Question: What is a good tree for a wet part of our landscape.

Answer: Best in waterlogged soils would be bald cypress, water oaks or willow oaks. However, unless the soil is almost standing in water days after a heavy rain, almost any tree would do well. If you want to test to see how high the water table is, dig a “post” hole, then cover it to keep anyone from stepping in it. Check each day after a rainstorm, just to see whether water is being retained beneath the soil line for more than 24 to 48 hours, and, if so, at what depth. Gardeners in South and East Texas, where water tables traditionally are higher, may want to plant their new trees “high,” that is, 1 or 2 inches higher than they had been growing in the nursery. Save that for extreme cases, however.