“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” – Alice Walker
Seabourne Creek Nature Park’s Arboretum is located in the area around and north of Seabourne Lake. The Arboretum provides families and school children of Fort Bend County, Texas with an educational and fun outdoor environment where they can experience and learn to love nature in a shaded picnic setting. Hundreds of native Texas trees of various sizes are planted around meandering paths made of crushed granite.
The Texas Master Naturalist™ Coastal Prairie Chapter (TMNCPC) and the City of Rosenberg Parks & Recreation Department collaborate to maintain the Arboretum. Service organizations and corporate volunteers from the area have helped with tree planting projects.
Recent Happenings in the Arboretum
Summer 2025
In June, we noticed that several of our pecan trees were looking skeletal, their leaflets chewed down to the rachis. We suspected some type of parasite, but we saw no obvious clues at first – no insects or caterpillars on the branches and no leaf debris on the ground under the tree. So, we kept a close watch on the trees. One week later, the culprits revealed themselves: Walnut Caterpillars.
According to Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, walnut caterpillars can produce 2-3 generations each year in Texas. For each generation, the female deposits a mass of 600 or more eggs on the underside of leaflets. Larvae emerge from the eggs after 9 days and feed on tree leaflets for about 23 days. They go through 5 stages of development (instars) during this time. The 5th stage larvae consume about 80% of the total foliage that they eat in their lifetime in a 3-5 day period. The larvae then leave the tree to pupate in the soil.
For our infestation problem, we are trying a non-insecticide approach to control. We are watching for the larvae to move down the tree to cluster on the trunk to molt (about 6-15 feet up). When we see a cluster, we will spray the cluster with dish soap and water (10 drops to 24 oz. water).
Early detection of walnut caterpillar larvae is important so control measures can be applied before significant damage occurs. Signs of activity include:
- Localized areas of skeletonized leaves
- Colonies of reddish-brown larvae
- Foliage loss from larvae feeding
- Masses of cast skins on the tree trunk or main scaffold limbs
- Fecal matter on ground
Resources:
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Walnut Caterpillar
- Walnut Caterpillar Update July 29th, 2014 (Extension Education in Fort Bend Co.)
Fall 2024
TMNCPC volunteers have been busy this fall mulching trees in the Arboretum. The mulch keeps the topsoil around the trees in place. It helps retain moisture and insulate tree roots, and it keeps invasive grasses in check. It also provides beneficial nutrients to the tree as it decomposes.
TMNCPC typically applies 2-4″ of Texas hardwood mulch around trees out to the tree line, making sure to leave root flare properly exposed. After putting down mulch, our volunteers thoroughly soak the area with water to lock the mulch into place.
Summer 2024
Hurricane Beryl raced through Southeast Texas in early July. While most of SCNP was spared significant damage, many of the trees in the Arboretum were uprooted by the storm’s high winds. The storm also flooded large portions of the Arboretum.
TMNCPC volunteers and the City of Rosenberg responded quickly after the storm passed. The day after the storm, the Parks and Recreation Department used their heavy equipment to place large trees back into their holes.
Afterward, chapter members righted the smaller trees. Then, they braced and restaked large and small trees that need supplemental support while their roots reestablish themselves. The recovery effort took several weeks: in all, 28 members contributed a total of 164 hours to the effort.