Thankfully the brutally hot weather has passed: high temperatures are now around 90℉. This past week, northwest Louisiana has received scattered rain showers, some of which have been heavy. Interestingly, the vegetation in the arboretum, especially the grass, has recovered quickly. The landscape is mostly green, especially since the mower has chopped up the majority of the fallen leaves. Unfortunately, there are lingering signs of the damage caused by the August heat wave. Below, we have pictures of one such case: an evergreen sweet bay magnolia with an alarming number of brown leaves.
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Our tree of the week is an evergreen sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana var. australis). This tree was purchased and planted in 1997, making it at minimum 26 years old. It has grown happily in the arboretum and lived true to its 'evergreen' designation. You can read more about its history on an older blog post, found here.
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| At this time, the brown crown of the sweetbay is conspicuous in the mostly green, or yellow-green, landscape. |
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Approaching the sweetbay, we see brown leaves up above and green leaves at eye level.
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Browned, withered twig of Magnolia virginiana var. australis, photographed September 23, 2023
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Healthy twig of Magnolia virginiana var. australis, photographed September 23, 2023
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| Looking at the multi-stemmed base, we see plenty of green leaves. So, we know that this tree is very much alive, although we cannot say what kind of condition it is in. It will be interesting to see what happens to the upper parts of the trunks. |
