Why I Oughta...

I collected a couple handfuls of Oak tree acorns (pretty sure they are from a Red Oak) as a project to see if I could work into seedlings next Spring.  There's a lot of info out there about how to plant Oak trees from acorns, but this YouTube video was the most helpful for me .  It isn't super fast-moving, but if you have the time, it is a nice overview.  The steps of growing your own trees start with collecting acorns.  From there, you have to test them for viability - using the 'float test'.   After cleaning them up (removing their tops), you dump them in a bucket of water.  The ones that float aren't viable.  The ones that sink...usually ARE viable.  (the video recommends doing a couple of float tests to be sure...) So, after collecting these acorns, I dumped them into a bucket.  And...not ONE of them appears to be viable.  All floaters. I noticed that most of them have these little in holes on the sides of the acorn.  See the photo below: Well...I learned someth

Yesterday, I shared a look at one of the Moneywort plants that I transplanted from a container to our side yard.  It has thrived in deep shade. And....Last week, I posted (again) about dividing and transplanting some Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses in our front beds (under our Norway Maple) and talked about how one of my 2021 to-do list goals was to transplant some foster plants AND to divide up some of my existing perennials.  I've created 12 'free grasses' by dividing up what I have on hand and in *that* post, I mentioned that I also divided a purple Heuchera earlier this year - but failed to post about it. The last time I checked in on this particular plant was last August when it had survived a full year after being transplanted the previous Fall.  But, earlier this year - right around early Spring - I dug up and divided this plant into three separate plants and put them back into the same bed on the northside of the garage.   You can see that bed below with the

Earlier this Spring, I came across some Kentucky Coffee Tree seed pods at a park by Downers Grove South and began the journey of getting them to sprout and grow into tiny tree seedlings.  I posted about that process (cracking up the pods, soaking the seeds, planting them, etc) back in June here . Over the past 70 days, I've kept them alive in their little nursery stock containers and have watered them (enough) to get the little trees to grow.  In the photo above, you can see my tray of little Kentucky Coffee Trees.  And one little Maple seedling.   In total, there are five containers of Kentucky Coffee tree seedlings with to little trees in each one - ten total trees.  (And that one Maple).  Below, is a look at one of the containers showing the pair of seedlings.  As a milestone, the trunks of these are NOW woody.  No longer green - or red like the leaflets.  If you look closely, you'll see that the trunk has a TINY bit of 'turned wood' on it - near the top.  Meaning, t

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some photos showing a couple of volunteer locust tree seedlings that had pop'd up in our yard .  At the time, I wasn't sure if these were honey or black locust trees.  With a little bit more growing time, it is now clear that these are Black Locust tree seedlings.  They have - as you can see below - thorns on their main stem.   You can see those thorns in the photo below: Alas, it seems like this is, indeed, no free gift from nature.  It is a tree that the Morton Arboretum calls 'not recommended' since it 'spreads too easily .  Hence...why I'm seeing these seedlings.  I'll get out my pruners and lop these off before they get any bigger.

I was doing some weeding in one of our backyard beds, and came across this small tree seedling that you can see in the photo below.  It is about 10" tall and has oval, pinnate leaves.  Looking around at my neighbor's yard, I know they have locust trees.  A bunch of them.  They flower in Spring and have lots of leaves on them.  But, I'm not sure if they're Black or Honey locusts.   Both are native to Illinois, but the Black Locust - sometimes called "Chicago Blues" is now considered invasive ( The Morton Arboretum has it listed as "not recommended" ).   One other key trait of the Black Locust trees are they they carry thorns - especially when young.  Right now, this little seedling has no thorns, so I'm going to leave it alone.  If I see thorns develop, I'll lop this one off and remove it.