

Although we are not going into treatment in this article, the advice was - give the tree masses amount of water as soon as it sees the problem. A lot of water will also help your trees through very stressful times in a prolonged drought. Another piece of advice is to keep the areas around a pine tree free from fresh cuttings. Do not cut your trees and place the cuttings under the tree. Remove fallen live branches from pines, thereby removing the attractive material that initially brings the beetle under your tree.

Every year we have this issue with beetles but this one is particularly tough because of the hurricane and the drought. We typically see cycles of infestations. Expect the southern pine bark beetle to emerge in big numbers in a few years. They typically follow a major infestation of the engraver beetles about five years afterward.  The last really bad infestation of that beetle was in 1985 when 15000 infestations were reported (note that this was the number of event reported, not the number of trees - one infestation might cover 100 acres or more).  

What has happened is that hurricane Ike produced a lot of material on the ground that the beetle could feed on and that attracts it. In the Spring, the material was available but as the summer drought unfolded, the beetles needed to get their nutrition from the live trees. Once an explorer finds a vulnerable tree, he chemically calls the others and bingo! There is an infestation attracting all species of the engraver beetle and possibly other species as well. Thanks to the representatives from the forest service for their valued input to this article.

References
1. Bark Beetles of Concern to the Southern U.S. by the University of Georgia Bugwood Network
² Southern Pine Beetle or Pine Engraver or IPS Beetle, a brochure by the Texas Forest Service

How to water trees during a drought in Southeast Texas

This article applies to any drought-stricken area including Southeast Texas, especially The Woodlands Texas. Anyone who knows me, knows I love trees. It is time to be concerned about this year's drought. This year could be a record breaker! That is, this could go down as the worse year in history for a summer dry spell. La Nina is the key. When will it go away? Next hurricane? Regardless of the answer, we need to water our trees now. Two months have passed without significant rainfall.

Any tree planted within the last two years must be watered now. My suggestion is to water a small tree thoroughly every two weeks. Trees that have been planted more than two years ago may need attention now also. They can be watered every three weeks. Very large trees can generally get away without water for four weeks but be careful. One formula for application volume is 10 gallons per inch diameter of tree trunk. The temperature is so high now (100+ degrees) that all plants need more frequent watering than they normally require. To water trees, it is advantageous to understand where the roots are located, the physical nature of the roots and water delivery process to the leaves.

How do leaves get water?
A tree's primary source of water is an area from the surface to about a foot and a half deep, located around the tree. To understand what the root system looks like, simply look at the tree and picture the tree limbs as roots which are usually a mirror image of the tree limbs. The length of the roots will be longer than it corresponding limb and will extend beyond the drip line of the leaves. Now think of the leaves as fine roots needing to find water. The tap root will penetrate much further, but the shallower roots are its source of life and are the key to the tree's health. 90%+ of the roots of a tree are within the first foot of soil! In broadleafed trees, water is delivered to the leaves of the tree from the roots by a physical process called transpiration which leverages a basic physics process called capillary pressure. A pressure that counteracts gravity pull is produced by the capillary walls consisting of cells especially made to move water and nutrients from the soil to the leaves. In the leaves, during the day, the stomata under the leaves constrict to preserve water. But as inevitable evaporation occurs in the heat, water must be replaced by the capillary pressure pushing the water into the tree leaves, keeping a pressure in the capillaries. Without water in the root system, the capillary pressure can fail, causing the tree to die. The first sign of lack of pressure in the capillary system is the wilting of the leaves, next a browning, and then a total failure of the capillary system. A pine tree is different. It moves water from live cell to live cell, using a pass-the-baton type process. It is much slower than the capillary process, so pine trees die easier when the water dries up. By the time the leaves turn color on a pine tree, it is too late to recover. Pine and Cypress trees react to a shortage of water in the heat by shedding many of its leaves, thereby reducing its consumption and thirst.

How to water your trees

So as the soil dries, the process of moving water up the trunk of the tree to the limbs is diminished, stressing a tree in its ability to cope with drought. The tree needs your help. A small tree can get by with watering every 2-4 weeks. I use a two gallon bucket. One bucketful for a seedling, two bucketfuls for a 3 foot tree and three bucketfuls for a 10 foot tree. One recommendation is to provide a tree with 10 gallons per caliper (diameter) inch. To do this effectively, you must have the base of the tree mulched as an shallow upside down bowl structure so that the water is held within the irrigation area intended. Get the water to the area on the ground that mirrors the ends of the branches. This is where the ends of the roots occur below the ground. The base of the tree needs to be mulched to conserve evaporation from the ground. The larger the tree and the older age of a tree makes the process more difficult. A large tree needs considerably more water and it must be delivered slowly. A drip hose wrapped in concentric circles around the tree will soak the ground. That is the best way to make sure water reaches one full foot below the surface. It may be more advantageous to use a needle approach however for the large trees, where the water is delivered directly to the roots a foot underground. A water measurement device to one foot deep is handy for you to know if you have reached the depth intended. One can also purchase watering devices for trees at any tree nursery, but they are not required.

Conserving water and being a good neighbor

When the time comes to water trees, we almost always are under a water alert from our water utility for watering lawns. We are either asked to voluntarily conserve water or required to water the lawn only on prescribed days in order to maintain water pressure to homes and have emergency water in case of fire. Drip watering devices do not utilize a lot of water and therefore are not a threat to the water pressure if used with low pressure. However, it is wise to monitor the consumption of your watering process by taking a water meter reading before and after you have watered a tree, so that you understand how much water you are using and what the delivery rate is. If the usage is more than about 10 gallons per hour, you should not be drip watering on days that your home is not allowed to water the lawn.

Watering your lawn is not the way to deliver water to your trees, unless they are seedlings and even that is insufficient for seedlings. If you water your lawn and do not water your trees, the root system will die at normal feeder root depths and only live on the very surface. High wind can then blow your tree down much easier! One inch of water on a lawn is a significant watering but will not reach very deep for a tree's use. Remember Hurricane Ike!

Take care of your trees. They take decades to grow back. The loss of deep roots has proven to be a significant risk to homes and fences in high winds. I recommend reading the references below for additional information.

Additional Resources

¹ Architecture of a tree
² Caring for Trees During Drought

The Flowering Dogwood - diamond in the rough

Today was an exceptional day in that the Dogwood was flowering in abundance in the forest after the rains finally ended. I thought they were about bloomed out before the rains but the trees budded again and we have a fresh but short span of time to enjoy them again. The trees are seen at the edge of the forest on Gosling and on the edge of George Mitchell's Preserve.

Its red berries in the fall make it an all around show tree. It is small and lives in the shade. thriving in half shade areas such as found on the edge of a forest or in a small clearing, but will do fine even in motley shade.

If you cannot identify a white blooming tree in the Spring, try this one first. It is abundant in our East Texas forests. It has a distinct bloom easily identified.


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Many white Blooms, many species

Here in The Woodlands, we have a wide variety of white blooming understory trees. Right now, we see the end the blooming season for Dogwoods and are at the height of the blooming season for several varieties including the Fringetree and the Hawthorne. Today, we focus on the Fringetree also known as "Old Man's Beard" which we see blooming all over our community. I prefer calling it Old Man's Beard. A person can drive down almost any main road artery and observe this tree amongst others in the forest, including Woodlands Parkway, Panther Creek, and Grogan's Mill.
Understory trees almost always do better exposed to a half a day of sun, so they thrive on the boundary of wooded areas. Unlike its competitor, the Hawthorne, this is a tree with large leaves, having a crown more like a larger tree, reaching up and out. The Hawthorne on the other hand is more social and stays lower like a spiny bush. Both have a blooming cycle peak at about the same time.

Its flowers as you can see are like fringe hanging on a skirt and tend to droop, giving the appearance of human hair from a distance, thus the beard. Interestingly enough, the heavy bloomer of this species is the male. These photos are male specimens. Now you know why I prefer the name "Old Man's Beard". The tree produces blue berry fruit in the fall. It is slow growing and can be easily smothered by other brush-like plants. Like all white blooming plants, it has survived over the ages in the forest by attracting butterflies, bees and other pollinators using its bright flowers to stand out, like a shining gem in the forest. White reflects all the available light whereas dark flowers absorbs the light, making them less visible.

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Yaupon - One necessary component of the understory

We are The Woodlands. I know, we are a master planned community, and we have a forest. I think I would have preferred a name such as "The Forest", but that would not be inclusive of the savannahs we have, so "The Woodlands" is probably more appropriate. We do have savannahs alongside our creek beds.

Today we focus on an understory tree or bush of the forest, the Yaupon.
It is flowering time for this tree. Time to start making berries again. Technically, the Yaupon is not considered a bush, even though it has some characteristics of one. This is an understory tree that sets us apart from the piney wood forests.

This decorative plant is notorious for its density, its sharp branches, and its very red berries. It's density is great for protecting wildlife. It is the reason we have so many deer and other animals in this area. The tree propagates through its roots and its berries. But the seeds are not easy to sprout without birds carrying them and excreting them in various locations. Once established, one tree spreads and thickens in a few years, providing a barrier to light and helps reduce sound from carrying through the forest at ground level. Two birds are really good at spreading their seeds - the Robin and the Cedar Waxwing. These migratory birds come through here each Spring and Fall, eating the berries in both directions, but primarily when returning from the south. The berries seem to be the favorite of Robins until they are able to find some protein in the grass. Cedar Waxwings are more known for their voracious berry appetite, but usually the Robins arrive earlier than the Waxwings.
Its berries are not only for the birds! There are several creatures like the squirrel, which forage on these berries. In the Spring, some of the berries can go uneaten and they turn into hard black seeds. A few birds will eat these seeds, another means of propagation.

One can reforest an area by transplanting the small shoots coming off of roots, or making cuttings. Actually, this method may be preferred over seeding or buying the plants and planting them because one can choose which gender to have. If one plants a cutting of a Yaupon with berries, one will have berries on the result. Some say to use a root stimulator to get the cuttings to grow some roots. The primary strategy is to plant when the season turns cool, in early December or late November. That will give the tree some time to root before the heat puts much stress on the emerging root system.

When reforesting, please do not forget to add this plant to the landscape.

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Parsley Hawthorne Tree - in spectacular bloom.

It may be raining now, but before it started, I got out to take a few photos of this lovely tree in full bloom.

There were rain drops on the lens at one point. This native tree is one of several species that shows off in the understory of the forest. Combined with its intense colors in the fall, this tree really is a gem in the forest.

It does like the sun but does well in a marble light as well. We find the tree throughout The Woodlands.

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