Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - July 11, 2013
From: Spring Branch, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Watering, Trees
Title: Watering a Montezuma Cypress in Spring Branch, TX
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
Live near San Antonio, and have a Montesuma Cypress, 15 ft tall. Great soil. Planted in April, should I keep it moist??? The foliage is getting brown.ANSWER:
You should most certainly keep Taxodium mucronatum (Montezuma bald cypress) moist! I checked its plant record and it said that the Montezuma Cypress is:
Large, needle-leaf, aquatic tree with tall, straight trunk and broad crown of spreading branches and drooping twigs, evergreen or nearly so. Trunk enlarged at base with ridges above; sometimes small knees project from submerged roots.
And for growing conditions it gave:
Water Use: High
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet
Now, in a more general sense, here is a set of YouTube videos on watering young trees and also some previous Mr Smarty Plants question/answers. These are aimed at trees that have much more modest water needs, so the routines mentioned here are good, but you should consider this a minimum for a Taxodium mucronatum (Montezuma bald cypress)! You should plan that this one will need a lot of water to be successful!
YouTube Instruction Videos:
Watering Young Trees
Tree Watering Tips for Texas
Mr Smarty Plants Question/Answer Pairs:
Georgetown, TX
Live Oaks in Katy, Texas - Note this paragraph:
"To water, especially in the very hot weather we are experiencing right now, push your hose deep into the (hopefully) soft soil around the roots and let it slowly drip until water comes to the surface. Unless you are getting frequent rains, do this twice a week.
From the Image Gallery
More Watering Questions
Problems with water oaks from Laurel MS
October 05, 2013 - The leaves on my mature water oak trees have been falling since the leaves matured. My area has had an abundance of rain this year, 11 inches above normal. All the trees in my area are doing the same....
view the full question and answer
Oak tree with browning leaves in Brenham TX
August 16, 2011 - I have a large oak tree in my small back yard. I also have a sprinkler so the tree has been receiving some water. Nevertheless, some of the leaves are turning brown in patches. Would drip watering ...
view the full question and answer
Mulching tree root in San Angelo, TX
April 02, 2014 - San Angelo, Texas is in a drought stage. Will it help our trees to mulch the base of them?
view the full question and answer
Problems with Silverado Sage in Pearland, TX.
July 28, 2012 - Hi,
We have three Silverado Sage bushes we planted last year. They did great during the drought. However, this winter they had a severed leaf drop of mostly just the centers of them. These cente...
view the full question and answer
It's so hot, even the Salvia greggii are sad, in Bulverde Texas
July 28, 2011 - I have several Salvia greggii in large terra cotta pots. The leaves have developed a yellowish tint and are thinning. What is the best process to get them back to full green foilage?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |