Cottonwood trees

by Nucky Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:47 am

They're trees that dump a bunch of cotton on everything around them during "cotton season", which around here is the month of June. It's the peak of "cotton season" around where I live. Do you have them around where you live? I really like this time of year, there are little bits of cotton floating in the air everywhere and it's pretty in the sunlight.

by TheStargazer Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:20 pm

Yeah, they're all over around here, especially at country houses and around the nearby lake. I like them too, I used to call the floating cotton 'stars' when I was little

by melodiccolor Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:44 pm

Although it's messy, it's fun to watch the cottonwood fluff float in the sunlight. They are also major nesting sites for a variety of birds here.

The major downside is that if one sprouts up within 50 feet of a house, the roots will clog the sewage pipes and rip apart the foundation. Once one is cut down, a forrest of sapplings takes its place and they can pop up as far as 200 yards away.

Too bad. In rural areas and in the wild, they are wonderful trees.

by BlueTopaz Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:13 pm

When I was little in Denver there were a lot of cottonwoods around. I liked them too. I like the cotton floating, but I also like the trees. Out on the plains you could always tell where a stream was by the stand of cottonwoods.