Rewilding My Lot

It is now an annual tradition (i.e., this is the second year!) that I take note of how my trees and shrubs are doing. Like children, when you see them every day, sometimes you don’t appreciate how much they’re growing.

This post addresses trees. There will a separate one to describe the shrubs that I have.

The measurements and photos were recorded on January 1, 2025. Where available, I’ve included last year’s photos for comparison (newest photo first).

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Live Oak 1 (nearest the street) — planted 2022

Of the two trees that our builder planted, this one produces the most acorns and this past fall was a “mast” year with hundreds being formed. We have no squirrels here yet to take them away and bury them, so most of them are still on the ground immediately underneath the tree. Earlier in the winter, I pruned away one branch that was rubbing against others. This tree hasn’t noticeably grown in overall stature in the past year, although the internal branches seem to have filled out a little.
2025: Height 8 ft, Width 4 ft
2024: Height 8 ft, Width 4 ft

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Live Oak 2 (nearest the house) — planted 2022

Of the two builder-planted trees in front of the house, this one produced fewer acorns, although more than it did last year. Earlier in the winter, I pruned away one branch that was rubbing against others. Like its neighbor, this tree has also not grown in height during the year, but seems fuller.
2025: Height 8 ft, Width 4 ft
2024: Height 8 ft, Width 4 ft

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Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) — planted 2023

This was the first tree I planted here. It had a bit of a rocky first year with half the tree showing signs of iron deficiency, but it seems to have recovered now. The stronger side has grown more than the previously sickly side, but hopefully the tree will eventually sort itself out. I’ve pruned away some of the very lowest branches, the ones that were lying on the ground.
2025: Height 57 in, Width 48 in
2024: Height 26 in, Width 38 in

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Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) — planted 2023

This is the tallest tree in the back yard and it did a lot of growing in the past year. It also had two traumatic events, perhaps as a consequence of growing so well above ground while there were high winds to whip it around. The first thing that happened was a split in a major fork, which was treated with rooting powder and bandaged up in May 2024. The second event was more serious when strong winds moved the tree enough that it started to tip over. That led me to give it a major pruning to reduce its mass above ground, and for a friend to build a brace.
2025: Height 9 ft, Width 9 ft
2024: Height 6 ft, Width 6 ft

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Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) — planted 2023

This deciduous tree was planted in the fall of 2023, after its leaves had fallen. In 2024 it produced leaves but not blooms. It hasn’t grown in height yet, but the individual branches now have side growths that were not there a year ago.
2025: Height 65 in, Width 28 in
2024: Height 65 in, Width 28 in

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Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri) — planted 2023

After this tree was planted in the fall of 2023, it completely froze in January 2024 and I thought I might have lost it. Most of the original growing tips did indeed die, but the tree created new ones and has grown a lot this year. The mature shape of this tree is to be wider than it is tall and given my space limitations here, my plan is to prune lower branches to “raise the canopy.” Supposedly the best time to prune this tree is early spring so I haven’t done it yet.
2025: Height 4.5 ft, Width 7 ft
2024: Height 42 in, Width 30 in

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Barbados Cherry, dwarf (Malpighia glabra)— planted 2023

This dwarf tree had a good growth year in 2024, and bloomed for the first time.
2025: Height 27 in, Width 34 in
2024: Height 10 in, Width 25 in

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Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) — planted 2024

This baby tree was planted in the spring of 2024. It dropped its leaves during the summer, which is to be expected for this plant, and so I will need to wait for spring to check that it’s still happy.
2025: Height 12 in, Width 6 in

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Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa) — planted 2024

The tiniest tree here was grown from seed myself, so I will have a special affection for this one! It dropped its leaves in December, and so like the other new deciduous trees here, I will need to be patient to see how it fares this year.
2025: Height 6 in, Width 1 in

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Once my trees exceed about 6 ft in height, I estimate rather than measure. This is my estimation reference!