Legacy Tree updates, April 2021

 A brief update for a few of our legacy trees. 

I took measurements in March while the trees were still dormant (no real good quality pictures - I'll return later with some spring growth) and here's an update:

The pride of the farm, David's Kentucky coffeetree: - 11 feet tall, 2 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Grown from a nut planted on our second summer. David is our advisor-at-large for all manners concerning trees. For contrast, a second coffeetree planted at the same time is only 42 inches tall. I cannot explain the difference but we're working on it.

Jason's pin oak has a way to go but has an excuse of only growing from an acorn for 2 years now. It stands at 21 inches. It could end up being our tallest tree someday (in about 60 years, so be patient, Jason)

In our surprise category, a red buckeye to honor our border collie mix, Buckeye (Buck). Planted 5 years ago from a seedling we got from a vendor in Missouri, it was standing at only 16 inches in March and added 5 and a half inches by April 11th. With frost settling in, I didn't want to risk this new growth and I wrapped it in clear plastic until the dangers of frost ended about a week later. I kept it in this mini greenhouse until last Saturday, the 24th, when I cut the top open to find it was now at 30 inches tall. 

Buck's buckeye (I've got some cleanup to do)

There's always something different, something new to learn at the farm.

Silent tree of winter

That silent tree on winter hill
will it speak again come spring?
I cannot hear while winter's breath
is driven away from it still.

Soon we hope for that spring day
when new growth can be shown
to the world around in green glory
in the Creator's time and say.

It is ours to keep this tree
in the care that it deserves
from time of planting to this day
and the future days to be.

This is our Kentucky Coffeetree, one of many different trees that are set aside as what we call Legacy Trees. These are planted in remembrance of someone and to honor them. It looks nearly dead in February but it will look like this in the summer:

Linked to Poets and Storytellers United: Writers’ Pantry #8: We Like Multiples of Three

Legacy tree update - our Kentucky coffeetree

Planted from seed from David, this Kentucky coffeetree has been one the the highlights of the farm. David gave us about a gallon of seeds and we had difficulty in getting them started. We found many of the planted seeds in 2011 ended up as a food supply to ants but this specimen has been a success.

On 8/31/13, about 2 and a half feet tall:

On 8/31/14, about 3 feet tall:

On 8/9/19, at about 9 feet tall:

It's giving a little shade but what is interesting is that the other coffeetrees are about 4 feet tall. I'm encouraged that we are on the right track when we can chronicle the growth of many trees that we planted and give our readers some idea of our vision.

This tree's legacy represents not only my father, in a sense his legacy is in every tree, but mainly for the generosity and encouragement from David.

Coffeetree was one wood that my dad often worked with. Once stained, it can pass as red oak and he referred to it as a "poor man's oak." I have a bookcase that I built years ago that currently holds much of my video collection with only one shelf dedicated to books.

This is not the true Stranded Tree but is one of our favorites.

Legacy tree, Kentucky Coffeetree

From a box of nuts that we received from David over at True Blue Sam, this has been one of our favored trees. It was planted 4 years ago on the bottoms where it it gets plenty of moisture. It stands at about 5 feet tall and is the tallest of the coffeetrees that have made it so far.

Dad made several pieces from this lumber and I made a narrow bookshelf that now stands in our living room.

While we won't live long enough to see the lumber milled from this tree, we enjoy tracking its progress.

From mid-May:

And on 6/11:

Coffeetree update, 6/11/15

Here's the progress on one of our legacy trees. Our best Kentucky Coffeetree:

On 4/19:

On 5/9:

And on 6/6:

 

This is the first time I've seen damage from deer on any of our coffeetrees. It tops at about 4 1/2 feet tall from a seed planted 3 years ago. The rest of the coffeetrees have a long way to go to catch up to this one that has become one of our showcase legacy trees.

2014 planting update, 3/24/14

Red oak planted in containers:

 

One month after planting, the tallest reached 2 and a half inches. Those planted in the star trays are only about an inch. I'm not sure why the difference, but I like the progress on these. The roots will start to wrap around the bottom of the container or try to poke its way out the drain holes. I've had good success with pin oaks the past two seasons with this size of cup and will get these in the ground after another 6 weeks or so.

When we get back to actual spring-like temperatures for good, these will be outside for the duration.

Also in the ground this past weekend: 15 coffeetree seeds and another 10 black oak acorns.

Preparing coffeetree seeds for planting

Two years ago David over at True Blue Sam sent me a large batch of coffeetree seeds and I've had a 20% survival rate after two dry years and I'm cautiously optimistic after this winter. I found a local source and was able to get 177 seeds for this year's planting.

Known as scarification, my method of preparing Kentucky coffeetree seeds for planting is simply to scratch my way through the hard shell of the seedcoat to get to the meat of the seed. About the size and coloration of the popular candy, Milk Dud, I would not recommend playing a trick on your friends by throwing a couple of seeds in the box.

My original method of scaring the seed was to use a triangular file and spending 15+ minutes filing to breach the seedcoat. I switched to an oscillating cutting saw and could prep a seed less than a minute but this made me a bit nervous having a vibrating blade near my fingers. One slip and I'd never play the violin again.

I picked up a Dremel 8100 tool this past weekend for this specific purpose. Except for the limitations of the original cutting wheel (it's not designed for cutting plant fiber and would gum up), I'm pleased with the results so far. This particular model holds a charge for about 15 seeds, or 30 minutes, and I think I will get better results with a different cutting blade and I ordered one.

Some cautionary pre-instructions:

1. Do this in a well ventilated area and you may need to wear a mask. The dust can be an irritant and the cutting wheel can end up "burning" the seedcoat which irritates the eyes as well.
2. Do not hold the seed with your hands. Common sense
3. Make small cuts and go slow.
4. Wear eye protection. Chips from the seedcoat can fly up into your face.

I use this ratcheting clamp to hold the seed: 

Use the cutting blade to cut the seedcoat, make small cuts and stop when you reach the yellow "meat" of the seed.

I've had more success when I cut about 90% to 100% around the seed, but I'm experimenting the results of cutting about 50%.

It's not the neatest cut, but does the job. One interesting note is that sparks can fly using the cutting tool blade.

Others recommend soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours after scaring but I plant the seed right away, either in the ground or potted. The moisture in the soil will soften the seedcoat in less that a day. I planted these seeds near the surface in pots and the previous best results is to keep the soil moist but not too wet, otherwise the seed will soften and rot. In about two weeks, the taproot will start to form.

I'm conducting tests this year as I can afford to with this many seeds. I bagged up some in wet peat moss and will plant them at the tree farm after germination. This worked well with the acorns, so why not? I soaked some in acid to see if this would be an alternative to using electric tools. I'm working on a couple of other ideas including the cut direction, temperature and seed planting depth. There's not much information out there as the coffeetree is not a popular tree in the public's mind.

I'll report our progress and share the best method that works for us.

2013 Fall Planting Update

In mid-October we planted all the seedlings that David aka Sam delivered up to us. A couple of swamp white oak, a couple of catalpa and what ended up with 5 Kentucky coffeetree (a few volunteers were in the pots). The chestnut is planted in what is our new grove. I planted 5 more chestnut nuts so I think that qualifies as a grove.

The catalpa are framing the cedars as "bookends" on the west and the coffeetrees were added to the row with our showcase tree and to a couple of other rows with smaller coffeetrees. The swamp white oak were planted in the last row next to the willows.

Of course. all were caged with woven wire and chicken wire or hardware cloth to prevent the large and small vermin from doing damage.

Catalpa:

Swamp white oak:

Tree number one of the chestnut grove:

I planted 51 swamp white oak acorns up the bottom three rows using an old brass planting stick. I have 100+ planted in planters in the back yard of the homestead.

50 black oak acorns are planted in the northern three rows at the farm. Another 190 black oak acorns are in a bag of peat moss in the bottom of a fridge in the basement.

I have a couple of tubs buried in the garden that I sowed aronia seeds and planters that have paw paw seedlings and hard maple seeds that fell this fall from my neighbor's tree.

After a few more chestnuts get in the ground, I think I've just about finished with the fall planting.

Our Kentucky coffeetree update, 10/1/13

Gymnocladus dioicus, the Kentucky Coffeetree is native to Iowa with a grain similar to red oak after it's milled. It was a tree that my dad sought out for its lumber for his projects and I made a simple bookcase out of coffeetree for my wife for our second Christmas together.

Although a member of the legume family (Fabaceae), Kentucky coffeetree is not a nitrogen “fixer”. It is a medium to large, round-barked, native deciduous tree reaching heights of 18 to 30-m with a spread of 12 to 15-m. In open areas, the tree produces an open, rounded crown, but in native woods it grows to 23-m with few branches.

Kentucky coffeetree can be found growing in association with sweetgum, tupelo, oaks, and hickories, also black walnut, basswood, elm, and pawpaw in temperate forests.

We added our coffetrees starting last year when True Blue Sam and his Mrs. gathered, cleaned and sent us a good supply of seed in late winter of 2012.

We tried a couple of methods of propagation with varying degrees of success.

1. We planted several by seed and "caged" them with hardware cloth and soup cans after splitting the bottom of the cans. Of the thirty or so, only a couple sprouted by summer. I found ant hills at several locations and decided to dig a couple up. I discovered sprouts but little root development. I'm assuming the ants used these as a good food supply.
2. Using a technique called scarification, I then planted the seeds in pots in March, 2012. I used a small triangular file to breech the hard shell of the seed. Any seed planted deeper than the seed itself had a tendency to rot in the shell and I had a germination rate of 90%. I used both fiber pots and a burlap lined pot and transplanted after the root breeched the 6" pots. Both worked well.

I transplanted many by mid-May 2012, but the harsh drought limited growth and despite our best efforts to water we lost about 70%. No fall transplants survived the winter. The very little snow cover and below average temperatures did not help us as many of our deciduous transplants did not make it.

However, one coffeetree that has thrived is planted in the southeast corner of our northern plot of trees.

 June 23, 2012

This tree grew very well during 2012 and I had to put a bigger woven wire cage around it last fall. A very wet 2013 spring with a two-day span of 14+ inches of rain in April set us up for the summer.

The same tree May 19, 2013

It showed up this spring as a dead twig but by middle of May there was a new sprout growing along side.

June 30, 2013

By late June, the central leader reached about 6-8 inches with the compound leaves giving us the impression of another six inches or so.

August 31, 2013

Another dry summer with only an inch of rain during June, July and August. This meant we had to haul water again but the cooler conditions may have contributed to this explosive growth. This tree towers over the other coffeetrees that are about 6-8 inches. Sam and his mom stopped by and snapped the picture above.

September 22, 2013

A hot and still dry September added another 6+ inches. It's now topping off at about 30 inches as it reaches the top of this woven wire cage. To prevent girdling by rodents (which killed a few of the other coffeetree and maple seedlings), I made a small hardware cloth cage to surround our tree trunk.

Nature is making this our showcase tree and I have no idea why. Luck, environment, soil type all contributed to its success. The only exception that can be noted is that a groundhog tilled the soil all around it apparently without damaging the root structure. Aeration may have been the difference.

These coffeetrees represent the memories I have of working with my dad in his workshop and our growing friendship that have started David over at True Blue Sam, his mother Bea and others in recent years. Hopefully this coffeetree will grow and give our future generations a 80+ foot tree and a good supply of milled lumber.