The Weekly Tree Report
3/25/25, Delayed!
Is it even a weekly tree report anymore? Who cares, the name will stick regardless. I've been crowded with a lot of work and have chosen to focus on applications over my blog. Also, the March Madness tournament has just started, so I hope you understand. Anyways, I will also continue the garden advice. Have a happy reading!
Rhythm and Vibes
I am no longer making sectional parts to my blog. I looked back and they made no sense. I mean, changing the section of text to the color I named in the header would not work harmoniously with the green theme I've chosen to use. But regardless, life moves on.
Regardless of what you may believe, everything has a rhythm and a vibe. I like to watch trees sway in the wind; they move forward, they move back. It's almost peaceful if you watch long enough, like a long metronome against the spring breeze. Speaking of spring, now is the time to watch the flower bloom. What do you feel when you watch honeybees pollinate beautiful bonnets of flowers in your garden? Cause I can guarantee you that your feelings will not be the same as mine.
I hate bugs. I hate all insects. They're the bane of me. They're the fire to my forest, the antithesis to my thesis, the e-coli to my chicken tartare. I cannot stand insects at all. They're gruesome beasts that fend off their territory by dashing about in chaotic and indescribable ways. You think of any world issue that's happening, I guarantee you that the rivalry between me and bugs is larger than the rivalry between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
Gardener's World: The Tour
I missed some things that I should've gone over when I did my first garden guide bit. Let's start with some very basic things and move to more intricate ideas and concepts.
For starters, fertilizer should be used with citrus plants, but make sure to not overdo it. Providing too much of something, like overwatering, can be just as harmful as not giving enough. Ensure that you do not cover the base of the tree in fertilizer either, and instead put it where the main stem of the tree can breathe to prevent basal crown rot. The type of fertilizer you will use depends on the type of tree you have, and each tree may respond differently to the fertilizer you use. Make sure to research the type of tree you have and search for the type of fertilizer that would work best for your tree. But keep in mind, not every tree needs fertilizer. It's just that citrus trees need a lot of nutrients if you want to have a good crop.
I feel like I want to talk more about citrus in this tour. Let's move on to the type of tree you should get. Now, there are numerous climate zones that can determine what type of tree you should plant, or whether you should plant them at all. Specifically for citrus trees, you do not want to plant them in places that will freeze; the trees are very frost sensitive and may die if you do not accommodate properly. Zones 9 to 11 are considered the best zones, due to their warm climate, for growing healthy citrus trees. Citrus trees can also be sensitive to the sun light, and climates that are too warm for extended periods of time with bright sun can cause a condition known as sun scald. Like a sunburn for a human being, sun scald can damage leaves and fruit, but also can cause permanent damage to the bark of the tree. Sun scald to the bark is especially bad because it will lead to all sorts of conditions such as future decay and the drying out of limbs. So, even if a citrus tree is full of deadwood, try removing dead branches sparingly when it is not too hot and provide cover for the tree when it gets too hot.
In other news, I myself planted a new peach tree where my old grapefruit used to be! As a result, I am hoping to reap a bounty of fruit by the time I exit college. That is, if it stays alive. I just think I have terrible citrus luck, but the weather in Texas is so unpredictable that it feels impossible to sustain trees in our garden. One day its chilly to death, and the next its warmer than the Sahara Desert. That is not the recipe to sustain trees. As a result, a different method of trying to sustain these fruit trees is to keep them small and in a pot so you can stick them in a controlled environment. You can also purchase LED lights to keep your trees fed while indoors because most of the time a house will not produce its own light. This is just a short little tour of what you can do to get a good citrus crop, and there will be more information in most posts.
LIX, the Start of Spring
Football ended a while ago. My favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won Super Bowl LIX (59) in dominant fashion, being up 40-6 at one point and going on a 34-0 run to start the game, which is mental at any level of sport. To put that into terms for non football fans, its like lapping someone in a race about five times before the other person even takes a first step. Yet, with the end of the football season culminating in a huge victory, it also begins the start of spring.
Spring: :(
Now, people have very differing opinions of spring, and for differing reasons. In my view, I actually don't like spring a lot, and the number one reason is insects. I am a huge insect hater, the biggest (both in size and in magnitude) hater of all. They're terrifying creatures with no predictability and they have the chance to attack you and harass you for hours on end. Being outside is no joke in the spring. Also, unexclusive to Texas but very prevalent are the notorious and despicable June bugs. Their name, to start, isn't even correct; they begin coming out at around early April and May when the weather warms up considerably. And they're like mini cockroaches. They crowd lighted areas and fly around and they're gross to start. But when they land on their back, because they have big backs, they just sit there and spaz out like crazy, struggling to get up. And they look even grosser, its a grim sight to see.
But besides my ultra-hatred for bugs and insects, spring also brings more problems. For one, allergies; anyone with pollen allergies knows how annoying pollen is. Not to mention, pollen is everywhere in the spring, but you probably already knew that. My dad suffers from pollen allergies, and it gives him the sneezes and the sniffles. Some trees also produce residue that causes the floor to be sticky, such as the hackberry, which is very annoying to get on your shoe. It's also the spring season where students, like myself, become very stressed due to finals and testing and the end of the school year coming. Also, it rains a lot during spring, meaning you can't actually go anywhere half the time if you don't want to risk being wet or using an umbrella. Or, if you're in a drought, it means that nature will begin to die off due to a lack of water and it being hot as well.
Spring: :)
Yet, spring should be cherished. You already know of the scenic pictures where the sun is shining and the clouds are bright and beautiful and there are pretty light blossoms on the trees. Most of those pictures come during spring. Spring is probably the most beautiful season of all seasons, only rivaled by Autumn; summer is simply set in stone and hardly changes, while winter can be seen as barren, especially in areas with no snow like Texas. It smells lovely, especially the numerous flowers around the fields that pop up. Our family has a bit of history with invasive flowers especially, some came into our garden and grew in there for over three years before finally dying. But, in conclusion, spring is beautiful. It's a season of change, a season of growth, and there is nothing like it.
Final
It's been a long time since I made a post. It's been far too long. Like Wiz Khalifa, it's been a long day. I've been busy with stuff of my own. But I am happy to say, that I, Vincent Nguyen, am back with the blog posts. I will make a few more this month to accommodate, but they will be shorter than normal. I may make all my blog posts shorter but add more quantity. But, at last, thank you for reading. Have a safe travel.
