|
|
Tree Talk by Ronnie Grell
I like trees. In fact my wife and kids would tell you I'm
obsessed with trees, and I wouldn't deny it. While I love
all plants, I can tell you without hesitation that trees are
my hobby. I cannot drive down a road I've never been down
before without identifying every tree I pass. I annoy my
kids, nieces and nephews because I often stop and pull over
on road trips in order to identify some darn tree. In almost
30 years of living in San Antonio, there is only one tree I
can't identify.
When my wife and I bought the lot we live on in Spring
Branch, it was purchased because of the diversity of native
trees growing on it. Our lot is dominated by Post Oak, Live
Oak, Cedar Elm, Cedar (Ashe Juniper), and Mexican Persimmon.
Our lot also has Blackjack Oak, Bigalow Oak, Vasey Oaks,
Texas Red Oak (Spanish Oak), Gum Bumelia, Possumhaw, and
Eve's Necklace on it. Since we built our home and moved onto
the lot in 2000, I have introduced dozens of native and
exotic species of trees that were not there before. Fifteen
years ago my wife and I purchased five acres of cliff in
Real county because it was dominated by Pinyon Pine (one of
my favorite trees).
The point of all this in formation of course being......I
love trees. The purpose of this monthly article will be to
share what I know about growing trees in South Central
Texas. We will look at how to plant, grow, and maintain
trees in our sometimes challenging climate. I will also let
you know what exotic and hard to find natives we will have
available for your purchase. I am looking forward to our
Monthly Tree Talk.Texas A&M Extension
Service Publications:
When
planting fruit or shade trees,
Rainbow Gardens has a guide that will help tree survival.
|
|
|
