Should I cut down this camphor tree?

15 years ago

I have a camphor tree in my front yard that was pretty much a sapling when I moved in but over the years it has grown and helps keep the sun from coming in my west-facing front windows in the afternoon. However I hate the leaves and twigs that it drops constantly and I recently found out it is considered an invasive non-native tree.

Still I'd probably just let it be except for the fact that it is covered with what looks like a green mold and I am not sure it is healthy. The trunk is about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. It probably stands about 10 to 15 feet high with an 8 to 10 foot spread but all of that is top growth, the inside branches are bare. This may be normal for the camphor tree though since the much larger one in the backyard also grows that way, but it isn't covered with this mold. The sickly one has branches that break easily, even the green branches.

I'd hate to lose the shade and I'd like to replant with something else that won't get much bigger than this tree's current size. I am fond of crape myrtles but I am also leaning toward some sort of fruit tree, maybe citrus or avocado. I am also concerned that whatever the camphor tree has might be contagious to any other tree planted in that spot.

As I mentioned there is also a huge camphor in my backyard. I have no lawn in my backyard, just the occasional weed tree since nothing else seems to grow under all the leaves and twigs. Depending how things go with the tree in the front yard I may consider getting the back one removed, too, but that was is so big it would require a professional. The front yard one I could probably manage to cut down myself with a little help.

Any opinions or advice for me?

Here's some pics of the tree mold

http://pics.livejournal.com/wilee_coyote/pic/0001g7g4/g19

http://pics.livejournal.com/wilee_coyote/pic/0001hr99/g19

Featured Answer

countrynest

15 years ago

OK, I do not want to cause any waves,LOL!
But,I love camphor trees. I planted one a couple of years ago.
They are host to cats,I can't remember which butterfly it is.
Susan Sheppard, a master gardener on the radio,said last Tuesday that birds love the berries of the camphor trees,specially,cardinals. The leaves are good in steam to breath in.
Ok?
Felix

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Comments (12)

laura1
15 years ago
that is lichen and nothing to be bothered about.

I say cut it down NOW and cut your losses! That's what I did. We moved into this house and there was a camphor tree. It did give a nice amount of shade but it was planted too close to the house. I had to get a permit to cut it down and replace it with another "approved" tree.
I now have an live oak placed better and the camphor tree is history!
BTW I love you name!
castorp
15 years ago
Camphor trees are awful for residential landscaping. They are also invasive. I say cut it down and plant a more desirable and trouble free tree.

Bill
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A mature tree is worth a lot...and one way to make something of it would be to have it grafted over to one or more good citrus varieties. That way you would have the use of it's 15 years worth of root and truck growth. It might look a bit barren until the grafted branches grow in, but would be worth it to have a tree that large with good tasting different citrus varieties. Also, you don't have to graft the entire tree at once, just do a section at a time. If this tree is healthy it has so much potential it would be a pity to just cut it down. Google "Joe Real" of "Joe Real multi-grafted" if you want to read about a citrus tree with 81 different varieties grafted on it. For the whitefly, if that's what it is, you say you really don't know if they are dead or alive. Get a handheld microscope or a good magnifying glass with LED light, and look and see if they are changing in shape or color, or moving. If they are dead they'll eventually dry up and fall off. I don't use pesticides myself, but I'd use Safer's Soap spray on them if they are alive. Grown whiteflies are very obvious, when you shake a branch they will rise up like a live white cloud and flutter around the leaves, then go right back to their home leaf.
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Thanks for the input all. It's been very helpful to hear various viewpoints. General opinion of the tree experts is that this is looking like an all-or nothing deal. The trees are so close that they have become dependent on each other for protection. If we do move forward, we may try to only take down some of the trees but we would need to be mentally (and financially) prepared to accept that the rest would have to come down shortly after. Re the light: It's not really a matter of light in a single room. The trees keep almost the entire house and yard in the shade; to the extent that the lawn grows mushrooms quite effectively. As a next step, we are going to mock-up what we would put in the place of these trees since it will be a major change.
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gatormomx2
15 years ago
Camphors are Class II invasives . Cut all of them down immediately ! We cut down 17 of them and have many more to go . Problem is , even though I put weed killer on the stumps , they still keep growing and sending out new sprouts . Have a professional tree company remove the camphors and have the stumps ground out . It's worth it . You'll be glad you did .
laura1
15 years ago
Shoot! I had it ground out but the guy must have missed the edge and it is coming up there.
florah
15 years ago
Felix,
I read that camphor trees have started "invading" the Ocala Forest which is an environmental concern. The invasion happens thanks to the birds who love the berries.
castorp
15 years ago
Felix, the Spicebush Swallowtail uses camphor as a larval plant. You can use a native redbay as a replacement. It is a much more desirable tree in every way. Songbirds eat redbay berries too, as well as turkeys and quail if you have any. Some people even use the redbay's leaf as a substitute for bay leaf in cooking (it's very closely related). It's also an underplanted tree. I say tear out the camphors and plant redbays.

Bill
countrynest
15 years ago
Dear camphor tree, sorry about your eminent death. I tried to save you but...
Thank you florah and castro or is it castorp for the valuable
information.
Tinberrrr...
laura1
15 years ago
The birds that eat those berries just spread camphor trees to other areas! As a result of having had the tree in my yard I have pulled a lot of seedlings and fear this will go on for some years.
wile_e_coyote
Original Author
15 years ago
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.
strawberrygirlie
15 years ago
Check out my thread 'tips for clearing out a vine infestation'. In that muddled mess in the first picture there are no less than a dozen camphor saplings. They spread like wildfire.

I agree they are attractive but everything I've read about them told me that they must come out. It's just not worth it. With the way things grow here, it won't take long to get a new tree established.

I also am a tree hugger - originally from the rain forests of the pacific northwest - but remember, all trees have their place. The camphor tree doesn't have a place here though. Plant a tree you can hug without feeling guilty about causing other trees to lose their home. :o)
retta38_gmail_com
12 years ago
This year the berries fell by the thousands i have been here 10 years never saw it so bad my question is are the berries poisonious to domestic animals because my dogs seem to be getting sick this year after the berries fell. They are 6 and have never had any problems before should i cut down my tree.

Should I cut down this camphor tree?

countrynest

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Should I cut down this camphor tree?

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