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.
Lulu: “Our yard fills up with fluff like that every year but it’s not from cottonwoods, it’s from our giant silk floss tree! It makes these flowers that turn into big pods that pop open and they’re stuffed full of soft white fuzz. The birds and rats and other critters love to take it to line their nests and burrows.”
Java Bean: “Ayyy, it’s all pretty swanky if you ask me!”
Oh wow, that’s kind of cool. Wish the birds would take some of this cotton fluff away-lord knows there’s piles of it to line their nests!
Thank you for the entertaining lessons about cottonwoods. A great way to kick off June (for me!).
Glad you enjoyed the joys of cottonwood trees. 🤣
The next couple of weeks are gonna be ‘cotton-picking’ on a daily basis I’m afraid. Ugh.
It was a trip.
Ugh! Oh well, at least the temps are behaving.
Mew mew mew lookss liek cotton an stickss like sticky cotton…..mew mew mew….Wee don’t have treess like that heer. Pretty kwwl…
THE flowerss are lovelee two Miss Monika an Wilson….
Spring furinallee sprung fore al of us! HURRAH!
~~~head rubss~~~BellaDharma~~~ an ((hugss)) BellaSita Mum
Yes, it’s very sticky. I am having a hard time removing it from the mulch and it’s all over the tomato plant. Sadly I knocked off one of the little tomatoes trying to remove those cotton balls. Ugh.
Cuud you eat THE tomato or did you leeve it fore THE irdiess Miss Monika?
It was just a baby tomato and therefore not nearly ready to be eaten yet.
The snow is heavy here from those cottonwoods too, we have them everywhere and this time of year my allergies really flair up!
I always thought the cottony fluffs made my allergies act up but learned it was the catkins the male trees produce a couple of weeks before the cotton starts to float around. It next to impossible to fish the out of mulch. Here’s hoping your allergies calm down after a few well timed rain showers. 🤞🏻
My neighbor has a few cottonwood trees and yes indeed they break limbs with any strong storm, no matter the season…and we find the cotton ‘pods’ a big mess! Last year I gathered up a whole shopping bag full. I don’t need any of those growing in our yard, LOL! Right now we just are seeing all the little green pearl-like pods coming down. In a week or so the snow storm will start!
I like those blanket flowers. I had some, but they did not last too many years.
Seems like every day now is a ‘cotton picking’ day. Ugh. And they’re super hard to remove from mulch. Good luck getting through this season of ‘snow.’
Hard to believe May went by so fast– Whoosh!
Cottonwoods must be universal. I saw fluffs of it floating through the redwoods last week (kind of ethereal), you have them and now I’m back east, the fluff abounds here as well. I do love how big they get, there are a couple monster ones down by the river.
They can be massive. Which makes the fluff massive too. I’m picking clumps of cotton from the yard about 20 times a day. Hope you had a terrific visit with your son. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
We don’t have cottonwoods here as I know of, but the oak pollen is certainly enough for us. Everything turns yellow-green when the oak pollen is out, which is thankfully over now.
The flowers are beautiful.
Many thanks. Hmm, so oak pollen is rough, eh? I did not know that. When my daughter used to live in the mountains, the pollen was like that. It’d coat everything with a yellow-greenish powder and even the dogs would be covered in it. Don’t miss those days! Have a terrific weekend.
Beautiful photos and I enjoyed reading the information about the cottonwood trees. We get inundated with maple spinners from all over the neighborhood.
Are the seeds easy to get out of Wilson’s coat?
Thanks, Dan. Glad you enjoyed today’s walk. Ugh I remember the maple tree spinners. Maple trees can be such a messy tree too.
So far we haven’t had any problems removing the cotton floaters off Wilson. They tend to stick to plants more than on him…thankfully. We hope you have a lovely weekend.
I have never seen cottonwood trees. Nice photos. Have a great weekend. XO
Thanks, Ellen. I found out that cottonwoods are the state tree of Kansas. They are some on the east coast but apparently not too many. Have a wonderful weekend.
We don’t have cottonwoods here, so this was very interesting. I remember driving through a bunch of the seeds in the wind in Northern California. I was in a convertible and had a massive sneezing attack. At least I think it was cottonwoods. A lovely stroll today. Wishing you both a peaceful weekend.
Glad you enjoyed the stroll-thanks for coming along. I learned it’s the male catkins that spread the pollen that had me so congested a couple of weeks ago. Wilson and I send our best wishes for a splendid weekend.
The cottonwoods are really cool, that’s my kind of snow, not cold and not slippery! Hey Wilson, you and Mom and a fun weekend!
Thanks Terry. The good news about ‘that’ kind of snow is it’s not cold and I don’t have to shovel it! Have a fabulous weekend.
Cottonwood fluff, a blast from the past!
I can only imagine that you don’t miss it so much. 😂 Have a wonderful weekend, Lisa.
Gosh Wilson, you’re surrounded by totally cool stuff courtesy of Mother Nature! Mom says she’s never seen a cottonwood but they sure do have a lot of cotton. I think I’d like napping inside one of those huts….looks cool and cozy! Great photos my friend!
Hugs, Teddy (and Mom Pam)
Thanks so much, Teddy (and Mom). We are really Lu my to live in a cool area and are enjoying each season as they unfold. It’s quite the adventure and so are seeing all those cotton seeds float around. We hope you guys have a really wonderful weekend!
We have the cottonwood too, I don’t mind the fluff but that the little sticky things that come later!
Thanks, Martha. When they embed themselves in the screen, I get cranky. Oh well…if that’s the worst thing Nature does, I guess I shouldn’t get to wound up. Wilson and I hope you and Chester have a dyno-mite weekend.
Most of the seeds won’t germinate it it’s kinda cool watching them float around. I’ll be ready for the sticky things! Have a swell weekend.
Well ~ seems we have debris from trees this year too ~ if I am not pushing snow off the deck now it tree stuff ~ Nature is such fun ~ Hugs ^_^
Happy Weekend to you ~ ^_^
Nature sure makes life interesting, especially around the garden. Have a spectacular weekend!
Thanks, Carole. We absolutely love blanket flower and would love to see your epic photos of them. We hope your weekend is fantabulous!
that is very well said… mother nature moves her furnitures around… yes!!
Thanks. Sometimes she puts the furniture right smack in the middle of the way but most of the time, she does a decent enough job. Have a pawsome weekend!
Interesting about the cottonwood trees. I don’t think I’ve seen the floaty things around here. Sounds like that can be a nuisance but it’s nature which is generally awesome.
There are eastern cottonwoods but not sure if they’re simply regional. The cottony seeds are a p;ain but it’s Nature’s way to propagating itself. It’ll just have to be a part of our yard maintenance. Have a wonderful weekend.
Saints preserve me from cottonwood trees! There’s enough to clear up here without that hazard!
😂 They’re probably no worse than feral pigs or Lionfish of Costa Rica. Nature just operates like that. We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Love each and all of those and fascinated by the cottonwood seed. The Indian Blanket is a vast fave of mine. My mom has taken some epic (she said!!) pics of them. She’d show you if she could here.