Rewilding My Lot

In the process of discussing my sick Texas Mountain Laurel tree (see earlier post about this: What Is Wrong With My Texas Mountain Laurel Tree?), one gardener suggested that I make liberal use of peat moss to introduce more organic matter to the soil here. The idea was to use it in the same way as mulch to shade the soil and retain moisture around a plant, but that it would break down more quickly than mulch and would need to be replenished annually. This person had two Texas Mountain Laurel trees that had been sick in the same way as mine (one pale branch), and this treatment helped one of them.

Given how poor the quality of the soil is here, I am certainly eager to improve that. So I bought a bale of peat moss and spread it around most of the plants in the back yard. However, I did not treat the Desert Willow, since that particular tree does not like rich soil. Here’s a photo of the Texas Mountain Laurel with its new coating of peat moss, with the original mulch scraped to the edge.