Rewilding My Lot

I generally try to give a tree mulched clear ground around its trunk up to at least its drip line, i.e., the edge of its canopy. This is most important when the tree is in a turf environment so that its roots don’t have to compete with water-hungry grass. Back in August 2023, I expanded the builder-defined circles around the oak trees in the front yard, and those circles are still adequate.

However, most of the trees in the back yard (3 of 5) are growing so well that they have outgrown the circles I previously gave them. Since I don’t have turf grass close to these trees, I’m less concerned about giving them space for water reasons. However, while they are young I’d like to give them the best start possible and a wider cleared area also allows me to walk around them to check on them.

So each of the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri), and Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) trees had their mulch circles expanded. In two cases, there were important plants growing within the expanded areas, so I left those — Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra) under the Desert Willow, and Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea) under the Texas Mountain Laurel. The mulch that I added to the circles came from a pathway that I dismantled, but more about that in another post.

The first photo in this post is of the Desert Willow with its expanded area. The following pictures show the progression of doing the same for the Texas Mountain Laurel.