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Creating Long
Term Tree-lationships
Lovin' your trees
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We’ve all unfortunately
suffered from a short term tree-lationship at some
point in our life. You know how it goes, you see a
really hot-looking tree at the garden center, fall
in love, take it home and plant it….. and then, a
month, or six months, or a year later you look
outside and that tree…..well it just doesn’t look so
hot anymore. Maybe its leaves aren’t green anymore,
maybe its bark looks cracked and dry, maybe its
needles have all turned brown. Suddenly you
realize--you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling. “How
could it happen?”, you think to yourself….. another
short term tree-lationship.
Tree-lationships
are more complicated in Wyobraska than in most areas
of the country because many “popular” tree species
won’t grow well in Wyobraska landscapes. The pretty
little picture tags promise that their tree is “cold
hardy”, but cold-hardiness by itself does not
guarantee a long term tree-lationship. That’s
because there is one other essential ingredient to a
tree’s ability to grow in Wyobraska. That
ingredient is a tree’s ability to grow in our
relatively infertile and high pH soils, and it is
this often overlooked ingredient that leads to most
of the short term tree-lationships in Wyobraska.
Flowering pear trees, Norway maples, Autumn blaze
maples, and red maples are some of the most
commonly sold trees that almost always lead to
hard(wood) feelings in Wyobraska tree-lationships.
If you’re a committed homeowner
that is looking for something more than a one-season
stand, you’ll be happy to know that long term tree-lationships
are possible in Wyobraska. The secret is to plant a
tree that is both cold hardy and that also has the
ability to grow in our rather unique soils.
Fortunately there are a relatively large number of
trees to choose from for your long term Wyobraska
tree-lationship.
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Previous Articles
I
It's
Finally Spring - March 13
Spring Garden Calendar-March 20
No
Garden Left Behind-March 27
Planting Trees for a Cooler Earth in a Warmer
WyoBraska-April 3
Viburnums - Shrubs for Wyobraska Springs-April 10
Want A Water Conserving Lawn? You might already have
one-
April 17
Creating Long
Term
Tree-lationships April 24
2007 Articles
2006 Articles |
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Bur Oak. Talk about a
long-term commitment! Bur oaks will grow in
virtually any Wyobraska landscape, and develop into
a large shade tree much more quickly than you might
think an oak tree would. Oak trees are slow
growing, right? Wrong. Bur oaks can easily grow
2-3 feet per year when young and uncertain
homeowners are often increasingly attracted to their
rugged character.
American Linden.
This lush looking shade tree doesn’t look like it
should grow well in an arid climate and infertile
soils—but looks can be deceiving. The American
linden is another tree that seems to grow well
throughout Wyobraska. It seems to grow well in lawn
settings, and is also one of those great tree “air
conditioners”—so is a great tree to help cool the
area around your home during the summer.
Ohio Buckeye. This
somewhat smaller relative of the American
horsechestnut is another somewhat surprising
candidate for a long-term Wyobraska tree-lationship.
A unique spring flower becomes the chestnut like
buckeye that gives the tree its name. The large
five-lobed leaves often develop attractive orange to
red fall color. It is remarkably well-adapted to
Wyobraska’s diverse soils.
Northern Catalpa. Perhaps not
quite as well-adapted to some of the poorest
Wyobraska soils, but the Northern Catalpa is still a
desirable prospect for most Wyobraska landscape
settings. It offers exceptional ornamental interest
for a shade tree—a distinctive June flowering, very
large light green heart-shaped leaves that turn
yellow in the fall, and unique pencil-like pods that
persist on the tree through the winter—adding to its
unique winter silhouette.
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Kentucky
Coffeetree. This is a “nerdy” looking tree when
young, but within a very few years it takes on much
more fashionable—even attractive—appearance. It’s
unique leaves set on late in spring, protecting them
from Wyobraska’s variable spring weather, and then
turn a dependable yellow in the fall. A generally
light crop of small maroon colored pods which hang
on the tree through most of the winter contain the
small bean-like seeds that pioneers ground up to
make a frontier coffee. Don’t look for this coffee
any time soon at your local Starbuck’s, but look
around your neighborhood and you’re likely to find a
neighbor enjoying their tree-lationship with a
coffeetree.
English Oak. If
you’re into “exotic” tree-lationships you may want
to check out an English oak. This foreign relative
of the bur oak has a somewhat more refined
appearance than its native American cousin, with
only slightly less soil adaptability. Established
Wyobraska specimens seem to be enjoying our recent
longer growing seasons. It is one of the fastest
growing oaks, and involved homeowners seem to love
their English oaks.
If you’re looking to start a
committed tree-lationship this Arbor Day, any one of
these “well-grounded” prospects could have you
living happily ever after.
Happy Arbor Day
April 25th |