Now’s the time to plant a thing so lovely as a tree

By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com

There is no such thing as the perfect tree, but there is such thing as the perfect time to plant it.

That would be exactly now, said Johnson County tree guru Claudine Young.

“This is ideal,” she said. “The weather is really humid with all the rain. Plants adjust to that quickly.”

Co-author of the informative booklet “Trees for Cleburne & Johnson County,” Young touts the bur oak as a sure-fire tree for this area.

“That’s what the forestry service recommends now,” Young said. “The bur oak is a strong tree with large acorns and leaves. It’s a beautiful shade tree and not susceptible to oak wilt. Our live oaks and red oaks are susceptible to oak wilt.

“We recommend that people plant a variety. If you have only live oak and red oak, it’s a good idea to plant other kinds of trees.”

Everyone wants a fast-growing tree.

“Often the ones that grow fastest are the ones that are weakest and go over in a storm,” Young said. “The slower growing trees live longer. Actually, the bur oak is fairly fast growing. So is the pecan.”

The pecan remains popular in Cleburne and Johnson County, partly because it provides shade and partly because it supplies humans with pralines and pies.

“The Indian varieties grow well here,” Young said. “The extension office has a lot of information on that. The pecan is a wonderful tree. It will drop a tiny branch now and then and drop honeydew on your car, but it gives wonderful pecans.”

Fall the perfect time to plant a tree or shrub for a number of reasons.

“The toughest time to plant in Texas is summer, so you want to get as far away from that as you can,” Young said. “Planting a tree in the fall gives it time to develop roots. Shrubbery and a lot of perennials also do better if they’re planted in fall. It gives them time to develop roots through the winter and early spring. If they have a better root system before the heats hit, they’re stronger.”

Fruit trees are best planted when the temperature dips below 60.

“The typical time for planting fruit trees is January and February, but even fruit trees are better planted in fall,” Young said. “It gives them more time to develop. They can really get a growth spur right now that they wouldn’t otherwise get until spring. Peaches are a big problem here because of bores getting in the trees. Pears do better. They’re more resistant to bores and the late frosts.”

Johnson County soil is alkaline, generally speaking.

“So when you’re looking for trees to plant here, you need to look for trees we commonly see here,” Young said. “Trees that like alkaline soil are more drought tolerant. They do need to be kept moist the first couple of years.”

Headed to a tree nursery this weekend? Look for bur oak, pecan, crape myrtle, lacey oak, western soapberry and possum holly.

Pioneers were allegedly fond of the soapberry. Lacking Twenty Mule Team Borax, they turned the berries into soap.

“The pecan and bur oak are larger,” Young said. “The lacey oak is smaller. It’s a good, medium-size shade tree. Any of the crape myrtles will grow well in our area. Possum holly is more of a shrub.”

If you’ve never selected a tree at a nursery, you may want to ask for help.

If you’ve never planted a tree, you may want lots of help.

“Look for a tree that is not root-bound,” Young said. “If the tree appears root-bound, make four cuts vertically about an inch deep down the sides of the root ball. If the roots are growing tightly in a circle around the root ball, (the tree) should be returned to the store. Those roots will continue to grow in a circle, and the tree will never do well.

“The depth of the hole you plant in is vitally important. Dig the hole exactly as deep as the rootball. If you overdig, then overfill a little bit. You can dig a wide hole but not one too deep. If you want to put a little dam around the tree (for water), bring in extra soil and keep it about four feet out. Make sure it doesn’t get on the root ball. Mulching is good. Mulching helps develop more feeder roots, and as it decays it adds nutrients.”

Small shade trees in the booklet “Trees for Cleburne & Johnson County” include golden raintree, western soapberry and little gem magnolia.

Small ornamentals include Carolina buckthorn, Mexican buckeye, crape myrtle, desert willow, eve’s necklace, yaupon holly, possumhaw holly, Mexican plum, eastern redbud, Texas smoke tree, rusty blackhaw viburnum and honey mesquite.

Large shade trees include eastern red cedar, cedar elm, bur oak, lacebark elm, ginkgo, chinquapin oak, live oak, shumard oak and pecan.

Smaller trees work well as “understory trees.”

“That is a tree that will grow in the shadow of a larger tree and thrive,” Young said. “This is done in the wild all the time, so it is a very natural look and better for wildlife such as birds. Redbud and eve’s necklace are small trees that may be grown as understory trees.”

For more information, call the Extension office at 817-556-5370.