Treefollowing: Wordless Wednesday (nearly)

Flash the maple is thick with dried samaras.

Spike the hawthorn still sports a bit of red and green.

~🍂~

Though the beech is golden

I cannot stand beside it

mute, but must say

"It is golden," while the leaves

stir and fall with a sound

that is not a name.

It is in the silence

that my hope is, and my aim.

...

The Silence by Wendell Berry

 

This is my brief contribution to November's gathering of Treefollowers. Consider joining us—as you can see, it doesn't have to be a lot of work. Photos would have been enough, but like Berry, I "must say".

Green and Red; Stipules and Suckers

In the foreground is skinny Spike, the hawthorn. Behind is Flash, the maple (red canopy).

Since my last report, there has been only a little change in the trees I'm following. Flash's canopy has become even more red, though we've had nothing close to a frost. Spike is still a skinny odd-looking "tree".

Flash has only a few green leaves. The foliage is pretty ragged all in all.

When backlit, the aging samaras (keys) are still beautiful.

For Spike, it is the young leaves that are reddish. The rest are still green.

Now, for botany nerds ...

This month, Spike brought up several botanical terms which I "know" but not really; terms I've heard and even used for decades, but when pressed to explain, can't. At least not confidently. So I asked Google, the expert on everything (we hope).

Stipule: "an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf ..."

If you like order, stipule classification is for you! There are types based on many different characteristics, such as duration, shape, size, position, modification, and more. I preferred the summary of function: "Stipules have various functions. Some stipules are not well understood or may be vestigial." This is the way I feel about many things these days.

This hawthorn has foliaceous stipules, i.e., similar to leaves. Being green, perhaps they contribute to photosynthesis—the business of making energy for the tree. I would guess Spike could use the help, having recently recovered from near death. And maybe this is why stipules are more prominent on the suckers (the next topic).

Enlarge to see stipules at base of leaves.

Suckers seem to be universally despised, according to Google. For example, "young stems sprouting from the base or from a spot on the trunk ... are called suckers, because they zap water and nutrients from the main tree. As suckers are unhealthy for trees and they are unsightly, it’s important to know how to eliminate them ..." More here.

The Wikipedia article about Plant Development is more open-minded (see Adventitious structures; Buds and shoots). "Adventitious buds [buds that develop in unusual locations on the plant] are often formed after the stem is wounded or pruned. The adventitious buds help to replace lost branches." I agree! Adventitious shoots are very helpful in this situation.

This is my September report for the monthly gathering of tree-followers kindly hosted by The Squirrelbasket. Worried about another long covid winter? Consider joining us. Tree-following is a good diversion, even in winter, and it's stress-free! More information here.

Tree-following: Red and Green

Both trees I'm following this year are red and green, but in different ways. Last month, Flash the maple was covered in green leaves and red samaras. The samaras are still red but looking duller. And the leaves are starting to turn red. It hasn't been cold, not even close. Could this be due to heat and smoke? Or maybe just normal life for Flash.

Spike the hawthorn still has rich green leaves, while the young emerging leaves are reddish. No flowers or fruit this year, but that's fine. Having nearly died (or so it looked!), Spike is to be commended for the healthy shoots and foliage.

Fresh young hawthorn leaf, with ant.

This my contribution to the August gathering of tree-followers. Thanks to The Squirrrelbasket for hosting!

Christmas in July and a Surprise!

Hotwings Maple indeed!

Flash, the maple, is looking very Christmasy, with a canopy of green leaves and red samaras (aka keys or whirlybirds).

The big surprise is Spark, the hawthorn, which I thought was dead last month. It's definitely alive! It has put out shoots along the trunk, from buds likely activated by damage to the upper part of the tree (which still looks quite dead).

Leafy shoots are clearly visible at the base of the dead crown. See the one below the lower tie?

There are quite a few shoots emerging, all the way to the base.

Always a fan of the underdog, I told the city arborist that I want to keep this tree ... or maybe now a bush.

Beginnings of a bush?

This is my contribution to the July gathering of tree-followers, kindly hosted by The Squirrelbasket. More news here.

Tree-following: first the good news

When I returned from my trip, I found that in just two weeks, Flash, the maple, had gone from no leaves to all leafed out, and its flower buds were opening!

But Spike, the hawthorn, is nearly bare. It has just one sickly cluster of leaves. The City arborist is to check our trees in July, and I will get the official determination then. But I'm sure this tree is done for. Last year we were told there was no guarantee on the trees. So if I want a replacement, I will have to buy one.

This is my short just-in-time report for June. Check the latest tree following news. And consider joining us, it's interesting and fun (but sometimes there's bad news).

Tree-following: Let it Snow!!

 

Two days ago, I took a few photos of Flash and Spike, the trees I'm following this year. As you can see, there's nothing left of the little bit of snow that was on the ground a month ago. It's been dry, dry, much too dry!! My too-big-to-water yard is covered in native grasses adapted to xeric conditions: western wheatgrass, alkali sacaton, prairie saltgrass. Even they are struggling after several years of drought. But they're tough. One day, their normally vigorous selves will return.

I water the young trees whenever temps rise above 40º F, to encourage root growth. But there are no obvious changes above ground, it's too early. So I checked their twigs to identify them using buds and scars. Of course I already know what they are. This was a chance to examine features I usually ignore.

I pulled the Winter Tree Finder out of my stack of tree-finders. These are dichotomous keys at their best—simple and fun. One got me hooked on tree id 50 years ago. With the handy twig diagram and friendly descriptions, I was able to find the various buds and scars, and make my way through the key.

For Spike, I didn't get beyond p. 4: "Sometimes a conspicuous feature ... makes identification easier." There were just two candidates with conspicuous thorns, Honey Locust (nope) and Hawthorns (yes), p 21, where I stopped because: "Hawthorns are far too numerous to cover here."

Spike the Hawthorn, with conspicuous thorns and alternate lateral buds.

With Flash, I made good use of the key, moving smoothly through the dichotomous questions. Tree a conifer or not? NOT. Leaf scars alternate or opposite? OPPOSITE. This year's twig more or less than ¼ inch wide? LESS. Leaf scars narrow, inconspicuous, with 3 bundle scars? YES. Terminal bud egg- or cone-shaped? YES. "It is a MAPLE, go to p 48" where I landed amid many maples, none of which grow here (the book covers midwestern and eastern North America).

Unfortunately, the buds and scars of the slender twigs were hard to photograph even though the wind was just a gentle breeze. I didn't dare cut twigs to photograph inside ... these young trees look like they need every twig they have. Here is my best shot, in fact, my only decent one.

Flash the Maple.

I waited until this morning to post, as I was hoping the weather forecast was correct. It was close! Now the scene is very different. The snowfall is going to be "absolutely historic" according to the weather news. If that's the case, then I must be prehistoric! But it IS a lot of snow, and quite wet. The plants and I are happy 😊 

This is my contribution to the monthly gathering of tree-followers hosted by The Squirrelbasket. More news here. Join us!

Tree-following 2021: Flash and Spike

 

This year, I'm following two trees that moved into my yard last summer. After I paid a modest fee to Rooted in Laramie, two Tiger Tree employees showed up, unloaded, dug, planted, filled and secured them to face the Wyoming wind. I think they did a good job; the trees are still standing. I named them Flash and Spike for their looks.

Flash is a maple with bright red samaras (winged seeds), even in summer when it has dark green leaves. Hard to imagine right now.

Spike is a hawthorn, and will provide dried berries for birds through the winter.

Looking ahead: Flash and Spike at maturity (photos courtesy City of Laramie).

This is my first 2021 contribution to the monthly gathering of tree-followers  kindly hosted by The Squirrelbasket. Join us!

Naming Trees

all the trees have names,

both family and genus

on small brass plaques at the base of each …

looking once like any other

burlapped ball of roots

when it was lowered to earth

those decades after the war. (1)

Tree-following sometimes becomes a struggle in identification (2). If we don’t know a tree’s name, don’t know its kind and all the information that goes with that, may we follow it? Sure, why not? But of course we feel a little guilty, and still hope to learn its name.

The tree I chose for 2020 has partially revealed its identity. With its elongate clusters of flowers and small fruit, it looks like a chokecherry. But the leaves differ from our native ones (Prunus virginiana). Is this a landscaping cultivar? I will check with the City arborist, whom I recently met (more below).

Leaves on sucker shoots are more chokecherry-like.

In the photo below, do you see that the left side of the crown is a bit droopy? A large limb broke with the heavy wet snow we had about a week ago. Unfortunately, all our trees had leafed out, so now the town is quite a mess with downed branches, especially from cottonwoods. Cleanup is underway.

Broken limb.

Cones and truck signal cleanup underway (note branches under cottonwood/poplar).

Next I visited the puzzling tree with maple-like samaras at the Art Museum, which I considered following earlier this year. It's now leafed out, in flower, and filled with busy insects.

Flowers not unlike maple flowers ... but leaves?

These sure look like maple samaras!

It’s puzzling because the leaves don’t look like maple leaves. Or so I thought.

But then two trees with names showed up in my yard. Please meet Winter King Hawthorne, Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’.

And … FANFARE!! … here's the dazzling Hot Wings Tartarian Maple, Acer tataricum 'GarAnn' PP 15023. Note the leaves on this maple!

These young trees reside in my yard courtesy of Rooted in Laramie. Laramie's arborist helped select locations. Tiger Tree did the planting, complete with stakes, mulch, slow-release water bags and trunk protectors. Through the fall, there will be in-person health-checks and e-mail reminders about caring for my new trees. All this for just $50 US per tree! I'm grateful to all the local businesses and organizations that contributed.

Two pros had the trees in the ground in no time.

Notes

(1) “Naming the Trees” by Bruce Guernsey was inspired by the national cemetery at Gettysburg. Read the entire poem at Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry (thanks to Tom Rea of WyoHistory.org for sending it).

(2) We tree-followers pick a tree to follow each year. We report on it monthly, in virtual meetings kindly hosted by The Squirrel Basket. Read the latest news here. Consider joining us! Jump in any time.