Our Texas madrone child (Arbutus xalapensis) is still doing well over all. But I noticed a branch die off, and a second one doesn't look good at all. Mike Prochoroff, who owns The Madrone Way near Dripping Springs, gifted her to us in March 2017. I'm hoping he might shed some light on her loss....
Mike responds: "She looks well despite the die-back and the torrential rains. It looks like root damage from heavy rainfall that acts in two ways: 1) the roots like drying out prior to more rain. Add heat to that and no root hairs to quickly respond and there's going to be trouble; 2) When a lot of rain starts swelling the earth, caliche and certainly your thicker clay will start to shift and crack... and break roots. I have several Madrones that do this around downpours each year. The majority of the plant isn't affected. It also shows up when the summer heat arrives and bakes the earth. We got another 2 inches+ today, and the outside pots are not looking good. One problem with growing in pots is not having the natural topography to deflect floods. I have a hard time bad-mouthing the rain however. Hardly ever seen the Hill Country so green this late in the year!"
Mike responds: "She looks well despite the die-back and the torrential rains. It looks like root damage from heavy rainfall that acts in two ways: 1) the roots like drying out prior to more rain. Add heat to that and no root hairs to quickly respond and there's going to be trouble; 2) When a lot of rain starts swelling the earth, caliche and certainly your thicker clay will start to shift and crack... and break roots. I have several Madrones that do this around downpours each year. The majority of the plant isn't affected. It also shows up when the summer heat arrives and bakes the earth. We got another 2 inches+ today, and the outside pots are not looking good. One problem with growing in pots is not having the natural topography to deflect floods. I have a hard time bad-mouthing the rain however. Hardly ever seen the Hill Country so green this late in the year!"
1 comment:
Sending good vibes to your Madrone!
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