Need tree suggestion advice

Discussion in 'Woody Plants' started by rinzana, Sep 15, 2006.

  1. rinzana

    rinzana Member

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    Hi Ron,
    I do understand about the slab, and before I put two 3 foot holes through that slab, the water in the basement was minimal. I'm really not too worried about the water. I'm sure once the holes are filled and the slab is "sealed" with tar to the foundation, and covered with dirt, the water seepage will go away. I also have to seal the area where the walls in the basement meet the slab for the house, thats where the water is seeping into the house.
    The information on the Purple Pear tree was found at:
    http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/prunus_cerasifera.html
    Look under Comments
    http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/prucer/prucer1.html
    Look under Liabilities
    I listed two different sites as the longevity info was found on both sites. I do understand that not all species of trees are the same, and that one may live longer then 20 years. In fact a neighbor has had one for 35 years while one in the front of his house died about 10 years ago.
    Thanks Again,
    Rich
     
  2. rinzana

    rinzana Member

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    Hi Laurie,
    I actually read that peper about the pear trees yesterday, thank you. I checked out the Katsura tree, I am in zone 7, basically South New Jersey, would a zone 5 tree do well in Zone 7?
    Thank You,
    Rich
     
  3. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    I don't associate purpleleaf Prunus with much of an aphid drip problem. The purpleleaf cherry plums can get plum aphids sometimes, which roll up the leaves to produce a curious appearance. Do not know if these occur in Jersey. Purpleleaf Norway maples grow large and cast a dense shade, often drip heavily and become tarry due to aphid buildups here in our dry summers. Maybe this is not as usual there but then there is still the matter of Norway maple being a reseeding pest species in the East. A taller-growing, comparatively narrowish Japanese maple like 'Bloodgood' might be the right mature size for you, if you could find a big, true-to-name specimen that did not break the bank (Japanese maples are comparatively slow growing).

    Katsura tree is eventually quite large on some sites, much bigger than you have said you want. I have seen it with a trunk 3 feet in diameter on a heavy soil in a watered garden in Seattle. Less well-sited specimens in parking strips are much smaller after many years. All, however, have pyramidal crown shapes with long horizontal lowermost branches that begin to develop early in life.

    Most of the rose family trees discussed so far (pears, cherries and plums) will produce fruits that drop on the deck. The pellets from the Callery pears would not be as messy as the plums and cherries from the others. However, Callery pears produce the same heavy odor in bloom as orchard pears. This point alone makes them undesirable for intimate areas as far as I am concerned. Good to look at from a distance when a cloud of white and again when reddish in autumn, but not pleasant up close at flowering time.

    If you could live with the fruit and find a big one a purpleleaf chokecherry might just be the ticket. These are sometimes planted on streets here and behave as though not bothered by the tough conditions, although I don't know how many were tried and died for all those that made it of course. Generally smallish trees although some are reaching into wires, but you height cutoff is not THAT low.
     
  4. biggam

    biggam Active Member

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    Carpinus caroliniana

    My suggestion is Musclewood; this would be a fantastic specimen around which to build a deck. Perhaps there is a native plant nursery in your area that could provide one. You can probably find good pictures of its seed bracts and interesting bark, for example, but here is one website with a description:
    http://www.gwf.org/musclewood.htm
     

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