So I live in the south, which means I am getting really tired of crappy pine trees that are tall, skinny, ugly and fall over often. My preference is for old growth real stuff, but that's hard to transplant. What grows within a 1/5th lifetime to a somewhat tall level? What can be planted here? I have put in a couple of Crape Myrtles, which are pretty, but not really trees in that sense. Any reason I could put in a few redwoods from Cali? They grow fast.
How about tulip poplars? A few years ago, I dug up a seedling that the squirrels planted next to my heat pump. It's got to be close to 20 feet tall now.
Here ya go. A little light reading:
what do you consider tall? I planted a couple of birch 6 years ago.. they are hitting 30 feet (they fit in my ti when I brought them home)
20-30 feet is fine for a "few years" - those sound like good options, plus if they get in the way both are fantastic woodworking woods. I made my coffee table and end tables out of birch.
1988RedT2 wrote: How about tulip poplars? A few years ago, I dug up a seedling that the squirrels planted next to my heat pump. It's got to be close to 20 feet tall now. Here ya go. A little light reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liriodendron_tulipifera
They also drink up about 50 gallons of water per day.
I was surprised how fast oak grows in fl. My parents put one in their yard 15 or so years ago and it is big
Try metasequoia glyptostroboides, dawn redwood. You'll have better luck with it than with the giant redwood.
What kind of soil do you have? Not sure what pines you have but longleafs etc. do very well where you are generally located if you have a sand base for a good tap root. A lot of people in the SE blame the pines when it's often the developer that clears a pine forest and expects the trees left to be a great stand alone tree. A well grown pine in high winds will snap up higher than a poorly grown one that will just fall over.
1988RedT2 wrote: How about tulip poplars? A few years ago, I dug up a seedling that the squirrels planted next to my heat pump. It's got to be close to 20 feet tall now. Here ya go. A little light reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liriodendron_tulipifera
Soft, crap tree. There are some in my parents place in CT. Branches come down often, lots of crap in pollen season, plus some oddball seed things. Tallest trees on their property, by far. Almost as good at rotting and falling over as the birches...
I have a friend who has one near his driveway. They call it "the dirty tree".
I would check with your county extension service. They will set you on the right path.
cwh wrote: I would check with your county extension service. They will set you on the right path.
Plus 1
cwh wrote: I would check with your county extension service. They will set you on the right path.
What's that?
agricultural extension office. Among other things, they can tell you what plants grow well in your location
Give them a call.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/
I'm not sure where you are, but the Willow Oaks around me grow like crazy for an Oak Tree.
Any tree that grows very rapidly are inherently weak and short-lived. Trees with more moderate growth like the dawn redwood and some of the oaks are good choices. Bald cypress is another good choice if you can put up with the knees. As others have stated, your ag extension office is a great resource. I'm a landscape architect and I refer to my ag agent all the time.
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