texas mountain laurel
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Tree Growth Report, January 2025
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 Continue reading
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Increasing The Size Of Tree Circles
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 Continue reading
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Moving Texas Mountain Laurel To Bigger Pots
By way of experiment, I was able to germinate several Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) seeds a few weeks ago [post]. Until now, the seedlings have been in 4-inch pots indoors in our guest room. I was holding off moving them into bigger pots until it was cool enough outside to move them into the Continue reading
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Sleeping Bees
This garden attracts a lot of bees of different types and sizes. Most of our native bees in Texas are solitary and one of the most delightful things to see in the early morning are bees that are still sleeping on plants. Here are a couple of Eastern Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica) that I saw Continue reading
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What The Garden Did While I Was Away
I was away from the garden for ten days in September 2024. Here are some highlights of what happened in my absence. First, there was zero rain and neither was the garden watered while I was gone. The plants here have been chosen to be drought-resistant, although there were a couple of things that looked Continue reading
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Texas Mountain Laurel Progress
Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) was the very first tree that I planted here in spring 2023. It’s already a slow-growing tree, but my long-time readers may recall that this one additionally had a difficult first year with half the tree showing signs of possible iron deficiency or root damage. Eventually it seemed to recover Continue reading
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Texas Mountain Laurel Seedlings
Two weeks after potting Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) seeds, there are now 18/28 that have green shoots (18/24 for the seeds that had germinated by the time I potted them). For now, they will stay in the guest room here because I think it would be too hot for them outside. There is still Continue reading
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Texas Mountain Laurel Seed Potting
Despite having my seed germination environment a little too damp, after nine days I had 24 Texas Mountain Laurel seeds that were sprouting roots and 4 where I couldn’t tell their status. The next step was to gently place them in soil so as not to damage the little roots, so here’s what I did. Continue reading
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Germinating Texas Mountain Laurel Seeds
Last year I attempted to germinate Texas Mountain Laurel seeds. I had no success, but supposedly this is not unusual. They are very hard seeds that in nature take years to germinate. My son (Dan Rossiter) did some of his own research and found a method that for him has a high rate of success, Continue reading
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Texas Mountain Laurel Growing Back After The Last Caterpillar Feast
I have to be constantly watchful for Genista Broom Moth caterpillars on my small Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) tree. These caterpillars are immune to the toxin that this tree produces, so they have little competition. Unfortunately, while I was recently away for ten days, there was a significant infestation that destroyed all this tree’s Continue reading
About Me
Nature Lover.
Inquisitive Observer.
Student Gardener.
I invite you to join me on my journey to convert my sterile (from a nature point of view) new house lot to a healthy and diverse ecosystem, as I make discoveries, mistakes, and hopefully progress. I am not an expert or professional. The project started in February 2023 and the location is Seguin, Texas, USA.
Rewilding My Lot 