From Here To There

For various reasons, I've transplanted quite a few trees and shrubs this year. I began with misgivings, but to my relief it has generally worked out very successfully.

Back in February, 2014 I planted a Tithonia rotundifolia, the Mexican Sunflower, in my east mango grove. It's a nice ornamental and also a good nutrient recycler, a vigorous grower of long, thin branches of soft wood perfect for the mini-chipper. But I hadn't realized just how vigorous a grower it was, and before long it was creating a shading and crowding problem. So in February of this year, it went to a new home under a big live oak. The moved cost it a lot of roots, but it's a tough plant and after a droopy week, it took off again. It's in the middle of this photo, flanked by a young floss silk tree on the right and a pair of seagrapes on the left, and with the oak behind it.

This “Raggedy Ann” copperleaf had been losing badly in competition for light and water with a nearby oak tree. It had partially defoliated and looked destined for the chipper. At the end of June, I tried it in a terraced spot near the driveway. Six months later it's happy as can be, showing off its unique foliage every time we pass by.

Here are a couple of Grewia asiatica bushes, often called Sherbertberry or Phalsa. Somewhere in the world people are enjoying sherbertberries, I'm sure, but mine have all tasted terrible. So last June the lanky plants lost their sunny irrigated spots to two grafted dark-fruit Surinam cherries. The spread-out root systems of the Grewias were mauled when I transplanted them to a morning-sun location along the east fence. Both bushes almost completely defoliated, but after pruning back they quickly leafed out again. In this somewhat dry, shady spot, they have grown slowly but looked healthy, even producing a few more of their unpalatable fruit.

These are the Surinam cherries that took over the spots vacated by the Grewias. So far they've produced a few tasty fruit that I've taken off quickly to avoid attracting the climbing raccoons who live in the adjoining woods. And the smaller one is triply staked for extra protection.

This wampi seedling was occupying a sunny, irrigated spot. It may be a while before it produces, and the wampi fruits I've eaten were very resistible, so in November it went over to the east side to live under some oak canopy. It's taken the move in stride, and should green up with some nitrogen feeding in the spring.

Here is the Angie mango that took over the wampi spot. It's the only mango variety I have two of, so I used this one in this space next to the woods. That way, if the critters grab a lot of its fruit I'll still have its twin in a safer location. Or maybe they will just develop a real craving for Angies...

This winter-dormant frangipani has a nice shape and pretty dark pink flowers, but certainly didn't need the irrigated space where I naively planted it as a broomstick more than three years ago. Now it's terraced near the bottom of the septic drain field hill. Perhaps a little risky to the field, but I figure it will send most of its roots downhill, and provide a nice drought-tolerant ornamental in an otherwise useless spot. Its former location is ready for the Jin Huang mango on my porch to be planted there next spring.

These two little sapodillas, an Alano and a Molix, were an unsuccessful experiment to see whether they could do well near some oak trees on the east side. Competing for sun and water, and occasionally molested by raccoons, they were struggling. The raccoons even killed a larger Oxkutzcab sapodilla nearby, so it was high time to clear out. Seen here a week or so after transplanting to prime locations, they already looked happier. To their right is a Campeche variety sapodilla that produced its first fruit just this year, and center rear is a Sweetheart lychee that really wants some cool weather to help it fruit next June.

That's not all, there's more. We'll see it in a future post.