Redbud pods maturing

How to collect the seeds of Cercis canadensis

As I waited in a parking lot to meet my daughter a few days ago, I noticed the redbud (Cercis canadensis) trees nearby. This didn't require extreme tree identification skills -- the redbud is easily identified in summer by its (generally) heart-shaped leaves. In the leaf, several major veins begin at the juncture of stem and leaf, spreading out like spokes from the hub of a bicycle wheel.

Here is a good image of a redbud leaf at Bioimages. Please don't look at the photo in this post for help in identifying a redbud leaf. My photo has some other leaves of shrubbery mixed in with the redbud leaves. Also, the redbud leaves were a bit bug-eaten, and possibly mildewed. (We've had an exceptionally wet summer in this part of Kentucky.)

Besides the leaves, I knew these trees were redbuds because of the clusters of seedpods. Some of the seedpods were nearly mature and some were still green, but they were hanging in clusters from the  branches.

Curiously enough, the redbud doesn't bloom at the tips of its branches as most trees do. Redbuds bloom  from nodes on the branches. After a tree has bloomed many years from the same node area, it develops swollen areas that look almost pregnant. (image at right.)

If you want to collect redbud seed, wait until the pods are brown and dry. Then open the pods and pop out the seeds. Discard any seeds that have insect holes or that are not uniform in shape, size, or color. Store the seeds in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer. To sprout and grow, the seeds must be both scarified (seed covers scratched) and stratified (buried in cold wet sand for several months).

Nature doesn't seem to have much trouble with the
scarifying and stratifying. Owners of redbud trees can testify to the ability of redbuds to propagate themselves.

How to prepare for the emerald ash borer

Pointers from Minnesota tree experts

Today, Agweek published an article titled "Own an ash tree? Follow these tips." It's a list of practical pointers that may help ash tree owners as they decide how to deal with the emerald ash borer in their landscape.

The Minnesota experts don't recommend treating an ash tree with preventative chemicals until the borer has been identified within 15 miles. They also caution that tree owners should beware of scam artists who want to sell expensive, useless treatments.

You might want to print the article and keep it, if you find the tips helpful. Internet news articles sometimes become unavailable after a few weeks.

Catalpa (catawba) "worms"

Larval form of the Ceratomia catalpae moth

Catalpa (catawba) trees are essential to the life cycle of the large, brown, night-flying moth Ceratomia catalpae. The United States has two species of catalpas -- southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) and northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa). The Ceratomia catalpae (catalpa sphinx moth) can use either tree as a host, and catalpa moths may be found wherever catalpa trees grow.

The female moths lay piles of tiny, translucent, pearl-like eggs on the undersides of catalpa leaves or on the branches, often several hundred or even a thousand at a time. When the eggs hatch, tiny larvae emerge.

As the larvae feed on the catalpa leaves, they grow through several stages of development, becoming darker in color as they grow older. At their largest, they can measure up to three inches long. The catalpa worms always have a "horn" -- a spike at the end of their abdomen -- like the tobacco and tomato hornworms.

Catalpa worms spend their time eating catalpa leaves, and when a catalpa tree has hundreds of larvae consuming its foliage, it often develops areas of defoliation that give the tree a ragged appearance. Fortunately, the tree usually tolerates the abuse without long-lasting ill-effect.

The catalpa larvae burrow into the soil about three inches to pupate. The life cycle is complete when the large adult sphinx moths emerge, mate, and lay more eggs. Two or three lifecycles in a growing season are common.

Catalpa worms are said to be excellent fish bait for catching bluegill and catfish. One method is to cut the worm in half and turn it inside out (using a match) so the flavor is released to attract the fish. They can also be cut into pieces and threaded on a hook like earthworms. The skin of the worm is tough, so it stays on the hook and the worms are said to be lively for long periods of time. (Bait durability is much appreciated by fishermen.)

Worms can be shaken out of a catalpa tree onto a tarp spread on the ground. Fishermen sometimes preserve the worms for future fishing expeditions by packing them in cornmeal or sawdust inside glass jars or shoe boxes and freezing them. When they are thawed, the worms are still fresh and alive -- or if not, catfish like dead catawba worms, too.

The catalpa tree in the image below grows in the town of Van Buren, Missouri, about 150 yards above the Current River. It is the largest catalpa tree I've ever seen. Catalpa trees can grow 70 or 80 feet tall, and this tree is all of that or more. It would be difficult to shake it for worms.

All this writing about fish bait makes me feel like going fishing! I even know where there's a catalpa tree in our neighborhood.

Image credits: Ceratomia catalpae adult photo (found on Wikipedia) taken by Shawn Hanrahan at the Texas A&M University Insect Collection in College Station, Texas. Catalpa worm photo (found on Wikipedia) taken by contributor Taxidermistjake.

Shaggy barked hickories near a stream

Carya ovata or Carya laciniosa

I saw these hickory trees in an old church yard in Christian County, KY. They are growing about 100 feet from a little stream that usually has some pools of water, even in the hottest, driest months of summer.

I don't know whether these hickory trees are shagbarks (Carya ovata)or shellbarks (Carya laciniosa). The two species are very similar. Shellbarks are said to prefer moist locations, so these may be shellbarks. The bark of shellbarks is supposed to be a little less shaggy and scaly than shagbarks. To be honest, I usually call them all shagbarks.

In Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America (see bibliographic info at bottom of page), Gary Hightshoe writes that shagbark hickories (Carya ovata) sometimes grow in alluvial soils in the southern U.S. -- that is, where a stream has deposited silt over the centuries. However, they are often found in dryer environs, such as sunny, wooded hillsides.

Shagbarks can tolerate poor drainage but they will not live where water stands for long periods of time. The trees in the photo are far enough away from the stream that flooding would be brief and infrequent.

Shagbarks are long-lived, slow-growing trees, often surviving over 200 years. The church was built in the first decade of the 1900s, and I suspect that the trees were saplings or bigger at that time.

The shagbark hickory's shape is somewhat narrow. Typically, its spread is about half its height. These trees' lower branches were probably removed to facilitate mowing, making them look particularly narrow in shape. In maturity, the shagbark can reach 100 feet in height in optimal conditions. I believe these trees are about 100 feet tall.

The photo below shows another shagbark or shellbark hickory, a few miles away, which also grows near a little stream. I suspect this one may indeed be a shellbark, because the nuts are so big already.

Young sycamore tree (American planetree)

Fast growing native tree

This young sycamore (aka American planetree, buttonwood, or buttonball) tree is growing along the road ditch near the bottom of a hill. In this spot, it receives ample moisture, and it is flourishing. Look how it is shooting out new leaves.

Sycamores grow very quickly. I've had personal experience with this. About ten years ago, we transplanted a sycamore seedling that sprang up in my garden. It has grown to at least 50 feet of height now, and its ultimate height and breadth will be as much as 100 feet. It likes the area where it is planted -- a section of our little acreage that is not well-drained.  A few inches of water sometimes stand there after heavy rains, and the soil stays "squishy" most of the winter and spring.

Fortunately, it doesn't really matter how well we mow around our sycamore. This sycamore, as is typical of the species, has a lot of roots along the surface of the soil. The long, protruding, root "branches" can be a problem in a well-groomed yard because they're difficult to mow across.

The extensive system of heavy surface roots helps the sycamore to "hang on" in wet areas where the soil sometimes turns muddy or is completely washed away -- such as the stream bank where a sycamore is clinging, in the photo below.

Sycamore's Latin name is Platanus occidentalis. It is found in most of the eastern U.S., and it can be easily recognized by its large leaves and its mottled and peeling white bark. Look for it along waterways.

I've written quite a lot about sycamores. If you're interested in them, be sure to click the "scyamore trees" label for more articles.