Eastern redbud in Phoenix AZ am I crazy?
snooper
15 years ago
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arktrees
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agosnooper
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Eastern redbud sprouting at base?
Comments (7)I am sorry I asked, really. I wasn't looking for judgement about my tree choice. It was not really my choice, but the city that decides what you get to plant in your neighborhood. If they don't like your choice they pull it out and slap you with a fine, as happened to my next door neighbor. If you are lucky your planting is in their approved list and you only get fined for planting without a permit. I asked the San Jose sidewalk tree planting officials for a different tree, multiple different trees in fact. It took nearly nine months for them to agree on their preferred trees for my site- I simply asked for small canopy, minimal shedding, deciduous trees. These trees are everywhere here, gardens, roadsides, even in municipal projects- often in the planting strip dividing wide shopping streets and major thoroughfares, as well as freeway margins etc. western redbud is not approved for street trees here. In fact these trees were provided by the city forestry nursery. I have a windy street, small cut outs and wires 30' overhead so this tree, olive (I'm allergic to olive) arbutus (evergreen here), or crepe myrtle (sheds like crazy and subject to breakage by wind) were my only options. This was the least shedding tree, and with a busy walking sidewalk I thought it was the best of a bad lot. I wasn't going to plant gingko to go in the wires and get carved up by tree trimmers or pepper trees to drop limbs into the street like some of my neighbors have. If you think a photo will help I will include one but honestly, the trees are happily taking 90-100 degree weather and daily winds from San Francisco Bay, they flowered for weeks and have deep green lush development up top. I have seen no canopy problems aside from washing off some bird poo from a passing flock of starlings drunk on fermenting fruit. Thank for replying to my question. Hopefully I have answered some of yours....See Moremoving to Phoenix area - will I go crazy?
Comments (32)If you love gardening, stay where you are. AZ is disastrous on plants in the summer time. Not to mention your water bill. I'm used to GA weather, and farm water where its cheap to water regardless of the seasons. Here in AZ anything green will hurt you!! Yes, they do grow spines, no matter what tree, what bush or what flower you decide you like. Hostas will not grow here, neither will moss unless you live in Williams, Show Low or Snowflake, some 4 hours north in the mountains. I love the hot weather!! It's better to be boiling than putting up with tornadoes and hurricanes. Once in a while it will get to 125 in the shade, but it cools off to a lovely 109-111, late July - Aug. Monsoon season is the best in summer, especially with the thunderstorms. However, if you are a gardener and value your lovely gardens, AZ is not a place for you. Retiring here - it's expensive - water is high, electricity is high (can only wash clothes at certain times for 1/2 the normal charge), trash is high, HOA dues are high, taxes are extremely high, food is out of sight tax wise and depending on where you call "home", there may or may not be services close to you. Here's an updated link for Cost of Living in Phx AZ...See MoreDoes anyone on here have a Cercis canadensis - Eastern Redbud Tree?
Comments (47)I live in the north shore of Massachusetts. I installed a Cercis Canadensis - Rising Sun Redbud last October - a 5 gallon container tree in a full sun area of my front yard - where there is decent drainage. Made it through the winter with no problems, and the tight lavender buds popped in April . The bark and branching is a light grey and it all appears to be healthy - all branches are still pliable. The tiny lime colored leaves that appeared after budding have now morphed into larger, darker leaves. Watering has been a consistent once / wk process, but we did have some pretty intense rainfall about a month ago. I began noticing slight drooping and wilting of the leaves right before the heavy rains we received. Since then, it has been dry and warm, and the leaves have gotten more wilted and curled. At the recommendation of one of our nursery managers, I tried soaking the root area. There has been no improvement, and the smaller leaves are now drying up. No spotting on the leaves or signs of leaf decay, and no insect issues.. If it weren't for the drooping and wilting of leaves, they'd look completely healthy. In other words, the color and structure of the leaves are fine. The Rising Sun Redbud is a relatively new cultivar, so not much to go on re. diseases, insect issues and tree care solutions... My first inclination was that the tree might be suffering from root rot or a root fungus - based on the wilting and curling of leaves. I checked the soil around the root ball, which is cool and moist, but not wet, and there is none of the distinct smell you commonly get with root rot... When soaking the root area, the water pooled then drained fairly quickly. If anyone has any information on the Rising Sun, this particular issue, and a possible solution please pass along.. Many thanks!...See MoreHELP with Phoenix AZ Garden! White Mold? Fungus?
Comments (2)Hi and welcome to the forum :) I'm making an assumption here but it looks like you used pure bagged mix for those plants? I don't know if that's the case, but it's most likely the root cause of the plants dying. (no pun intended) The pure mix will drain very fast and become hydrophobic (meaning it won't hold water anymore) in our summers. That white stuff is fungus that has grown from the excessive watering that that type of soil would need to keep even a little moisture in it. Plus the surrounding soil would become very bog-like and contribute to the fungus. Some types of fungus in the soil aren't bad for plants, but with that much fungus the conditions were probably ideal for lots of bacteria to thrive too. You want to mix that bagged stuff with native soil when you plant something, even in raised beds (not containers though, but that's a different topic). The *most* I will add to soil is about 50% compost (depending on how fine it is), and that's for something that needs very fast draining soil (not fruit trees), and the soil will be shaded by something, and the ground will have lots of mulch applied to it. Usually annuals like Pumpkins or root vegetables will grow well in this type of mix. Otherwise I use around 10-25% compost or none at all. You may still be able to save the trees. I would wash all the roots off, remake the soil for the planting area with lots of native soil and very little compost added. You don't need to do this, but if I had extra time I would bake that mix (put it under a clear plastic sheet out in the sun for a few weeks) before I used it again, otherwise I'd just buy new mix....See Moremarkinspringborooh
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEmbothrium
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agosnooper
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agosnooper
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15 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMargie Dickey
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