Rewilding My Lot

There are four young trees in the back yard here. From tallest to shortest they are Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri), and Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora).

Until this week, all but the Mexican Plum had put out new leaf growth, and the Texas Mountain Laurel has also bloomed.

Normally in spring, Mexican Plums bloom early, even before their leaves appear. However, with this tree being newly planted, the fact that I didn’t see blooms this spring wasn’t a tremendous surprise. So then it was a waiting game to watch for leaf growth, and by asking around, I found I wasn’t the only new Mexican Plum owner in this situation.

Sure enough, on March 13, 2024, I finally saw some tiny leaf buds on the lowest branches. This is a deciduous tree that I bought in the fall after its leaves had dropped, so this is my first time to see leaves on it. Hopefully after another year to grow stronger, next spring I will get blooms as well.