All trees suck water and nutrients from the soil. The hackberry isn't more avaricious than others. It's shade and shallow roots may represent a problem for your dwarf crApe myrtles and plumbago. Both of these plants do best in full sun.

I was worried about shade for sure, but the tree is kind of leaning, and isn't too big. It actually provides more shade for my neighbor's yard than mine.

Here's a pic, sorry it's kind of dark because it's overcast/raining outside. Anyway, I would like to plant to the left of the tree. Still think it will provide too much shade?

{{gwi:385882}}

I can't tell from the picture how much canopy is covering your yard. Also we don't know exactly where you are planning to plant or which direction is which.

The panel fence might also be an issue depending on where you plant and the fence's orientation. If the fence blocks sunlight (you plan to plant on the south or southeast side of the fence), that could be a concern.

I'm pretty sure this area gets lots of sun, so I don't think the fence itself will be a problem. I was planning to plant directly to the east direction of the tree, right in front of the fence (when looking at the tree you're facing south).

But I should probably cut down the tree just to make sure it won't provide too much shade. I just hate cutting down trees. Maybe I'll plant a big crepe myrtle tree instead of shrubs. Our landscaper said that the hackberry would make crepe myrtles hard to grow here (I assumed because of the nutrient thing), but I wanted to get some other opinions.

In the meantime, I've got to move these plumbago plants out of my flowerbed, it's just too small and there are too many other plants in there. I thought this might be a good spot to just let them grow wild. Maybe I should just put them in pots on my deck where they'll get the most sun.

Anything under the drip-line of that tree will have a difficult time getting established.

I would leave the tree, unless you're gung-ho about removing it. It looks like there is adequate sun there to grow something that will do well in part-sun, but it's hard to say without actually being in the yard.

Hackberry's tend to be long lived and in such a hot environment I would say that a tree would be very nice to have in your yard even for some shade, if it's not a lot.

You should be able to find many suitable plants to go against the fence, and your landscaper would be able to help you find a spot for a crape myrtle and/or plumbago if you want those. The left corner of your yard, at least in the pic, looks amenable to something that would need a decent amount of sun (because the tree leans).

I think what Gardningrandma said makes a lot of sense. And, that brings up another point (or at least it does in my mind). You might want to consider a variety of plants rather than just a bunch of two types. Consider putting in a grouping or two of three small crapes, and then add various other types of plants. Choosing a variety of different plants will:

- allow you to choose full sun plants for open areas and shade loving plants for areas that receive less sun
- allow you to change the planting as your tree grows to match the changes brought about as the tree grows or as other changes occur
- be much more interesting to look at
- look more natural
- give you the opportunity to try all kinds of new plants
- not look as bad if one plant dies (the snaggle-tooth look can be real ugly)
- be less likely to be totally devastated by a pest or disease that could easily wipe out a monoculture

Trust me, I really don't want to cut down the tree. Not only because of the cost, but because I love trees. I was just told by people they were bad trees which is why I posted on here to find out if I needed to get rid of it, and how it might affect my idea for this spot. The tree is staying! :-)

At this point I have these plumbago plants that I need relocate. From what I've read about these plants they can get quite big. I know they're sun loving, so I guess if this tree gives any shade at all (which I just noticed at 3pm shade from the canopy reaches about 5-6ft from the fence), I probably need to find another spot for them right?

So....being extremely new to gardening, what are some part-sun plants that would work here (next to the tree) and grow tall to give me some privacy from my neighbors behind me? I'd love to see some color back there if I can.

Hackberry trees extend the allergy season well into June here in Northeastern Okla.

Hackberry trees produce toxins that many shrubs and flowers do not tolerate. Those toxins pass to the soil beneath the tree from the tree's roots and fallen leaves.

An established hackberry tree, if cut down and if the remaining stump is not killed, can grow multiple new trunks straight up out of the top of the stump. Also in a wild setting new hackberry trees would sprout out of the tree's shallow spreading roots.

The only way I have found to get rid of a hackberry tree is to, as soon as the tree has been cut down, drill holes in the trump and then immediately brush onto any remaining, exposed stump, a solution of shrub and brush killer mixed with diesel fuel. Then schedule for the stump and a significant amount of the remaining roots to be ground-up about a week after the trees was first cut and its strump was treated.

Just be careful with the shrub killer/diesel fuel mixture. do not let it come in contact with your skin, and contaminate the soil or nearby streams with it. that is why I instructed you to brush that solution on the trunk and on that tree's sucker you might see have sprouted and attempting to grow into a thicket. Also if you do use the stump killer mixture I mentioned, then during the mixing and application, you must wear full coverage protection, along with a mask that will further protect your face, eyes, and lungs. After the use store any remaining mixture in properly functioning gas can, for any subsequant uses. Throw away the clothing worn during the application, and shower down immediately.

Also the best way to avoid contamination of soils and streams with the mixture is to alway avoid using it in a sprayer; instead only brush the substance on stumps trunks, leaves and the bark of the tree you are wanting to kill and stop it's ability to regrow.

Yeah, I don't think I'll be cutting it down. There's got to be something I can plant that will grow next to it. What about bamboo? I was thinking this could be cool because it grows fast and would provide quick privacy.

@katrina: Tell me though, how long would it take for a cut down tree to regrow from the stump? The reason I'm asking is because last year we had to cut down a HUGE hackberry tree. It broke my heart because it was probably the oldest or at least the tallest in our neighborhood and it significantly changed the look of our backyard (it was full of shade before and now seems so empty and sunny/hot). The problem was the thing was splitting down the trunk causing it to fall towards our house AND I know now it was full of aphids (we had that black sap all over everything and didn't know what it was).

Anyway, we had the stump ground way down, not sure about the roots though. We just laid down new sod this past April and now in the spot where the tree was, we get mushrooms whenever we water significantly or it rains well.

Do you think the old tree still has the potential to grow back?

I have a hackberry tree that was here when we bought our land
It is at the front of our yard. It is now over 40 feet tall.

5 years ago, I planted a lot of azaleas, camellias and hydrangeas underneath it.

The plants have done beautifully.
If I were you, I would not cut the tree down.

Privacy? Heck, you've already got a solid 8 ft fence!
Bamboo? Absolutely no for the the 'running' types, unless you're intending to dig in a containment barrier. Otherwise, it'll spread into your neighbors' yards - as well as your own. I don't know hardly anything about the 'clumping' bamboos, but would still have some trepidation about planting them without some sort of a containment barrier in place.

I'm with grandma on this one - I'm not a huge fan of hackberries(a big, woody weed), but I'd not be inclined to cut down my principal shade tree to replace it with some crape myrtles. Now, you might think about planting a more desirable replacement shade tree - something like a bur oak - and removing the hackberry once the oak attains sufficient size to provide the shade you need.

crystalmt
Generally speaking, once a tree is cut you don't get anything good from the stump that will turn into a nice tree. Usually you get "root" trees or "stump" trees that will not develop a 360 degree root system which is needed to keep a tree upright in the wind. Best to replant with a new tree if another tree is desired in or near that spot.

crystlmt, you asked how long a tree's stump will take to grow new trunks.

I do not know know of any other tree that will do from their stumps what I have seen a Hackberry stump do.

back not quite a decade ago, I purchased a just over half acre residential lot that backed up to farmer's field. Seems that all the land for the housing addition had been sold by that farmer, but the developer had left the farmer's barbed wire fence along that edge of the by then 6 year old neigborhood.

Along that fence row there was a large beautiful elm tree that dripped sticky stuff from an insect infestation, a diseased and nearly dead cherry tree, and 5 or more scraggly looking hackberry trees. In additon all those 5 hackberry trees had suckers that had grown from their shallow roots and formed thickets.

It was one of those 5 hackberry trees, which at one time had been cut down, but the stump that had been left and not killed, had grown 5 different trunks straight up out of the top table where that 2 foot wide stump had been left unattended. It was the strangest thing I have ever seen. 5 perfectly round trunks growing straight up out of the stump, and by the time I encountered them, they had all gained enough girth to fill in any gaps that once may have existed between them, so the 5 individual trunks filled what had orginally been the entire top surface of the stump. By the time I encounter that tree those 5 trunks were about 15 feet tall and the single stump that they had grown out of was about 2 feet tall.

The view all those trees presented along the entire back property line was a real eye sore, so I ended up cutting all the trees down and paying to have all the stumps ground up. Then in the following early spring I planted Oaks, hollies, and pecan trees. These trees did well and did not suffer from any toxins that those hackberry trees may have contributed to the soil.

The property was deep enough that in the previous early fall season, I could plant a row of staggered spaced loblolly evergreens about 15 feet in front of what would later be my more quality, slower growing hardwood trees planting. That way I had the benefit of a lovely view as the loblolly trees grew fast, and knew that in about 20 years the loblolly trees would have shed enough of their lower branches for the hardwoods to be seen, and even later in about 25 to 30 years when the loblolly trees aged enough and needed to be removed, than the hardwoods would have matured to nice heights and forms.

Over the 5 years that we kept that property the loblolly trees did grow to look very beautiful. with branches growing out of the trunk down to the ground. the young hardwoods growing far enough away and in back of the Loblolly trees could not be seen form the front of the property, but during that 5 years they had become very well established and were gaining more and more optimal height growth each year.

Last year we ended up selling that property. I hated to leave my trees, but they served well to contribute aome nice asthetics that greatly helped to motivated the buyers to make that purchase from us.