How 'bout those Bean Trees?

Wow- has time ever flown.  Remember wayyyyy back when I started this little blog in 2008, and my obsession with sprouting those wondrous little Mescal Bean Tree - Sophora secundiflora- (Texas Mountain Laurel) seeds?  Well they seemed to take forever to get more than 6 inches tall, and even at 1 year old they seemed so small and at times I wondered if it was all going to be worth it.  But fast forward to June 2010 and look at these babies now!

Out of the 11 original sprouts, I have 7 little trees.  The three pictured are the tallest, but all are doing well.  The last one is so tall and skinny- anyone have suggestions for getting it to bush out a bit? I'm a weeny when it comes to pruning and pinching so advice is welcomed.

I just couldn't help myself this year, and picked some seeds from the trees near my local drug store, and I've got 5 of them sprouted now, and planted in potting containers...the pots should hold them for up to 2 years..then I will have to find these baby bean trees some homes! If you want to adopt an orphan bean tree let me know!

Happy Last Weekend of June 2010...what is your obsession?

                                            

Happy Birthday Baby Bean Trees!

A year ago the first little bean tree sprout (Mescal Bean-Sophora secundiflora) poked up from the ground, and my dream of having these trees in my yard became a reality. These little trees are notoriously slow growers, but they also transplant very poorly, so growing them from seed seemed the way to go. Out of the 11 original beans I planted around the yard, 9 are still alive and growing, although a few of them may eventually get pulled out. As you can see from their pictures, they vary widely in size, with some looking really sad. The two bigger ones, are on the North side of the house, and get a fair amount of morning shade. The tiny ones are in the big area on the West side- and they get so much sun. I have rocks that give them a little shade, but some just are not doing well at all. Anyway it has been a fun year of watching them and blogging about them and dreaming about the grape candy scented blooms of the future.

It is perfect seed sprouting time for these trees- when the seeds have just a touch of red on them, they will easily sprout. If you have one near you give it a try....the reward 10 or so years from now when it blooms will be sweet. :)

The Mescal Bean Trees (Sophora secundiflora) are blooming!

One of the first trees to bloom in the Tucson area are the Mescal Bean Trees that I so adore. I noticed over the weekend that they are in full bloom right now so I had to go make a visit to the parent trees of the ones in my yard. My obsession with these trees goes back several years, to when I would encounter them on walks around a friends neighborhood. Sinking my nose into one of the blossoms gave me the most wonderful deja vu feeling. They smell like a cross between grape koolaid and lilacs and the smell seemed to transport me back to childhood. I found a small tree in the nursery last year, but even with babying it just hasn't done well. These trees don't transplant well so I decided I needed to start some from seed.
Last spring I collected seeds from the trees I found in the public areas in Tucson, and after several batches that didn't sprout, I was able to get 11 little trees growing in various parts of my yard. These trees are really slow growing though, so it may be many years before I get blooms outside my front door. Until then I will visit the ones in public areas to get my bean tree scent fixes! Here are some pictures of the trees in bloom this spring. Click on this first picture and notice the big black bumble bee enjoying it too.

The trees are just loaded down with flowers this year.

To see how I got mine started visit my early blog postings on Mescal Bean Trees here.

To see how my bean trees look today check out the slide-show in my sidebar.

Happy Bloomin Tuesday! For more Bloomin Tuesday posts visit Ms "Green Thumb" Jean.

Soaking it up in the desert

It is really shaping up to be a fairly wet monsoon season, here in Tucson, with a little under two inches falling in my yard through the night. I was a little concerned about the 8 young Mescal Bean (Sophora secundiflora) trees I've recently transplanted in various areas of my yard but they seem to have weathered the storm well and I can almost hear their little roots growing with that wonderful rain! It is really amazing how the rainy season here restores the cactus and other plants, filling them up with water to get through the dry months.
No matter how regularly I water my yard, it doesn't seem to have the same restorative powers that natural rain does.

My Green Thumb Sunday pictures include the little Baja Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica)that I planted last spring. Just a tiny plant, not more than 15 inches tall, he blooms and blooms and blooms! Even on this rainy morning there was one freshly opened flower along with a few that appear to have stayed in the shower too long!

And I've also posted a neat little plant, weed, tree, that I am hoping someone can identify for me. I love the way it has two types of leaves and I am guessing it is some type of Palo Verde, but I would love to hear from someone who knows for sure. They are popping up everywhere in my yard these days.

There are also pictures of two of baby Mescal bean trees in their new permanent homes- each with a rock protector!

Gardeners, Plant and Nature Lovers can join in every Sunday-

Visit As The Garden Grows for more information!

Update on the baby beans- 8 little sprouts

The 8 Mescal bean (Sophora secundiflora) seeds I planted are all up now and growing well! I move them out of the direct sun in the hot afternoons, but then usually move them back in the evenings. I haven't quite decided what I will do with all 8, as I have 3 others growing in the yard too, but I will find homes for them all somewhere!

Bean babies

After my bean gathering two days ago, Sunday, I put the seeds in warm water, covered them with a cloth and set them outside in a shady spot. I figured it wouldn't be easy to give them warmth indoors with the cooler running so outside they went. This morning I remembered them and when I peeled away the almost dry cloth, I found almost every small bean had a little sprout started! So my dreams for a Mescal bean family of trees seems as though it might actually come true! I'll give these another day and plant them tonight or tomorrow-

So what I've read is true- the very best time to sprout these seeds is when the seeds are just barely turning red- once you start the soaking process- the seed turns completely red as in the picture above! Click on the picture above and it will open up for a larger view!

The other picture above is the new sprout in the garden- the first picture I posted was almost impossible to pick him out but he is standing up straight and tall now.

Mescal Bean Gathering

With my two recent Mescal Bean Tree babies sprouting in my garden I am more determined than ever to try again- this time in more appropriate pots for later transplanting. So today I went Mescal seed gathering again. Here are the bean trees in the middle of a busy road- I must have looked pretty silly out there to the passing cars! In my head I was planning out what I would say if a Police officer pulled over and asked what I was doing. Is it illegal to pic pods in a public place? Hmmmmm- luckily no one stopped and questioned me!

A close-up of the tree that had the more developed silvery looking pods- these turned out to be the ones that were just a touch red.

Close-up of a tree that had larger, greener pods- these have bigger seeds but were less developed.

Home again with the loot- the Mescal pods and some Mesquite pods I found near my car. I love scavenging for seeds to try!

My first glimpse of red on the seeds after carefully peeling away the outside.

Perfect seeds ready to soak for a couple days- then I am going to try planting these in containers- to be continued...

Sunday Morning Surprises

One should never post GTS using Saturday's pictures, without first taking a walk through the garden early Sunday morning! This is a lesson I have learned as this mornings walk certainly brought forth some interesting finds:

The yellow rose from yesterday opened up in all its glory this morning- it reminds me of the sun!

A new deep red rose bud- this one hasn't bloomed before so I am very excited at seeing the first bloom form- it almost looks black!

The new bougainvillea I planted looks gorgeous in the morning light- reminds me of a bridal bouquet! I just love the pale pink and white of this variety.

And lo and behold- can life get any sweeter- ANOTHER baby bean tree just barely peeking out of the earth! I am truly blessed this Sunday morning but the picture just wouldn't turn out- too small I guess!

I also posted a picture of the big brother bean tree- see how I've grown!

And a close-up of the bougainvillea- I love the little flowers within a flower!

My Mescal Bean Tree Adventures

A baby tree!

I wanted to write about my adventures in trying to start some Mescal Bean Trees in my yard but I have not gotten around to doing it until today. I discovered these trees in Tucson a couple years ago and each time I came across one in bloom I was amazed by the incredible grape candy scent that gave me an instant sense of "de ja vu" probably reminding me of carefree childhood days with grape bubblegum!

The flowers were so beautiful and the scent so tantalizing that I really wanted one or more of these trees growing in my yard. I found one little tree, about 2 foot tall at a local nursery and brought that home to plant. Despite my best efforts it hasn't done well, losing many of the leaves on some branches and just not appearing to show any growth! When reading online about them I discovered that they are indeed difficult to transplant, having a very long tap root, and not doing well when moved from one location to another.

So I have continued to provide it water, and lots of hope and FINALLY I am seeing some growth (middle picture)!

In the mean time I have collected seeds from some of these trees that grow in the public areas of Tucson and have researched online the best way to get them to sprout- I tried sanding and soaking and nicking the outside of the seed but nothing seemed to cause them to swell up and sprout!

Many of my failed seeds, went into various places in my garden, not because I thought they would really grow- but because I couldn't bear to throw them away!

Anyway yesterday I discovered a tiny little plant growing next to my bougainvillea, in a place some of the discarded seeds were planted! I dug down just a pinch and found that it was indeed one of the seeds I had planted!

I am so thrilled! I am sure the picture doesn't look like much yet- it is just a tiny little sprout- but oh the joy of seeing it! I can't wait to see how it grows and hope and pray I can transplant it to a more suitable area of my yard, once it has gotten some decent growth on it! I'll sure be watching for others to come up now too!

The Mescal Bean trees real name is Mountain Laurel-Sophora secundiflora - Fabaceae, Bean Family!