Tree planting project – Nature Along the El Camino Real

by Carolyn Henderson

Several members and some spouse helpers planted three Bur Oaks in April on Earth Day, and they are still alive – so far. They are planted at Cameron City Park, Orchard Park and Wilson Ledbetter Park. I see the Orchard Park tree on a daily basis. I see the Cameron City Park tree about every two weeks. The last one not so often.

They all took a serious wind storm hit about a week (or so) after they were planted. It caused two of them to lean notably, but a little action was taken to try and set them upright. The Wilson Ledbetter Park tree was nearly on the ground. They did seem to recover from that event. Then came the heat. About three weeks ago, I drove by the city park to take a look at it and found it leafless. The leaves had died on the tree and fallen around it. This was a surprise because it seemed to be doing very well. It didn’t even lean over in the storm. I got out of my car to take a closer look. It appeared like it was going to bud out again. A week later it had new leaves. I don’t know what made the leaves die, but the theory is transplant shock.

Same tree with what I thought were going to be new leaves

The Orchard Park tree has looked very good until just this week. It is losing some leaves. On close inspection, it looks like some of them are being eaten by something. There are still mostly green leaves on it. The Wilson Ledbetter tree is the one that was laid over from that storm. It still leans a lot, but it is putting up new leaves from the ground. I’m not sure what to do about the still leaning part. The tilt is about a 45 degree angle.

What they all need right now is regular watering. If you volunteered, please don’t forget to take them a drink as often as you can. Wilson Ledbetter Park has a working faucet right by the American Legion, or you can dip it from the little lake. The Orchard Park tree is right beside the pond, so it can be dipped from there. The Cameron City Park requires transporting the water. If they have made it this far, I think some regular watering can get them through to cooler, wetter weather.