GOOD TREES, BAD TREES

By Ella Tyler

Poet as diverse as Robert Frost and Ogden Nash, Pablo Neruda and Shel Silverstein, have all written poems about trees, but Joyce Kilmer’s heartfelt rhyme is familiar to every schoolchild: “Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

With a press agent like this, it is difficult to convince anyone that there is such a thing as a bad tree. Unfortunately, the dominant tree in this region is the Chinese tallow, according to the 2005 report from the Texas Forest Service. The tallow tree, which was brought here in about 1900 by Edward Teas Sr. to research into production of the seed’s oil, is beautiful in the fall, is not poisonous, and some birds like its seeds. However, the Chinese tallow is now banned in Texas. What makes this tree so bad is that it is an invasive, non-native species.

When established in natural habitats, invasive plants can out-compete native species and significantly decrease the amount of habitat available for wildlife that depends on native plants for nesting and feeding. Once established, the non-natives are hard to control and remove, so invasive species removal is an ongoing project at many area parks and habitats. Tomorrow morning (Saturday, Jan 20), there will be a tree removal project at Timbergrove Manor Park, 1000 West TC Jester. At 8 am, botanist Eric Ruckstuhl, will lecture on identification of problem species and why removal is essential. He will also describe non-invasive removal techniques. Removal work will begin at 9 am.

There is a list of plants, with pictures, that are or have the potential to become problems in our area at Galveston Bay Invasive’s website. Some will surprise you – elaeagnus, Chinese and Japanese privet, Chinese elm, and elephant ears. However, the same characteristics that make these plants popular with homeowners, hardiness and an ability to reproduce and spread, is what makes them invasive. Birds often like their seeds, and this adds to the difficulty of controlling a plant’s spread.

For a list of alternative plants, visit the Native Plant Society website.

To learn more about good trees, check out some Arbor Day events tomorrow:

• Mercer Arboretum, 22306 Aldine Westfield Road, is giving away trees beginning at 8 am. There will be a free lecture on the best trees for the area beginning at 10. The phone number there is (281) 443-8731.
• The Houston Arboretum, 4501 Woodway, is giving away tree seedlings, hosting tree tours and a puppet show, and having a demonstration of tools for tree care, as well as visits by Johnny Appleseed and HANC, the Arboretum’s owl mascot. For more details, call (713) 681-8433 or see .
• Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center, 20634 Kenswick Drive, will be holding hayride tree tours through out the day.

Growing fruit and nut trees in this area can be a challenge because most require a cooler climate, but there are some fruit and nut trees that do well here, even apple varieties. Urban Harvest offers several classes about caring for fruit trees, and its annual fruit tree sale is tomorrow.

Several Master Gardener groups host fruit tree sales and lectures in January. Montgomery County will host a fruit and nut tree sale from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday, Jan 29, at the Montgomery County Extension Center. There will be an educational program on “Growing Fruits and Nuts in Montgomery County” at 8 am. To find out about other county programs in your area, see TAMU’s website.

Though Roger Swain, who hosted the PBS show The Victory Garden from 1991 until 2001, was not a poet, he wrote, “People in suburbia see trees differently than foresters do. They cherish every one. It is useless to speak of the probability that a certain tree will die when the tree is in someone’s backyard. You are talking about a personal asset, a friend, a monument, not about board feet of lumber.” If you do not feel this way about your trees, check out Trees for Houston.