Determining the Sex of Trees

My husband joined Facebook. It's a brave new world.

Speaking of brave new worlds, we are ready to continue the reconstruction of our front yard. The demolition is done. the new wall is in, the dirt has been settling for a week, and we chose a tree. Yes, a tree.

You didn't think I was going to go treeless just because I had to remove a monster of a tree that destroyed my driveway and ripped up my yard? No, I just couldn't bear the thought of a treeless front yard. It seems almost a sacrilege to have a house with no tree. I can't think of any house, or other building for that matter, other than something designed by Frank Loyd Wright, that can go treeless ~ and even Frank would balk at that idea. So, yes, a tree.

By the time this little guy grows up I will most likely be dead, or at least very old. Our last tree was 35 years old and could have lived longer but was totally inappropriate for the site. We chose one that we hope is more compatible. And yes, it's a boy tree.

How do we know? Because it's not just any 'ole Chinese Pistache ~ it's a Keith Davey Chinese Pistache. You see, girl CPs produce blooms and seed pods. Boy CPs do not, which means we get the beauty without the mess. Unfortunately, if you pick a young tree from the nursery without knowing its sex, you have to wait until it turns 6 years old to find out because that's when the girls enter puberty. I am not making this stuff up.

A Keith Davey CP is a boy because it's grafted onto boy stock, not grown from seedling. That pretty much guarantees its sex. Of course, the plant guy told me that almost 95% of all CP's being sold these days are boys since most have been grafted, but who wants to take a chance on that pesky 5%? Yikes, I wonder if that how the Chinese felt back in the day when boy babies were honored and girl babies were killed.

This blog has taken a very dark turn. Thanks be to God that He wants us all.