Nature Friday ~ May 29, 2026

Welcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we join our pals at The Adventures of the LLB Gang. Clicking on the link will take you to see what others have shared this week. This week’s post is mostly about one topic-cottonwood trees. Ok…let’s get started.

Wilson: ‘Morning mates, here I am sitting nicely in front of one of the wildlife habitat area’s huts created along the Ralston Creek Trail where we walk. They provide habitat for the area critters on both sides of the path. Along the path and creek are gobs of cottonwood trees and lately they have been very active as the leaves emerged.

The Mum: It’s been as if it’s snowing as jillions of cottonwood seeds are floating all over. I realize it’s a bit hard to see them but all those teeny little white specks are cottonwood tree seeds.

Wilson: They float on the breeze. I had to chuckle when they flew up your nose a couple of times. But you’re right, Mum. They are EVERYWHERE and stick to wherever they land.

The Mum: I’m constantly pulling them off the few potted plants in our yard and some of the window screens.They especially seem to like sticking to the hairy stems on the potted tomato plant. They are a nuisance and potentially damaging when they stick to air conditioning units. Removing those seed heads will be part of this weekend’s chores around this barn of a house.

Wilson: What else can you tell us about cottonwood trees?

The Mum: They are one of the more popular tree species in the world and often grow to more than a hundred feet tall. They provide loads of shade along our creek bed. Cottonwood trees are dioecious, meaning the trees grow male and female flower parts on separate trees with the male flowers appearing first and the female buds emerging about a month later. The male plants produce pollen, while the female plants produce the seeds or fruit. Cottonwood trees are rapidly growing trees, growing as much as 6 feet a year and are hardy in Zones 2 through 9.

Wilson: We weren’t 100% positive if the fluffy seeds would follow the male catkins which began to emerge in April, but expected they probably would. We didn’t have many of them in our old neighborhood so Mum didn’t keep any photos of them when they started to drop and fall on our pathway last month but found the following image online. Leaves emerge from those catkins and then the seeds begin to form from separate trees about a month later.

The Mum: With our breezy conditions most days and the recent snow and rain, a lot of branches and twigs came down. Cottonwoods tend to have soft wood and breakage is a constant threat. The pathway was littered with the evidence that indeed we were going to have lots of floating seeds. Notice how they start out as little necklace-like strings of the seed pods that eventually release millions of white, cottony seeds into the air. Cottonwood trees are a member of the poplar family similar to Colorado’s quaking aspens, but unlike aspens, cottonwoods do not clone themselves from a single root system. They can readily re-sprout though if broken or cut down from the cotton seeds after they emerge. Cottonwoods thrive at lower altitudes (3,500 to 6,500 feet), on the Eastern Plains and along riverbanks. The male trees grow reddish-purple flowers.

Wilson:  Are there any advantages to these trees?

The Mum: Well, their fast growth and wonderful shade are reasons enough to like them but they have other positives. According to the Colorado State Forest Service, they reduce erosion, capture and filter sediment, provide wildlife habitat, slow flood water runoff and increase water infiltration. The leaves have flat stems, which make them shimmer and rustle in the wind making them eye-catching and distinctively attractive. The tree offers strong fall color, with leaves fading to glowing shades of gold. The National Forest Service often use them to stabilize stream banks and they may act as a natural waterway filtration system to reduce sedimentation. They colonize and form groves that can act as natural windbreaks though as I’ve experienced, the leaves and twigs are constantly falling all year long. I thought after I moved from the old neighborhood with all of its silver maples, I could leave that behind me. Instead, I’m constantly picking up little twigs and gobs of leaves that fall in the wind. Sigh

Wilson: Well I don’t mind the cotton snowing on us-it’s pretty and when it begins to heat up next week, maybe we can imagine cooler temps with that ‘snow.’

The Mum:  With those warmer temps slated for next week, I’ll try to envision snow. In the meantime, I guess we’ll just need to endure all the cotton floating in the area and stacking up along the pathway.

Wilson:   Anyway, let’s share a couple of images of something other than the cottonwood seeds. We found this hydrangea getting ready to bloom. Look at the beautiful pink color that’s beginning to emerge. And finding a Blanket flower along our walk through the wildlife habitat area was a nice find. It’s like Mother Nature was moving ‘furniture’ around.

The Mum: That’s a good way to describe how Nature decorates sometimes. I saw a few other spots where blanket flowers were beginning to pop up and whenever I see a flower showing up like that, it makes me smile.

 

Wilson: Thanks, Mum. Well that’s it from us. We hope you have a terrific weekend. Hard to believe this is the last Friday of May and June is on the horizon. Where has this year gone?