What kind of tree and should I cut one or two out?

15 years ago

Looking to find out what kind of trees these are, and I'm also wondering if I should cut any of them out. These were planted by the previous homeowner when they were much smaller and now I've got to do something about them because I'm concerned that they'll just get bigger and die around the bottom. The trunks are about 5 feet apart and they grow like crazy, this is my third summer with these trees and they've already put about 2-3 feet on top. Oh and if it helps tell what kind of trees they are, they have small cones about 2 or 3 inches and real skinny. I don't really want to cut them out because they are doing a good job holding my hillside up, so I'm open to any suggestions. {{gwi:681273}}

{{gwi:681274}}

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Comments (15)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
not great pix for an ID.. but i wouldnt be surprised if you dont get one ...

in the mean time... go out there.. and look carefully at the interlacing branches...

shaded out branches of conifers tend to lose their needles from lack of sun ...

you might end up with big dead patches on the trees left ... which may or may not fill back in ...

IF IT WERE ME .... i would take them all out.. while it is still within my capability to do so.. FOR FREE ...

i see a potential for 4 telephone poles.. and failure of that wall depending on prevailing wind direction .. and how well that wall is built ...

i dont know what to tell you about the rest of the hillside .... there is a lot of potential there.. if you are so inclined.. and even if not.. some native shrubs might be a whole lot better than what is there [or isnt] now ..

dont live with the prior owners mistakes... just for the heck of it ...

good luck

ken
pineresin
15 years ago
Look like Norway Spruce.

I don't see any real need to thin them out, you can if you want, but there's enough light from the front to keep them well-foliaged.

Resin
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I am really leaning toward removing the one in the front yard for sure, but the one in the back yard is so large it would definitely cost a pretty penny to have removed. So it will get a reprieve for now while I attack the Brazilian peppers trying to get a foothold back there. I do have some cardinals I see every year and I love those birds so I will consider planting a red bay should I remove the camphor in the back yard. I have never seen berries on the one in the front yard, maybe it takes a while for them to fruit? So I don't think the cardinals would mind if I removed that one. I kind of have my heart set on some sort of fruit tree for the front yard and I don't have much space anywhere else for a tree. The big camphor shares the back yard with a good sized loquat. I don't think any other tree could get enough sun back there. I guess I could put a red bay in the front and then when I can get the other camphor removed I can put my fruit tree in the back yard. The camphor takes up so much room that I might be able to get two fruit trees back there. I am a tree hugger and the idea of cutting down trees does bother me but I have seen what that darned punk tree has done to this state (and me, they really set off my asthma) and I don't want to contribute to helping another invasive tree. I do actually like the smell of the camphor but I don't think that's enough reason to keep it. Hey, I wonder if I could grow one bonsai size? ; ) Thanks for all the responses, You've given me some more to think about.
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swafond
Original Author
15 years ago
Well I'm not opposed to taking them all out, mostly because they block my view from the home... but I wouldn't object to trying to save one or two of them if I could. I should explain that the last few years I've had the place I've focused on the inside, now I'm ready to move outside. So I am really open to suggestions of other shrubs/plants that would be good for my area, I'm in the northern central part of Indiana. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can take them but here's another one that I've had looking towards the water from near the house. Thank you for any help you guys can offer.
{{gwi:681275}}
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
ARE YOU SAYING THOSE TREES ARE BLOCKING THE VIEW YOU PAID ALL THAT MONEY FOR????

oops...

what is the point of living on the lake.. if you cant see the lake????

of course.. it does give you privacy from the gawkers on the lake

more pix would be helpful
ken
wisconsitom
15 years ago
Swa, there's nothing finer to frame a view of a lake than conifer trees, and that is exactly what you now have. Leave 'em be say I.

+oM
salicaceae
15 years ago
Definitely not Picea abies with cones that small....probably P. glauca.
jean001
15 years ago
Hey guys. Most of you know more aabout conifers thatn I do. But no one has remarked about the tree 2nd from the right.

Looks to me that it has a serious problem. It's yellowing, pale and sparse.
pineresin
15 years ago
"Definitely not Picea abies with cones that small....probably P. glauca"

No cones on any of the trees that I can see! Crown shape fits Norway better, but it is hard to be certain without a close-up pic.

"no one has remarked about the tree 2nd from the right"

I noticed it, but didn't comment, being a bit rushed for time when I posted last. Looks a bit thin and yellowish, but it is also the tallest (= most vigorous) of the four, so it may be coping despite whatever the problem is. The problem is if you take one out, then you're left with a very asymmetrical [xxxx] for the rest. So then you have to take two out to make it balance, which would have to be the second from left [xxxx] or it still wouldn't balance. And that leaves a gaping hole . . .

Resin
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
i figured it was just seedling variability ....

is that an option???

or are all seedlings EXACTLY the same in growth patterns???

ken
pineresin
15 years ago
Hard to say without more detailed views. My guess would be most likely a temporary aphid or spider mite outbreak with that tree being a bit more susceptible than the other three. Around here, spruces often get partially defoliated by aphid outbreaks, but they usually recover well.

Resin
undercover_owl
15 years ago
Imagine that space without the trees. If that sounds good to you, then do it! But I hope you don't.
swafond
Original Author
15 years ago
Here are some other photos. After taking a closer look at the tress this weekend I can really see where they are starting to thin out on their own. As someone stated the second tree from the right(the one that was yellowing) is very thin this year and is the smallest of all four trees, the other middle tree is also starting to show lots of trunk this year. I never really paid attention to the trees till this year because I didn't know what to do with them. Now I'm concerned that if I do cut one or two out that the other two will be bare on one side now. Should I just start from scratch and plant new trees in correct locations? Thanks for all your help
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treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY
15 years ago
If it were my property/trees, I would take out the two middle trees and put a bench there to sit and look out over the lake. If the area is too small or otherwise not conducive to placing a bench there, then I would plant a smaller flowering tree between the two remaining trees. Options would be a flowering crabapple, redbud, cornelian dogwood, flowering cherry, etc. Just my two cents!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
you have a home on a lake... you paid a premium for a view with a lake ...

GET RID OF THEM .. and plant something more conducive to the view ...

and if you take down 4 and replace with 4 living.. smaller plants.. net impact on mother earth.. zero ..

dont listen to these tree lovers.. when it comes to YOUR VIEW ...

and .. well you are at it.. get rid of the privet on the wall also .. or do you like trimming them 2 or 3 times per year ...

presumably .. you just spent a year or two.. renovating the house.. tell me you improved and updated the whole house ... you didnt leave a bunch of the prior owners nightmares.. just because they made mistakes inside the house.. did you????

so lets move on to your next 'living room' .. that deck out there.. and make it the next prime.. updated.. sitting area ...

good luck

whatever you decide

ken

PS: if they had some attraction to covering the deck in poison ivy .. would you leave it there.. ?????
pineresin
15 years ago
Thanks for the extra pics - it is White Spruce Picea glauca, not Norway Spruce as I thought at first

Resin

What kind of tree and should I cut one or two out?

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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What kind of tree and should I cut one or two out?

Comments (15)

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