In the pictures of
my garden in the snow, my Palo Verde looked very different than the last time i showed it. Rather than a giant green blob, it was more of a vertical trunk. You might have thought that i finally got around to pruning it correctly, but you would be wrong. Here are the pictures of what happened...
We got snow in the desert twice in 2019 - the first time was the day after Thanksgiving. When i got home, i found this:
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| sigh |
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| ugh |
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| boo |
The culprit, of course, was the heavy, wet snow we got. Most of the side branches broke off the tree. A few weekends later, I got around to cutting them all off neatly and stacking them up in the side garden.
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| it was a giant pile |
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| this is when i wish i had a giant pick up truck or better waste pickup |
A few phone calls to Waste Management later led to all the branches being picked up over the course of a few weeks. Since December, many of the Palo Verdes around town have had similar problems. Interestingly, my new one in the front garden, which is a multi-trunk variant, did not suffer any damage (other than the cold). Several other trees/large bushes in the garden also lost branches due to the snow. Here's to hoping they all recover this spring!
How sad! Plants can be remarkably resilient. I hope this Palo Verde is one of them.
ReplyDeleteme too! So far, it looks ok?
DeleteThey have weak wood, unfortunately. Hope yous springs back--multi-trunks are more picturesque, too.
ReplyDeletetrue, on both counts. And hey, at least now i can see all the plants under this one...
DeleteI knew Desert Museum PV were fast-growing, but they always looked so flexible. Good thing we get less winter moisture (that can become snow if cold) than you. Those piles of broken branches looks humbling on using it too much except at lower elevations.
ReplyDeleteYeah, i think they are flexible, but they aren't very strong. I've always had issues with the wind, and i also think too much water with other trees around town. But they are so pretty...
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