Hybrid Poplar Growth . . . today

  Four years later, in 2008, the tree has added nearly six feet to its top, as can be seen when comparing the two photos. Look at the two limbs just above the top rope. In photo one, that's the tree top; in photo two, additional growth shows far above those two limbs.

Hybrid Poplar Growth

 

To show how much the Hybrid Poplar has grown, this is how it looked in 2004.

One down, five to go

  There's definitely a learning curve with edging tree basins. I had no idea how deep to cut the trench around the tree, nor how far out to build the trench from the trunk. So, this first one is a beta; the other five will go much quicker. I now have a pretty good idea how damp this clay soil has to be to make cutting the trench with a typical railroad pickax easy. I also know that my little pickax with its 24-inch handle was not up to the job; it became back-breaking to bend over far enough to hack away at the hardpan. That's it then: 1) fill the basin with water twice, then let it drain overnight; 2) the next morning, using the pointed end of the pickax, draw and cut a narrow trench around the outer edge of the existing basin; 3) after the soil dries, set a circle of plastic edging in the trench; and 4) using a hoe, backfill the soil around the outside of the plastic edging, bringing it to the bottom of the upper rolled edge of the plastic, and lightly pack.

 

The split trunk is healing.

Almost September

I'll be taking my annual September photos of the trees very soon. Then, I can post the progress of each tree by having a before (earlier year) and after (this year) picture.

 

Every summer for the past three years, a pair of doves visits the yard. I believe they are Eurasian Ring-Necked Doves, noted for migrating from Europe a decade or so ago, and slowly populating the whole country.

 


Whenever I feel I've had enough of the desert, I look at photos like this one I took earlier this year on California's central coast.

 

Rainbows . . . not an uncommon sight after or during a rainstorm in my neck of the woods.

I Can Change My Mind, Can't I?

I did. I changed my mind. After making a sketch of the redbud forest area, with the idea of edging in 3 or 4 trees together, I asked myself if that would give me the best water usage. The issue isn't totally water; it's also the cost of commercial mulch and whether so much mulch would benefit the trees. I decided that it wouldn't do much for the individual trees.

So, my current plan is to edge each tree individually, fill in the tree wells with mulch; then, spread pea gravel all over the remaining soil around the tree wells. The gravel will keep the weed population at bay, and each tree will have sufficient mulch to keep the soil around its roots moist. After the pea gravel is laid, I will lay out drip hose and use finer hoses to bring water to each tree basin.

The weather's turned hot, so I'm not sure when I'll begin. But I'll keep a photographic record of my progress.

Tomorrow, I plan to get some photos of my one surviving Hybrid Poplar. I think it's grown almost 4 feet this summer so far. It gets plenty of water. I move the flush hose from the swamp cooler from tree to tree, letting each one get a couple of days of run-off.

 

This is one of the nice blooms on the Tropicana rose that I added to my rose garden this year. Gosh, you never promised me a rose garden, but I got one anyway.

  Another shot of the anvil cloud.

My crepe myrtle is still blooming. It started early this year . . . previous years the blossoms haven't appeared until September . . . the first sign of print began in June. I've given the tree an abundance of water this year . . . maybe that's the difference.

 

 

This is the anvil cloud that hung above the mountains to the north of me yesterday. I've since learned that an anvil cloud is the result of thunderstorms. The cloud is mostly ice and sometimes, according to the info, one can see snow falling at the ends of the anvil.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Collecting . . . . .

I never thought at my age that I would start collecting anything . . . . but one never knows. So, here's the start of a hat collection.

More Work for the Gardener

I've decided to edge all my trees with plastic edging, beginning in the Redbud forest area. I've studied articles on the internet, the good, the bad, and the ugly, about using plastic edging. Mostly, comments have to do with "beauty" or lack thereof. However, I'm not as concerned about beauty in my yard as I am utility, mostly keeeping the desert weed population down. To this end, I will first edge all the tree basins, then cover the rest of the side yard in an inch or two of pea gravel, hoping the lack of sun will keep the weeds from sprouting, and for those that don't have the good sense to stay underground, I'll spritz with ROUND-UP till they get the message . . . . "you're not wanted in this wildfire-safe yard.

This is how the Redbud forest looks today . . . just before I start my edging project: I will not to edge each Redbud tree individually in my forest of 6 well-developed trees. Instead, I plan to create a design of sorts in groupings. Since 1 tree stands apart from the other 5, I will edge that one separately; then edge the other 5 in one large basin (or maybe if it looksbetter, I'll edge 2 in one grouping and 3 in another. I then plan to cover the edged areas around the tree trunks with a commercial mulch, so when I water (especially in the hottest part of summer) the soil around the trees will stay moist longer.

Following this, I plan to cover all the dirt around my tree basins with the pea gravel....not a small task in itself, but I've got all Fall and Winter to get the job done (before those pesky weeds realize it's spring and they try to push their ugly mugs up above ground).

Finally, I plan to run some 1/2-inch plastic drip hoses over top of the pea gravel, putting out 1/4-inch hoses to each tree. Instead of attaching the 1/2-inch hose to a water source, I'll hook the end up to a garden hose each time I want to water the trees. Not as convenient as a timer, but it's way less costly than having a landscape put in the timer and everything else involved at the outside water source. I did that once, and our extreme weather conditions caused too many malfunctions for it to be convenient. Besides, having only a "partially automatic" system, like hooking up to my garden hose, gives me the opportunity to get outside and talk to my trees. They like the sound of my voice, and are quick to respond with new growth.

A Day in the Park

We took a run up to River Park in Kernville this morning. At around 10:30 am, it was probably 85 degrees, and a comfortable ten degrees cooler in the shade of those magnificent old cottonwood and willow trees. The cottonwoods were giving off their little white parachute seedlings and the air was full of flying fuzz, a virtual snowstorm of cotton. We had a picnic lunch and stayed till around noon, because it was getting too hot to stay outside.

As usual, we saw children in the river on rented inner tubes, and no life vests. All the way up the canyon, huge signs tell of the hundreds who have lost their lives in this raging river. But because the water looks smooth at this juncture of the river, people think they can ride the current and easily get back to shore. One adult (what an idiot) was on an inner tube riding along with a child of about 8 on a separate inner tube--no life vests. They were all lucky today, they made it to shore before reaching some treacherous rapids, and will live to risk their lives another day.

But where is the real responsibility? Shouldn't the outfit that rents the inner tubes make sure everyone also rents a life vest? Especially for those who are children under the age of 18?

New Babies

This little guy was a sucker off a root of my only Hybrid Poplar. I dug it up and transplanted it to this square full of good potting soil. The first day or two, it lost all its leaves after they dried up and rattled like they were giving a death-knell. I kept on watering (every second or third day) and lo and behold! on about the 4th day, new leaves sprouted along the whole length of the pencil-sized trunk. Now, a month later, it's doubled in size and looks really healthy. I intend leaving it here in this spot, a perfect place to provide lots of shade for the south side of the house all summer long.

This is a River Birch (obtained from the National Arbor Day Foundation early this Spring-2008 and planted soon thereafter). I didn't supplement the soil (my bad!) so it's taking a long time to take hold and show any growth. I've watered it every second or third day since planting and that seems to give it enough to stay alive.

Pink Peppermint crepe myrtle. This tree has been in this spot for more than 7 years (already planted when I bought the property), and it's clearly a slow grower. Either that or it's not in the "right" spot, since it's only grown about 8 inches in 7 years. Last year and this year I've given it more water and I feed it with a "normal" flower fertilizer every spring. It only gets morning sun, then the huge fir tree shades it from about noon for the rest of the afternoon and early evening.

It's flowering more this year . . . maybe a sign of new growth and new vigor. I can only hope.

Summer Flowers and Herbs

This planter has HotLips Salvia (the hummingbirds love it), Sage (variety unknown). Both of these plants have quadrupled in size since I planted them 3 months ago (original plants from Sycamore Farms, Templeton, CA). The planter also has Italian Parsley (grown from seed....rabbits love it when it first emerges from the soil), a large Parsley (that smells and tastes like celery), and a handful of Marigolds (sprouted from last year's blossoms, and looking for all the world like a Miracle-Gro advertisement (which is what they're growing in).


Oregano and English Thyme, planted in this pot 3 months ago (from smaller plants purchased at Sycamore Farms in Templeton, CA) are doing better than expected. The Oregano has spectacular flowers, and hasn't stopped blooming in the past 2 months.




My new Tropicana rose is making very small blossoms. I expect it will do better next year, after it's become acclimated to this area (and used to the care and feeding it gets from me). It's glorious orange shade doesn't come across well in these shots.