Texas Mountain Laurels

What a wonderful central Texas native!   Dark green, glossy leaves and an irresistable purple bloom in the spring.   I just wish it bloomed longer.  Each trees bloom period is about 2-3 weeks.    The seedpods will contain a dark red, poisonous seed.    The seedcoat is extremely hard; in nature it may take a few years before they sprout.   Here in the nursery, we have our ways to push them along. . . .

Texas mountain laurels have become a hot commodity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  They are equally loved in the Rio Grande Valley.  They tolerate many types of soil - just be sure it's well-drained.  Mountain laurel do not like wet feet!   

Once established this is a great Xeriscape plant.  It handles underwatering better than overwatering.

Remnants of Hurricane Dolly

Today, we're harvesting short Texas mountain laurels - ones that are 3 and 4 feet tall.   Most dug really nicely, but this one pulled right out of the ground.  The folliage looks healthy, doesn't it? 

Turn it upside down to get a good look and the roots and you see its problem - there are virtually NO ROOTS! 

Two years ago the mountain laurels in this field were an average of 6 feet tall - then Hurricane Dolly paid us a visit.  Heavy winds battered the trees for hours and nearly half of this field died.  The remainder looked shabby and a bit necrotic.  Every time we had strong winds, the remaining trees stressed.   And Harlingen has strong winds on a pretty regular basis.   We decided a heavy pruning might help.   It's now been 20 months since the hurricane and most of this field have recovered nicely.  - but occassionally, we come across one like this.    I still can't imagine how that root system has been supporting this fairly decent looking little tree.  Go figure.

We were happy to see that after harvesting 40, this was the only one with this problem! 

Lessons from Arbor Day Celebrations

On February 12th, the city of San Benito hosted an Arbor Day celebration at the Cameron County  Fairgrounds.   Jr. Master Gardening students from  one of the elementary schools participated - and learned a little bit along the way.   They learned that when planting a tree, you should dig a hole the same depth and 2-3 times as wide as the rootball.   The planting hole should not be smooth - new roots will not always penetrate a smooth surface, but instead turn and circle its "earthen pot".    One of our customers likes to dig a square hole.  You can always use your shovel to make a jagged surface.

The RootMaker bag is being removed from the rootball. Now all those fibrous roots will really take off!

 

You can see that this tree will be planted too deep!   After this picture, the tree was removed and more dirt placed in the planting hole.   To cover a tree's root flare with even a couple of inches of dirt will cause it to eventually die. 

The city of San Benito was awarded a number of live oaks from our "100 Trees for 100 Years" program.  They are placing two on either side of the entrance to the Cameron County Fairgrounds.  What a welcoming sight they will be in a few years!

Thanks to the city of San Benito along with all the city, chamber and school officials who attended!

Wilson Elementary GT Students Catch Centennial Fever

The GT (Gifted and Talented) students at Wilson Elementary in Harlingen recently planted a live oak tree from our 100 Trees for 100 Years program.  This program is in celebration of the 100th anniversaries of Harlingen and San Benito.   Their teacher, Adriana Davalos, wrote that it "encouraged the students to research Harlingen's history and learn more about our community". 

We expected the students to learn about the benefits of trees and how to care for them - for them to learn more about their town and its history is an added bonus!

These students are responsible for the care of this tree and will be monitoring its progress weekly.

Valley Proud Envirnmental Council has designated February as All Valley Arbor Month. 

Plant a Tree; Plant a Memory

For more pictures of Wilson Elementary and many of the other organizations participating in 100 Trees for 100 Years, check out this web album.

A Fistfull of Mighty Acorns!

Cadets and this year’s summer campers will be the first to enjoy shade from the Academy’s newest mighty oaks, compliments of Simmons Oak Farms of Harlingen, Texas!

Simmons Oak Farms Texas recently gifted live oak trees to Marine Military Academy Campus. The generous gift was part of Simmons’ recognition of the 100th year anniversaries of the cities of Harlingen and San Benito. A grand total of 100 live oak trees were gifted to schools, churches, not-for-profits and government agencies within the two cities

The live oak trees, Quercus virginiana, are 5 inches caliper and at least 18 feet tall. Marine Military Academy pulled out the heavy equipment to install these gems. All that’s left to do is add water and enjoy!

 - Debbie Wieland, Public Affairs Officer, Marine Military Academy

Rodriguez Elementary Students Help Beautify Their Campus

The ACE (afterschool program) students at Rodriguez Elementary School in Harlingen held a tree planting ceremony on February 10th.   Here they are preparing to plant the two trees they received from our "100 Trees for 100 Years" program.  Their club sponsors are Petty Salinas and Rosie Barajas.  The ACE coordinator for Dr. Rodriguez Elementary is Robert Lerma.       

Before the work began, one of the students read a poem about trees. 

The shovels you see in the first photo are not just for show.  ALL of the students pitched in and got their hands dirty!

Principal Traci Muir Gonzalez, pictured here with two students, has much to be proud of.   

For more photos, check out this album.

Segunda Iglesia Presbiteriana - Harlingen

The men of Segunda Iglesia Presbiteriana in Harlingen spent a recent Saturday morning planting a couple of live oaks on the church grounds.  Rodolfo Garcia applied to our 100 Trees for a 100 Years program on the church's behalf and they were awarded two of the trees.  

Some of the congregatiion posed for a photo while admiring the latest addition to their landscape.

Segunda Iglesia Presbyteriana is located on West Lincoln Street in Harlingen.