Trees Are Key

One of my favorite activities is teaching and skills development. We host regular monthly web-based staff meetings, but those are primarily information sharing. Our program development meetings on the other hand are about developing our program and our competencies.

#SpeciesSpotlight

The Huisache, Acacia farnesiana, is also known as Sweet Acacia or Weesatch is this week's species spotlight. Huisache is Widespread in South Texas, with small populations extending into Brazos and Travis counties. They are often found on heavy, wet clays and clay-loams.

As we wrap up the fourth season of #TreesAreKey (can you believe it’s been four years since we started this exploration?) I'm looking back at some of my favorite episodes and they have something in common. The commonality also happens to be one of the subjects that I love to teach for our Certified Arborist Prep Courses… Tree biology, in particular, applied tree biology.

Species Spotlight

Baldcypress Taxodium distichum is a deciduous Texas native tree. One of the few deciduous conifers of North America, baldcypress is a large tree to over 100 feet tall and a straight trunk to 8 feet in diameter, with numerous ascending branches. Young trees display a narrow, conical outline, but old trees have a swollen, fluted base, a slowly tapering trunk, and a broad, open, flat top. In swamps they develop distinctive woody growths from the root system called "knees."

Last week we explored how “Teams Are Key” and this week let’s talk about “Keys to Funding” and increasing our available resources. We talked about why “Budgets Are Key” a few weeks ago and it’s interesting, you need a budget to talk about funding, but you also need funding to budget.

Species Spotlight

Osage-Orange, Maclura pomifera, is also known as Bois-D'arc, Hedge-Apple is a Deciduous, Texas native that has few pest problems. It is A medium-sized tree to 40 feet tall with a trunk up to 3 feet in diameter, with many crooked, interweaving, thorny branches that form a dense, spreading crown.

Last week we explored why “Budgets Are Key” and this week let’s talk about how “Teams Are Key” and how to improve them. One of the keys to the importance of a team is that you can share the burdens and focus on what you do well and you get multiple viewpoints. Team work itself is a competency.

Species Spotlight

This week's Species Spotlight features the Anacahuita, Cordia boissieri aka Mexican-Olive or Wild Olive. Is a small tree with a curving trunk up to 20 feet tall and a trunk up to 12" in diameter, with a low, rounded crown. It is Native to the brushlands and forest remnants of the southernmost tip of Texas down in to Mexico.

Trees are Key and they make great investments, but you need resources to manage those investments. Join us this week as we explore how “Budgets are Key” and discuss ways that you might be able to improve your budgets.

Species Spotlight

This week’s tree is a fast growing, yet fairly long lived tree for many of us across Texas. This tree has been brought north, but is a great choice in many areas. Listen to this week’s #TreesAreKey to learn more about Mexican sycamore, Platanus Mexicana.

Let’s talk about “Keys to Biochar.” I think many of us are skeptical when something new comes to market and gets popular quickly, but we are getting the peer-reviewed research to back up the hypothesis that biochar may be a great tool in our kit for growing trees in challenging environments and help sequester carbon at the same time. Listen in to learn more!

#SpeciesSpotlight

The White Ash, Fraxinus Americana, is also called Biltmore Ash. This deciduous Texas native is a large forest tree that grows to 100 feet tall and a trunk to 3 feet in diameter, with a tall trunk and a relatively short, oval crown. Found throughout East Texas, westward to the valley of the Trinity river, this species grows best on the rich, moist, well-drained soils and slopes adjacent to river bottoms.

#TreesAreKey

I recently received an interesting question from a gentleman asking why he couldn’t import pecans or black walnut trees to Texas. We are also dealing with an EAB quarantine in a major Texas metro area for the first time. Join us this week as we explore why “Restrictions Are Key.”

#SpeciesSpotlight

This week we will explore a species that is at risk from emerald ash borer. Listen to this episode of #TreesAreKey to learn more about green ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica.

#TreesAreKey

It’s common for us to get questions over the summer and early fall like "What is this weird growth on my trees leaves or twigs?" Once we explain what the growth is, a gall, fungus or chemical, the follow up question is inevitably “What can I do about it?” In the vein of last week’s topic, Timing is Key, in the case of galls, once you see the gall forming it’s typically too late to do anything this year….

#SpeciesSpotlight

Sugarberry, Celtis laevigata var. laevigata, aka Sugar Hackberry or Palo Blanco is a deciduous, Texas Native which is commonly confused with Hackberry – Celtis occidentalis, a more northern species. Their flower is borne on slender stalks in the leaf axils in April or May.

#TreesAreKey

Last week we explored why “Drainage is Key” and this week we'll discuss how “Timing is Key.” You’ve probably heard many people say “Timing is everything." While it may not be everything, “Timing is Key” in arboriculture and forestry. Inspect a tree the day before it would have fallen, and you are a hero. Arriving a day late can be tragic. Listen in to learn more.

#SpeciesSpotlight

The Mexican Plum Prunus mexicana is a small Texas native tree that grows to 25 feet tall with a short trunk 8" to 10" in diameter. It has a short, irregular crown of dull green foliage.

#TreesAreKey

One of the main tenants of tree planting is, "Right Tree, Right Place." This saying means you should match your tree species to the spot you are going to plant. We talk about this in Episode 24, "Species Selection is Key." It is important to understand your soil and find a tree that can tolerate those conditions and thrive.

#SpeciesSpotlight

The Eastern Redbud Cercis canadensis var. canadensis is also called Judas-Tree. This deciduous, Texas native is a small or medium-sized tree, usually less than 40 feet tall and a trunk to 12" in diameter, with arching branches that form a wide, flat-topped crown.