~Oasis Among the Cornfields~
My Hybrid Chestnut is flowering a lot, though the other Chestnuts around it aren’t at the same stage of life, so most of the flowers go unpollinated.
In the next couple years though, this tree should really ramp up production and provide wildlife a good food source.
Mulberries have been resistant to disease and highly productive in fruit.
But now a disease has appeared here that ruins the fruit. Only time will tell how severe it is in my location.
Japanese Butterbur has not been invasive in my location, as it can be in other places of the country.
The huge leaves add a lot to the landscape, though some years it seems to struggle, even though it has unlimited water.
This is the first year my Variegated Catalpa has flowered.
By this time of the year, the variegation has pretty much faded away.
Storms have damaged a lot of large trees on the Oasis in the past few years.
This Cottonwood has gotten damaged previously by storms, but it seems like life is nearly over for it now after 60+mph winds. The trunk on this tree is around 12 feet in circumference.
I’ve bought some Red Mulberries from the Missouri State Nursery.
They are starting to fruit and starting to look like White Mulberry fruit. So as it ends up, I may still be without any Red Mulberries. Makes me wonder if anybody is selling true Red Mulberries.
My Che tree has developing fruit on it again.
The fruit suppose to get bigger and turn red by fall, but in previous years what happens is the fruit ends up dropping before fall. So I don’t hold much hope for it to ripen. The tree will need a few more years of maturity probably before it is able to hold fruit to maturity.
Chinese Catalpa flowers a lot earlier in life than its cousin, the Northern Catalpa.
The flowers are smaller, but they are produced reliably and in great production. The fruit soon develops soon after, with many thin, long ‘bean’ pods.
Pitch Pine has been difficult to get, as most nurseries don’t offer it. The hybrid, Pitlolly Pine, has been offered more frequently. But overall, Pitch Pine has been hardier. I lose a lot of the Pitch x Loblolly Hybrid Pines, and the ones that survive, have more Pitch in their DNA, because they are cold-hardier.
Pitch Pine grows relatively fast, but the Bigtooth Aspen suckers that are popping up grow a lot faster.
Lilies are pretty reliable flowers in the summer months.
With the burst of energy from their bulbs, they can rise up and compete pretty well with the surrounding landscape.