Rewilding My Lot

The Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) tree here was planted in the spring in an area that was bare earth. I knew that I wasn’t planning to develop that area until fall, so in the meantime I have just been keeping it largely clear of weeds.

However, fall is here and there will soon be soil and seeds added to this area, so it was time to define a space for this tree. In general, I use the estimation that the critical part of a tree’s root system corresponds to the area defined by its drip line (the outer circumference of its branches), and if I can I will define a circle of at least that size where the tree does not have to compete with other plants.

When the Desert Willow tree was first planted, I placed it in a hole with part soil, part stones, and I raised it a little so that it would drain well. This tree does not like wet or rich soil, which makes it the perfect choice for the poor quality soil here. Here’s a photo from that first day in the ground.

To separate the tree space from the future seeding projects, first I placed a ring of stones to define a circle beyond the drip line, then covered ground within the circle with cardboard, then spread a couple of bags of mulch to hold the cardboard down. I could have used stones to fill the whole circle, but the cardboard plus mulch approach was less work in the short term, and will make things easier to change later if needed.

Here are photos of that process. The first one was taken in afternoon light, and the other three were at dawn.