Click Here to view → Tree Varieties for Sale
Fruit & Citrus Tree Sale
Lunch-N-Learn Fayette County
New Texas Superstar Brochure
The Texas Superstar brochure is updated. The new brochure is a beautiful, full color 44-page booklet with detailed descriptions, suggested uses and special notes for each plant with the Texas Superstar® designation. 
Link to the Texas Superstar: Strong & Stunning Plants for Texans brochure
You may print, download, view it in your browser or on device. Be sure to have it available when planning your landscape and vegetable gardens.
To be designated a Texas Superstar® a plant must be beautiful and perform well for growers throughout the state. Texas Superstars must also be easy to propagate, ensuring the plants are widely available and reasonably priced.
Texas Superstar® is a registered trademark owned by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, a state agency that is part of the Texas A&M University System. Plants are designated Texas Superstars by the Texas Superstar executive board, made up of nine horticulturalists from AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Tech University.
Lightning Damage on Live Oak Tree
Bark blown off the “Lightning Tree” by lightning strike.
Lightning is a grand display of nature’s power.
Strong thunderstorms rolled through our area in March 2021. Afterwards, we suspected one of the mature live oak trees on our property was hit by lightning. I sent some photos of the tree to Daniel Lewis of the Texas A&M Forest Service. Mr. Lewis confirmed the photos showed a textbook pattern of a lightning strike. He also assured that most trees recover from lightning strike damage with no problem.
About 30,000,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes hit in the contiguous 48-states of the United States every year. Although lightning does not always strike the highest point around, it usually does so, according to NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. This makes tall trees, particularly on a hilltop or in a pasture, more vulnerable to lightning strikes.
NOAA’s NSSL says a typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps. There is enough energy in a typical flash of lightning to light a 100-watt incandescent light bulb for about three months. Lightning heats the surrounding air anywhere from 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit to up to 60,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightning damage wrapped around the tree.
Lightning traveling down a tree trunk turns water to steam. If it gets under the bark into the surface moisture of the wood, the rapidly expanding steam blasts pieces of bark and branches from the tree, and the wood along the path is often killed. The charge carried by the lightning is then dissipated along the surface of the Earth. This is explained on the NSSL website Severe Weather 101. The photos in this blog show the blasted pieces of bark from our live oak tree.
There are ways to protect trees of significance or that could endanger human life if struck by lightning. For more information go to Texas AgriLife Extension Tree Care Kit, Understanding Lightning & Associated Tree Damage.
One conclusion from the study of our lightning-struck tree (we now refer to it as the “Lightning Tree”) is that a mature Texas live oak tree, even jolted by the immense power of a lightning bolt, is mighty indeed.
By Christy Schweikahrdt
Ask an Expert is now Ask Extension
Ask an Expert is now Ask Extension. This service offers one-to-one expert answers from Cooperative Extension/University staff and volunteers within participating Land-Grant institutions from across the United States. Before posting a new question, you may also search previously answered questions in the Knowledgebase catalogue.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR EXTENSION EXPERTS?
Online Horticulture Learning Could Never be Easier
So many online horticulture learning opportunities you don’t know where to start? This guide can get you started learning from horticulture experts.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recorded many of their programs for viewing on your own schedule. These recorded presentations are free to the public.
Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association members may claim Continuing Education Units (CEU) for these all AgriLife programs that pertain to gardening and horticulture; live or recorded. Just watch the presentation and record your time as CEU. BMGA members, remember to get your CEU credits recorded by December 31, 2020 to apply those hours to your re-certification requirement. For 2020, you need 6 CEU credits.
Below are links to some of these programs to start learning from our Aggie experts.
Gulf Coast Gardening Online Series
There are 22 videos for more than 24 hours of learning. Topics include:
Young Tree Care – Video #5
Earth Kind Pest Disease & Weed Control – Video #10
Texas Superstar Plants – Video #19
Horticulture & Gardening Webinar Series with David Rodriguez, County Extension Horticulture Agent, Bexar County
There are currently 17 of these recorded sessions for more than 13 hours of education. Topics include:
Getting Your Lawn and Landscape Ready for Summer Heat – Video #9
Tomato Basics 101 – Video #13
Butterfly Gardening – Nectar Plants – Video #5
Aggie Horticulture Facebook Live Recordings
There are 55 horticulture recorded events. Wow! You do not need a Facebook account to watch. Topics include:
Homeowner Greenhouses- Video #41
Transitioning to a Fall Garden, Two Parts – Video #40 & #45
Toys for Vegetable Gardening – Video #50
Fall Blooming Flowers & Biennials Planted in Fall – Video #51
Growing Blueberries in Containers – Video 18
All About Trees: Forests – Living Pharmacies
All About Trees: Forests – Living Pharmacies
Registration: Please cut and paste the link into your browser.
https://tfs.webex.com/tfs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46376572ab72e9dea2d947c49b06c626
June 25, Thursday
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
All About Trees: Forests – Living Pharmacies is bringing the science, the chemistry, the biology to the field of wild edible and herbal medicine. Dr. Mark Merriwether Vorderbruggen is a chemist, with an MS in medicinal chemistry and a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry.
“An estimated 50,000 plant species are used medicinally. Within the plant kingdom, trees make a substantial contribution to this figure, and many species are used in traditional and modern medicine.”
“Medicine from trees, extracted from the wood, bark, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, or seeds is fundamental to the well-being of millions of people. Where access to modern pharmaceuticals is limited, trees offer living pharmacies open to anyone with traditional knowledge on their medicinal properties.” (Global Tree Campaign)
Texas A&M Forest Service’s ALL ABOUT TREES has moved our live presentations to a web-based platform. This is in response to the important stay-at-home ordinances related to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Join us for this presentation series created to bring experts in forestry, arboriculture, chemistry, and science to answer your questions interactively through a dynamic CHAT feature.
Check with your local Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener chapters for Advance Training AT credits. For CEUs from ISA, SAF, TNLA, and other organizational providers, a certificate of participation may be sent to you upon request for verification of attendance.
This class will be live on our WebEx platform allowing experts to answer your questions in real-time meeting state AT requirements.
__________________________________
For more information, contact:
JOHN R. WARNER, CF, CA, AF
URBAN DISTRICT FORESTER IV
Texas A&M Forest Service
1328 FM 1488, Conroe, TX 77384
936/546-3169 cell
tfsweb.tamu.edu
Aggie Horticulture Live Facebook Events!
Join Aggie Horticulture on Wednesdays & Fridays at 1 p.m. Central time on the Aggie Horticulture Facebook Page to watch Facebook Live events!
Aggie Horticulture Live Facebook Events
Upcoming Events:
- 5/22/2020 – Friday 1:00 pm – From Garden to Glass DIY Mocktails/Cocktails
- 5/27/2020 – Wednesday 1:00 pm – “Some Like it Hot” – Growing Vegetables in Summer
- 5/29/2020 – Friday 1:00 pm – TBD
- 6/3/2020 – Wednesday 1:00 pm – Check your crape (and other plants) for scale
Qualifies for Master Gardener CEU Credits.
Prior Live Event Videos Available on Aggie Horticulture’s Facebook page:
- Raised Garden Beds, Location, Soil Mixtures and more!
- Starting vegetable seeds at home
- Planting vegetable transplants or direct seed into your garden!
- Home Fruit Production – Tips for Success!
- Small fruits for the backyard
- Floral Designs from your backyard – Growing, Cutting, Using your flowers and shrubs!
- Growing Herbs: Basil Bounty
- Backyard Grapes/Vineyards
- Pecan Grafting
- How to Prune Your Trees
- Lawn Care & Fertilization
- Drip Irrigation Essentials
- Grapevine Planting & Training Demo
- Tidying up your Irrigation System
- Keys to Successful Peach Production
- Indoor Gardening
- Growing Blueberries in Containers
All About Trees: Forests, Water and People Online Class
Thursday, May 21, 2020 2:00 pm
Central Daylight Time (Chicago, GMT-05:00)
COST: FREE
Thursday, May 21, 2020
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Click below link to register:
https://tfs.webex.com/tfs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e2b809db1e53296189759595ec886e545
Healthy forests are critically important for protecting water supplies.
Forests play an important role in providing clean water. More than 50 percent of the nation’s freshwater resources originate from forests that cover about one-third of the United States. In addition to providing clean water, forests also absorb rainfall, refill groundwater aquifers, slow and filter stormwater runoff, reduce floods and maintain watershed stability and resilience.
Several municipalities and water utilities have already recognized the important role forests play in supplying fresh drinking water, and, as such, have taken action to conserve these critical landscapes. Efforts are underway to explore these approaches throughout the South.
Approximately 89 percent of the South’s forestland is privately-owned, making it the nation’s stronghold for private forestland ownership. To sustain healthy forests and protect water resources, viable economic markets, careful forest management and well-targeted forest, conservation efforts are critical. (Southern Group of State Forester)
Texas A&M Forest Service’s ALL ABOUT TREES has moved several of our live presentations to a web-based platform. This is in response to the important stay-at-home ordinances related to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Join us for this presentation series created to bring experts in forestry, hydrology and arboriculture to answer your questions interactively through a dynamic CHAT feature.
Check with your local Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener chapters for Advance Training AT credits. For CEUs from ISA, SAF, TNLA, and others organizational providers, a certificate of participation may be sent to you upon request for verification of attendance.
This class will be live on our WebEx platform allowing healthcare providers, certified forest therapy guides, foresters and arborists to answer your questions in real-time meeting state AT requirements.
Program information is available by emailing or calling John Warner, [email protected] or 936/546-3169.
All About Trees: Forests & Human Health Connections
EVENT – Forests & Human Health Connections – VIRTUAL CLASS
Immersion in forests and nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical well-being, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. It may even reduce mortality, according to scientists in public health. Join the conversation in science-based evidence and practices about health, forests, and natural landscapes.
Texas A&M Forest Service’s ALL ABOUT TREES has moved several of our live presentations to a web-based platform. This is in response to the important stay-at-home ordinances related to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Join us for this presentation series created to bring experts in forestry, healthcare, wellness, forest and nature therapy, and arboriculture to answer your questions interactively through a dynamic CHAT feature.
Check with your local Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener chapters for Advance Training AT credits. For CEUs from ISA, SAF, TNLA, CME, and others organizational providers, a certificate of participation may be sent to you upon request for verification of attendance.
This class will be live on our WebEx platform allowing healthcare providers, certified forest therapy guides, foresters and arborists to answer your questions in real-time meeting state AT requirements.
COST: FREE
Thursday, May 14, 2020
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Program information is available by emailing or calling John Warner, [email protected] or 936/546-3169.