I wished you could send your spider mites down here, I'm trying to get rid of Chinaberries.

I know I am among the minority...people who actually like Chinaberries. They are great for shade and fast growing. I brought mine to TN from S Texas. Since I am raising it from a baby, I would really like to save it. No idea on what to do for the Spider Mites. Anyone???

You can read about spider mites here:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef438.asp

I would not recommended planting it out, or even keeping it too long because of these reasons:

Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) is a fast-growing tree which is invasive and has spread to many areas all over the southeastern U.S. It is invading the forests, fencelines and disturbed areas of Florida and elsewhere, including Hawaii. Belonging to the mahogany family of plants, chinaberry is native to Asia. Chinaberry was widely introduced as an ornamental shade tree. Its seeds are spread by fruit-eating birds.

Although it is revered for its beauty in its native range, chinaberry's fast-growth and rapidly spreading thickets make it a significant pest plant in the U.S. (Even so, it continues to be sold in a few nurseries.) Chinaberry outgrows, shades-out and displaces native vegetation; its bark, leaves and seeds are poisonous to farm and domestic animals.

Chinaberry toxins are found in highest concentration in the fruit, but the bark, leaves and flowers are also poisonous. Many species including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, poultry, and also humans have been poisoned by chinaberry. Pigs and dogs are poisoned most frequently, usually by ingesting fallen fruits. They show clinical signs within 2 to 4 hours of consumption.
Animals surviving for 24 hours have a good chance of recovery. Rarely do clinical signs last longer than 48 hours. Most cases result from animals consuming the fruit from the ground. Because this intoxication is rapid, the hard, ribbed pit from the fruit is easily identifiable from the stomach contents of dead animals.

When I suspected Spider Mites on 2 Dwarf Alberta Spruces, I got Neem (brand) spray. I sprayed the 2 very liberally, using the $12, 32 oz. spray bottle up. The trees were saved apparently. That was 2 years ago and today they are growing fine. They started to turn brown in numerous areas and those areas of dead had to be cut out, they won't grow back.
I think these Spider Mites were working fast. In about 2 more weeks I think they'd have been dead.

I would LOVE to have spider mites on my Chinaberry. I posted a pic on another thread about Chinaberry trees, and I will post it again. I can't stress enough how much I hate them, and how much damage they can do.

First, yes, they are toxic. They will kill animals and people. You don't want to picnic under one, in case the leaves or berries drift down.

Secondly, you can't have animals safely in a yard with one. They really are dangerous to have, as five or six berries will kill a large dog or pig.

Thirdly, they shed horribly. The leaves blow and create a poisonous mess in the fall and winter, followed shortly by the flowers, which are just as messy and deadly. When the leaves and flowers are gone you have tons of berries to deal with. The messiest tree I have ever seen. We had to hire a weekly gardner to deal with all the mess, but by three or four hours after he cleans the patio it is a mess again.

Did I mention the roots? We have a crack running from the patio through the house, garage and driveway from the roots. Ugh.

Lastly, I can't plant much because the entire backyard is too shady. I am presently covering up a part of the lawn with a 9 ft tarp, thereby killing the lawn, in order to grow some vegetables in containers. I have no room to plant anything I like due to this tree. If you are considering putting it outside, think again. Horrible tree.

{{gwi:338143}}

I had to vent, sorry. I really hate this tree. Lovely, but deceptively so.

Never seen or heard of a dog eating China Berrys and where I live in Texas there are lots of both. Unless one doesn't feed their dogs, or the dog is nuerotic, I can't imagine why they would eat them. I have 3 of the trees in a corner where they don't harm anything. Dogs have never messed with them. I think they're pretty and enjoy them, although I have no allusions that they'll live a long time.

I still have my baby China Berry...10 months later! It gets spider mites periodically and when it does, I just defoliate all the leaves and stems. It keeps plugging along. As I said before, I love the China Berry tree. I have had dogs in the yard with them and never had a problem. I guess TO EACH HIS OWN!

Well, yes, to each his/her own, I do agree. The point I was making about animals and kids really had more to do with ingestion, not necessarily eating the berries/leaves/flowers on purpose. They can blow into a food or water bowl, and did with my hybrid cats I was breeding in an outdoor enclosure where I kept the male. I covered the entire enclosure with shade cloth, but berries and leaves still found there way in, and I went out a few times a day and changed the water because of it. I'm not sure what a berry or leaf would do to the water if it sat for a while in a pet's bowl.

As for illusions about the Chinaberry living a while, I've no doubt that they can live a very long time. The one I posted a pic of is very old.

To each his own, and while I wouldn't purposely plant Melia, the toxicity problem is being overplayed here(I'm a veterinary pathologist and I'm fully aware of the toxic 'potential').
I grew up in lower AL, and there were many chinaberry trees growing in fencerows, mainly around old homesites and barnyards; I never saw an animal poisoned on them - either as a farm kid or as a practicing veterinarian - and we had cows, goats, chickens, dogs, cats on the farm. All pretty well left the trees/leaves/berries alone. There would have to be virtually nothing else to eat before they'd bother with chinaberry. I've heard tales of drunken robins eating the bletted, fermented berries, but I've never seen it firsthand.
I have some doubts about chinaberry surviving outdoors or as a containerized plant in TN, though Memphis may have more moderate temps than I was accustomed to in middle TN.

I foolishly brought a Chinese tallowtree seedling back to KY from AL once, but thought better of the situation before I planted it. I did, however succumb to the pleas of a coworker and let her have it. It grew relatively well for 5 or 6 years(never bloomed or set fruit, thankfully), but a good winter killed it back to the ground, and a year or two later, another good winter finished it completely.

I think it is amazing that the tree pictured has done so well in spite of the barriers placed around it. That's a survivor.