3 separate tree questions:Weeping willow, Crepe Myrtle, & Holly: pics
Welp I figured I'd ask my questions as a group rather than three separate threads. This might be a tad long, bare with me :-)
My first set of questions starts with the weeping willow I planted last year. Bought from Lowes, planted behind our house far away from anything. My wife loves weeping willows and I planted it in hopes that it becomes some monstrous beautiful tree...lol
When I planted it last spring it was just about as tall as me, I'm 6'2". Now present day, it's at least 12' tall. I had it "lightly" staked for about one year (maybe a couple months shy of one year) only so that it didn't snap because it was on the thinner side. Two weeks ago I took the stake out of the ground and now it's on it's own. The only thing I am worried about is the current "lean" that is happening with it. Hopefully the picture shows it.
The upper top portion is leaning to the right.. See picture below. Should I be concerned about this or is this the nature of a weeping willow. I know they will weep but I don't want the thing to grow at an angle to the right where it will then be a problem for the tree later on. When it's windy the tree moves a lot. I have read several things saying that the tree will naturally become stronger as it will adapt to nature. Should I trim the upper part of the tree so there is less lean or stake it and pull that to the left? OR, let it takes it's course? Next question is I have noticed there is a slight change in the bark at the bottom. The upper part of the tree is green, where as the lower bark is turning a brownish color. Is this normal? Is this the tree starting to get hard bark or is there a problem? Note that the tree has leaves and isn't dropping any, it appears healthy to me. I say this only because in a year it's grown 6'+... See pictures below.
Next up is a Holly. My neighbor was going to just cut the thing down and I said I'd dig it out and transplant it to the side of our house. It has to be about 12 years old and was very healthy. It was at the front of his house and got probably 8+ hours of sunlight. When I transplanted it, it was back before winter. I dug it out and there was growth for about 2 months since our winters here in VA are not bad, you can see some of the longer pieces up top (that was the new growth). Also before I took a LOT of the dead out... Then we got snow for a day or two, which was cold, then it warmed up, then got cold and then warmed up... all in the matter of about two weeks. Just last month it started dropping ALL it's leaves... Please see picture below. It looks horrible compared to what it did during the winter time. If I lightly scratch the bottom of the trunk there is green (see picture) but the rest of it as far as upper branches are brown and break. If I try bending the lower branches it bends but doesn't break. Is this on the way out, or is it dead? Should I let it be until fall or just dig it out. I will note that it now receives about 4 hours of direct sunlight due to it being on the side of the house :-( Not sure if that has anything to do with it or if it's just the age and didn't like being moved? I have transplanted trees before with success so this struck me as odd, since hollies are pretty resilient and hardy.
Last up is a question about a Crepe Myrtle. We have one in the front of our yard. It's rather large and quite beautiful once it blooms. One day I noticed something growing near the house. I didn't think anything of it until I started seeing green leaves and then the same purple flowers that look exactly like the crepe myrtle... I thought perhaps it was a sucker that reached the house but then I figured it was a seedling (main tree below in first picture is 30' from the house. Second picture is of baby myrtle right up against the house. Needless to say it's covered by other bushes and I would love to dig it out and transplant it to an area that would let it grow. My first question is will this turn into a tree? (See pictures below) It has a few smaller trunks like that of the big crepe myrtle so it makes me think it might turn into a tree after some years as it matures. Should I wait until fall to dig it out and transplant it? I know fall is best when the leaves are dropped and it goes into dormancy but wanted to ask since it was so small now if it would hurt it to move before it gets super hot?
That's all I have for questions, sorry this was a long post but figured if ya can answer one or all questions I would appreciate any advice. I'm in Northern VA as far as region. Right now in April we are starting to get more rain, and the weather will fluctuate between 50-70 degrees. Not yet scorching humid weather but that's probably a month or two away.
Thanks!
-Nigel
Comments (12)
7 years ago
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Removing 3 bradford pears need ideas for alternatives. Pictures
Comments (12)I put my Pterostyrax in the ground as a rooted cutting barely 1-foot tall in probably... 2008. It is now at least 15 feet tall, I think. It looks to me like the new shoots every year are up to 4 feet long. So at the early stages, I'd have to say "fast." This is with good soil and pretty adequate water. Since it is not described as a large tree, I imagine that the growth rate slows eventually. Mine has a very clear tendency to a single leader, and a single trunk; definitely a tree, not a shrub. The flowers are actually quite subtle in real life both in looks and fragrance, but the leaves make up for it (I'm a foliage person anyway, so at least I think so). The branch structure is lovely, very straight branches and consistent angles. It's also very tidy. The leaves stay on quite late into fall, don't do much colour changing, and then they're gone quite quickly. Granted, it's not above a deck so I might be missing something. I don't know how big crepes get but I have to agree with Ink that from the perspective you've shown, a variety of canopy shape would look more appealing than three all the same. And incidentally, what would allow them to grow bigger is the relief from root competition of the pears, probably not sun alone. I could also recommend Heptacodium, except it may be a problem with respect to bees. For me the fact that it attracts bees is a good thing, but might not be ideal on a deck. Mind you, in my yard the tree is close to the front porch and I can't say we have a bee problem. But again, this might be a smaller tree. I have a bunch of young trees so in terms of long term experience I am not very useful. But I also enjoy my Parrotia. Karin L...See MoreNeed help with tree selction
Comments (29)Hmmm, I don't see anything to set up an email. I will try to send you something. I know what you mean about watering. I water everyday. In addition to what I have planted, I have many in pots as experiments, and trees that I have collected to give to friends/family/neighbors. I start some from seed most every year. This year I have Scarlet Oaks from acorns that are over 1' tall and growing very well. Then add to that, the new crabapples, new dogwood, new 2" caliper Scarlet Oak for our yard, and the lawn. I water everyday for the potted stuff, and every weekend for the established trees. I water the established trees, so as to reduce the stress on them in hopes of increasing growth next year, as we had NO shade when we moved in. I have bought timers to put on the hoses/sprinklers, so I can set them up and walk away. Wish I had brains enough to do it last year, but I didn't. But the pots are a daily chore. Yes my S.O. knows I'm obsessed as well. You don't see her on the tree forum..... I started the same way, but she soon figured out that I couldn't help myself, and turned the trees over to me with a few exceptions. For example, she wanted a Sugar Maple, I didn't (grows to slow), but relented cause she wanted it. And what do you suppose happens, "I" end up with two Sugar Maples. LOL. I was not implying anything in my earlier post. My apology if it came across otherwise. While my S.O. knows I'm obsessed, she also knows that I will turn almost anything into a game with her, and so that was what I was doing with my earlier post. I have to say one of her greatest attributes in relation to me is PATIENCE. And yes, your wife has her hands more than full with two little ones. Maybe you need to tell her your going to rent a U-Haul for trees, just so she can have the fun of giving you crap about it. ;-) As for the weather, thankfully La Nina is gone. Problem is drought re-enforces itself. So Texas and north Mexico being in some of the worst drought on record, is re-enforcing the current weather pattern. IF we are VERY lucky, Arlene moving in to some of those exceptional drought areas will help put a dent in the drought feedback, so that perhaps patterns can begin to change. Or weaken the upper high enough that it get moved around, and edges can moisten up, which could then further weaken it. Time will tell, but keep your fingers crossed. Arktrees...See MoreNew crape myrtle cuttings, to bag or not to bag in zone 8-Atl. GA
Comments (25)Ok just wanted to post a follow up. I got my new cuttings and used my new products... the perlite and dip & grow. I got a ton of semi-hard wood cuttings. Cuttings: 4-8 inch range, striped all but a few leaves at the top, used a 50/50 mixture in 3 pots of my old sand and peat mix with the perlite, poked a hole with a dibber, dipped cut tip in rotting hormone, put my cuttings in the holes, moistened soil (not too wet) damp, kept in location that sees light, but not direct sunlight. (only bad thing was due to time issues I had to leave the cuttings in water longer then I planned before I prepared them and got them set up in pots) This time I left off the bags and instead misted in the morning before leaving for work and when I got home from work in the evening. The leaves browned on me still and I was about to give up and a few days ago 2 gave me some green leaves. So I have 2 out of about 30. I guess that is good considering I have no greenhouse and can't mist them more then 2x a day. The question now is leave them alone and kep doing the same thing and let them get stronger or try to take them out of the rooting pot and into a new pot of their own? I'm leaning towards leaving them till I know if any others are going to try and throw up some green. I worry about the delicate roots and trying to separate them out w/o damage. When, or do they even need to be transferred to a new pot with a different soil?...See MoreBackyard Landscape design in Progress (pic)
Comments (51)Screening trees: Arborvitae DeGroots is beautiful and less common than arborvitae Smaarg. Smaarg or Emerald green is what you are more likely to find at Big Boxes and garden centers. Except for Smaarg's overuse, it is a perfectly suitable tree for accent or screening. People who live where there's a heavy snow load are concerned about arborvitae's branches splaying. That can happen but there are ways of dealing with it. I have a "skyrocket" juniper that is lovely. Very narrow and the berries (blue) add texture. I struggle with design. Nevertheless, my thought on screening is to not ""make a point of it." A tall conifer and spreading deciduous or a columnar deciduous screen would be part of the your larger varied landscape plan. If you planted three of the same right in front of the blue house....to satisfy an immediate need for screening....It would just look like a lump of green. If you don't want to lose a season (or save $ this sale season), make a decision and put a servicable conifer or three there. (peraps Degroots....tall, compact,; chamy. gracilimas ( ferny wide) and???? Please do not plant them too close together or they'll shade out each other's branches and brown out. (the risks of monoculture is another reason not to plant many of the same plant. If one dies a newly planted one will look out of place for a while. If one gets a disease, they may all be affected) Avoid a straight line...stagger. If you carefully consider their ultimate size you'll also see why the proportions of your beds should be larger and wider. I honestly think once you have an interesting "front" to that fence and your attention and energy are engaged with planting you will barely notice the offending house. The house is far from ugly and has interesting architecture. Think of it as "visual noise" but it need not dictate all your plant choices . I concur with some others that the beds need bigger more graceful curves and should be considerably deeper. Have you tried using a hose for laying out? You haven't mentioned whether children might be using the space. If that's a possiblity it might be a factor to consider....I firmly believe kids and gardens can co-exist just fine. Touch football and soccer make another situation all together!...See MoreRelated Professionals
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Ok awesome, thanks on the willow. I figured it was doing ok since the growth but the definite "lean" it's got going presently made me wonder if it is going to grow at that angle or eventually straighten out then weep so to speak..lol
That stinks about the holly. It was such a beauftiful one as well. I just wanted to save it as the neighbor didn't care and was going to take a chain saw to it and throw it out.
I honestly don't know about the crepe myrtle only because it's at least 30 feet away from the main tree, so I figured it was a seedling? Do suckers travel that far? I have pulled out suckers right at the base of the main tree no problem but this seems like it's going to be another crepe myrtle after some years. I tried searching and a lot of what I found appear to be bush type looking but this has three tiny little trunks. I am imaging that the roots are probably intertwined with the box shrub and the other evergreen bush since they are all so close together. Looks like I'll leave it be for now, and then move it in the fall.
Another view further out from the mini crepe myrtle.
:-)
-Nigel
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