posted
Sami, Looks like the Locus tree that is in my back yard. They get small clusters of flowers in spring and then those "beans" in fall. I may be wrong but that is what it looks like to me.
From: Vancouver, washington | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
No, locusts have compound leaves. Could it be a southern catalpa? Their range extends into Texas. It looks like it's really chewed up. It's hard to decide by the few leaves you can see in the photo.
bbbbbbbbb Terry
May the force be with you
From: Copper Hill, Virginia | Registered: Apr 2004
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Yep, the tree looks almost bare except for the "beans" hanging on it. It's on the fence with lots of stuff to be cut down. Just trying to decide whether to get rid of it or not. Everything else near it seems to be growing good (tood good, LOL). I didn't know if it was supposed to look like that or not?
bbbbbbbbb Talentless but connected.
From: Texas | Registered: Jun 2004
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Yep, that's the tree. I've read that it is called a cigar-tree, also. I've seen several around town that look much healthier than mine. I may just cut mine down. I read that they get infested easy & some kind of worm likes to live there that are used for fish bait.
bbbbbbbbb Talentless but connected.
From: Texas | Registered: Jun 2004
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Sami, how do you feel about spraying those trees with a light suds - made from something environmentally friendly, of course.
I've been doing that lately - just to keep the bugs off my stuff. I seem to be seeing less holes in my leaves.
It doesn't kill them - just sends them elsewhere.
I realize that killing bugs can bring on another kind (that ecology thing, eh?)
I did try the Rocky Mountain Garden Guide garlic recipe - it seemed to attract the squirrels - I got more of 'em at the salad bar after I sprayed with it.
So I stopped that.
Now, I'm sticky with the soapy water (not too soapy - just light).
:-0
bbbbbbbbb When sorting seeds, do not whistle.
From: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Jul 2004
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I don't actually have any problem with spraying the tree but, I have several in my yard & after reading some online, I don't see it being beneficial to save the trees. I am trying to clear my fence line of brush, trees, vines, etc. (deciding on what to keep & what to get rid of). Here are some things I have found:
Catalpa grows 50 feet tall but can go to 90 feet. (making it somewhat hard to spray)
Potential Problems - Although Northern Catalpa can have several diseases and pests, most are usually minor and pose no serious threat to this relatively trouble-free tree. The exception is the caterpillar of the Catalpa sphinx, which can on occasion defoliate the tree. (When I found these trees, they had no leaves, making me now believe they have been infested)
This is an article I found online...
The old tree taught me many lessons in natural science. Up early on July and August mornings, I would find the cicada nymphs that had emerged from the loamy soil at the base of the tree and climbed up to eclose (shed). There were many brownish colored shed skins still attached to the rough bark, but it was the greenish, still-living nymphs that I sought. They would find a spot that suited them, and then begin eclosing. First, a split would appear in the nymph's back, then split wider as the nymph's ivory-green thorax began to emerge from the old exoskeleton. Once it had eclosed fully, the cicada would orient its body perpendicular to the trunk and begin to pump blood into its crumpled wings. The wings expanded downward, partly in response to gravity. Sometime later the adult cicada, now much darker, produced a few raspy sounds, began to vibrate its thorax and thin, transparent wings, warming up for flight. It would then fly up into the catalpa or one of the nearby elms and emit a buzzing sound in an attempt to lure a mate. The mated female selected the tender end of a limb, inserted her sawlike ovipositor into slits it cut into the twig's bark, and deposited her eggs. When the eggs hatched, the tiny nymphs dropped to the ground, unhurt, and burrowed into the soil There they found a suitable tree root, inserted their mouth stylets, and fed on sap for the next 13 to 17 years (depending on the species).
The catalpa produced inches-tall racemes of pretty but unpleasantly scented flowers that were followed by long, pealike fruits. In late summer, the tree's leaves would suddenly disappear as ivory and black caterpillars with "horns" on their tails ate all except the leaf veins. Some folks gathered the caterpillars, tore them in half, turned the pieces inside out, and used them as fish bait.
bbbbbbbbb Talentless but connected.
From: Texas | Registered: Jun 2004
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Yuck! The pests for this tree sound dreadful! Who would want to turn a catapiller inside out??? This gives me the heebie-jeebies!
From: central texas | Registered: Jul 2004
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Celebrating 10 years of helping your gardens grow!
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