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How close to retaining wall can you plant Chinese Pistache?

11 years ago

Specifically, the Keith Davey variety. I'd like to plant one out as far into the corner of my yard as I can, but have a retaining wall at the end of my yard. I know Pistache's roots are generally pretty non damaging, but how close can I plant this tree to the retaining wall and be safe?

Featured Answer

Tina Buell (Z9b)

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I have a Keith Davey CP behind my retaining wall, about 5’ back. It’s only a few years old but so far no issues. It’s the tree pictured here.

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
not much here to give you an answer on ..

what type of wall is it?? .. timber .... block.. brick.. concrete.. any foundation.. etc ...

what is the wall holding back ...

w/o a pic.. i would suggest we cant answer ...

ken
arktrees
11 years ago
CP are frequently planted in landscape islands of parking lots. Those are typically 6-9 feet wide. BUT those don't have the footing that is required for a true retaining wall. So since this is a retaining wall, I would say you need to find the edge of the footing of the retaining wall, and them move out at least 5-6 feet from there.

JMHO
Arktrees
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There are definitely reasons to intervene in a young tree's structure. I'm not at all saying never do anything. Heck, I myself have probably pruned tens or even hundreds of thousands of trees in my time. But in this case-and others like it-it may be helpful to realize the two great factors controlling where and how trees grow; First is phototropism, the tendency for plants to grow towards the light source, which in the great outdoors is, of course, the sun. So, you will see trees along rivers bending way out to grow where there's sunlight. Why don't these trees-trees with actual very "crooked" trunks-fall over? Because of the adjustments they make to gravity. It's unnatural for a tree to not simply grow straight up, so when the first force-phototropism causes them to do so, they have to make adjustments. These adjustments consist of the formation of a different wood type-reaction wood-which for the sake of brevity enables the plant to hold itself up. The second factor you may want to investigate is the way trees grow; If you can, imagine (under the bark) a new tree growing over the "old" tree each growing season, like a kid's toy where one piece nests inside the other. Because of this, new wood layers are under no obligation to retain that squiggle. They will, in time, bury that business deep inside. I'ma leave it there for now or I'll end up writing another book. But hopefully this makes some sense. And best of all for me in this thread-I got to use the word squiggle, repeatedly!
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markces
Original Author
11 years ago
I actually don't know what the wall is made of, or anything about the wall footing- it's a 60 year old house...it looks like concrete, but then there are other walls around the property that are cinder block and have a layer of concrete pasted over them I guess to hide the cinder blocks.
The end of my yard drops off to the sidewalk about 5 feet down or so. Do you 5-6 feet away from the wall still sounds ok? That's actually about where I'd like it. Pistache roots grow down and deep and not so much out, correct?
Sara Malone Zone 9b
11 years ago
Markces, Pistacia Chinensis are used extensively around here (Sonoma County) as street trees due to their well-behaved root systems - they have a tap root and no large surface roots - so you should be ok with your plan. There are dozens in my neighborhood and I have never seen a heaved sidewalk due to their roots. The only thing that can cause a problem is if the soil is such (really terrible) that they do not develop a deep root system. Good luck!
markces
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the info, but something I forgot to ask- how are they near sewer lines? I assume since they have a downward growing taproot they shouldn't cause too much trouble? The planting site would be between 5-10 feet of a sewer line.

And I'm having trouble finding Keith Daveys...my nursery can't get them. I know of an online site that sells them, but are they supposed to be that hard to find?

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