A week or two ago I noticed a branch dying on an old cottonwood tree that sits just on the other side of our fence. It's in a neighbor's yard. Today I noticed dead cottonwood tree leaves in the yard. I looked up and saw this.
I think this old tree is dying. Ironically, the older man that lived in that house long before we moved into the neighborhood, just sold that house. A new couple just moved in about 3 weeks ago. I think it thrived there because our sewer line joins another larger line right at the base of the tree!
We have had the wettest spring on record, so maybe too much of a good thing? Cottonwoods are found naturally along creeks and rivers. Settlers would look for cottonwoods while traveling west. They were about the only tree in Kansas back then! A cottonwood was a sign of a water source and would provide shade to the weary.
I was happy when I heard Marla Spivak, Minnesota Bee Lab, say that resins collected from Cottonwoods, for propolis, provide the most medicinal properties.
I will not miss the cotton and seeds that it shed.
