Dave has long loved Madrone trees, with their cinnamon colored bark and crooked branches. Knowing their reputation for being difficult to transplant, for a couple of years he would go out in the fall and collect their seeds, and attempt to propagate them at home... with no luck.
I fell in love with Madrones during our week-long horseback camping trip in the Davis mountains.
I went to the Wildflower Center, on hearing rumors of a Madrone tree they had there, and sure enough found a beauty tucked in a back corner. A helpful docent told me that they had tried transplanting Madrones at the Center unsuccessfully until they finally plucked one from South Texas and literally used a backhoe to dig out a huge area around it, to preserve its roots and soil. I believe there is now a second Madrone on the property, this one grown from seed.
So, sometime in the fall of 2018 (if I recall correctly), I went to Natural Gardener for some other mission, and saw them selling small Madrone plants... for $30 a pop. Pretty hefty price tag for such a small plant. And with my serial murderer history with many plants, it truly seemed fruitless to even consider. I'd be better off investing that money in a lottery ticket ;o)
But, ever hopeful, I plucked one up and brought it home. Some research indicated that that tree grew in a "shady location (under an oak or juniper) that faces east or north, preferably on a slightly angled slope for drainage". Link . There were not a whole lot of places in our yard that met that condition, but we found a small spot in the abandoned wildflower garden at the side of the house. It is pretty off the beaten path, and my plan is, should this tree actually live, I will eventually build a garden around it
Notes said to give it one gallon of water each week. The goal is to force the tree to put down a long tap root, and too much water would prohibit that.
"Maddy" made it pretty easily through its first winter. I continued to water it faithfully through the drought of 2019. Then we had an early freeze, and I ... sort of forgot about it. Forgetting that even though we had an early freeze, when the temp quickly warmed up again and there was still no rain, that I should continue watering it. It suffered some, but seems to have made it through its second winter. I am still nervous, but at a year and a half old, I guess I felt like maybe I could add it to my journal.
Texas Madrone Arbuts xalapanesis
12 - 20 feet
"Small to moderately sized, evergreen with pleasingly crooked branches, dark green leaves, cluster of white flowers in the spring, attractive red fruits in the fall and colorful bark that is a showstopper on any hike." Remarkable Plants of Texas
Its colorful, exfoliating outer bark reveals polished, red, inner bark. Stout, crooked, spreading branches form a distinct crown.
Growing madrones:
Fertilize lightly in the spring when new growth appears; use an organic 3-5-2 formula. Madrones grow slowly but can occasionally grow as much as 12 to 18 inches in a year. Protect small trees from browsing livestock and deer with cages. Link
Texas madrone mychorrizal fungi symbiotic relationship
"Madrones are in the family Ericaceae (along with blueberries, cranberries and rhododendron), plants that tend to inhabit acidic, nutrient-poor soils. Most Ericaceae rely on a unique, symbiotic relationship with ericoid mycorrhizal fungi, which aid in nutrient uptake (phosphorous, nitrogen, iron) in exchange for carbohydrates from the tree. To increase madrone-rearing success, soil can be inoculated with fungus." Lady Bird Johns Wildflower Center
The fruit, when fully ripe, is said by the Kickapoo to be "sweet and savory like strawberries" (Lattore and latorre 1977) El Madrono is Spanish for Strawberry tree. Its fruit, reportedly high in zinc can be used to make a tart jelly.
No comments:
Post a Comment