I lost a good tree friend this week :(

[Hevvin Machine]

I live in an urban area. I only live a little over a mile from where I work. So I nearly always walk from home to work.
I always go down the alley between my house and the neighbors before deciding exactly which route I will take on any given day. I have lots of choices.

For all of the nearly twenty years that I have lived in this house one thing was certain. I will visit this big, bad, maple tree on the backyard neighbors front lawn everytime. Spring or Fall, Democratic Administration or Republican Administration, good times or bad, happy or sad, this maple tree was always there doing her thing. In the fall her foliage was so exquisitely beautiful that words fail me. I did not mind cleaning the seeds out of my gutters every spring, because I knew that the seeds were just this beautiful being doing what God intended.

Tuesday I left for work. This beautiful tree was just putting out seedlings. Tuesday, I come home from work and she is cut down to the ground.

I cried about this. It is now Thursday, and it still makes me cry if I think about it too much.

I know, she was just a tree. I understand that the value of the house was being diminished by having this huge being dominate the yard.

It still makes me sad.

Hev

[miss djax]

i totally know what you mean. i love tree's. i live in the desert, and the days of irrigation are nearing and end. the indigenous tree's grow stout, but not huge. seeing people cut down something that is so beautiful and takes so long to grow and mature just doesn't make any sense to me :(

[reddhedd]

Oh how sad!

seeing people cut down something that is so beautiful and takes so long to grow and mature just doesn't make any sense to me.

this.^^ :(

[David B]

I feel for you. A couple of years ago I found a few cherry trees at the side of the road that had top class cherries, and since so few people actually notice wild food, I had a lot of cherries off them.

The blossom was nice to look at, too, driving past.

A couple of weeks ago they were chopped down, for a road improvement.

I like trees.

David

[hecaterin]

I cut down three trees on Tuesday! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Well, actually they were dead already. Sad consequences of the drought, exacerbated by previous owners planting too many trees too close together, and the naturally short lifespan of the hakea.

[Jobar]

My parents still live in the house where I grew up, and there's a small dogwood tree there which is on its last year. One branch is still producing leaves, and it may die at any time.

That was the first tree I ever climbed. It had a number of low limbs conveniently spaced so a small child could reach them easily.

When it finally goes, I'll be the one who has to cut it down, probably. And it wouldn't surprise me if I shed a few tears afterward.

[nygreenguy]

Id be willing to bet it was a silver maple (you said spring seeds, that means either silver or red). If it was, feel lucky. They are know for getting heart rot and falling on trees and houses.

[RBH]

Around 15 years ago we lost a huge American Elm, one of the few left in the county. It had hung in through Dutch Elm disease and storms and all the vicissitudes for decades -- at least 8 decades, from what we could find out from neighbors -- and finally succumbed to Dutch Elm disease. I still miss that doggone tree, though I've planted several hundred trees and bushes on this place over nearly 40 years here. I grew up in a tiny village where the streets were lined with American Elms, and when they went to the Dutch Elm disease epidemic it changed the character of the village, not just its superficial look.

[Puck]

I cried over my first tree before I hit my teens. That tree hosted many children climbing it, making forts in it, sitting in it's branches talking heart talk. Some kid, who no one liked, fell out of it and broke a leg, and his parents started to cut it down. Out of some weird spite I suppose. The other adults in the neighborhood stopped them. It was in the woods behind our houses, and although owned by a radio station, we all felt more like the woods were a part of our neighborhood.

I have a love hate relationship with the huge pecan trees in my yard. They offer shade, but they also make a mess, and they are the last trees to leaf out in spring, so I'd just as soon have something else there, but they are approx. 100 years old, so I can't very well just kill them. And, I'm scared shitless one day they will come down in a storm and crush the house. Stupid pecan trees.

[dug_down_deep]

Id be willing to bet it was a silver maple (you said spring seeds, that means either silver or red). If it was, feel lucky. They are know for getting heart rot and falling on trees and houses.
We have a big old maple growing about 10 yards away from our house. The kids will be gone to college next fall, so I guess myself and my wife will take our chances with being crushed to death. Because I couldn't bring myself to cut it down, and don't have the money to hire anyone to do it anyway. Damn it.

[Anne]

I understand... I really do...

[nygreenguy]

Id be willing to bet it was a silver maple (you said spring seeds, that means either silver or red). If it was, feel lucky. They are know for getting heart rot and falling on trees and houses.
We have a big old maple growing about 10 yards away from our house. The kids will be gone to college next fall, so I guess myself and my wife will take our chances with being crushed to death. Because I couldn't bring myself to cut it down, and don't have the money to hire anyone to do it anyway. Damn it.


Once I learned how invasive and awful those trees were I lost all compassion for them. :)

[Anne]

hey, nygg--- we have two evergreens at the new place, and I hate one of them---

can you give me a good reason to get rid of them?

(gee, my heart sank. I love trees... but not this one's placement...)

[sohy]

hey, nygg--- we have two evergreens at the new place, and I hate one of them---

can you give me a good reason to get rid of them?

(gee, my heart sank. I love trees... but not this one's placement...)r

I don't think you need a good reason if it's in a bad location and you don't like it. If it's a pine tree, I think that's reason enough for it to die. Those damn things blow over in bad storms and can damage property. We've gotten rid of about six of them since we've been in our house. One had pine beetles, four were blocking the sun from the pool and one was was way too close to a power line. Do any of those reasons work for you?

I love trees too, but not every single one of them.

[nygreenguy]

hey, nygg--- we have two evergreens at the new place, and I hate one of them---

can you give me a good reason to get rid of them?

(gee, my heart sank. I love trees... but not this one's placement...)

Well, depends on what it is!

[Anne]

The one I like is in power lines. The other isn't. :(

I figured you'd see it soonish and can tell us then... ;)

[Brianna]

The one I like is in power lines. The other isn't. :(

I figured you'd see it soonish and can tell us then... ;)

if it is in the power lines. coming from someone who works for the power plant... trim it before the power company does. I promise you that you will not like what they do.

[nygreenguy]

The one I like is in power lines. The other isn't. :(

I figured you'd see it soonish and can tell us then... ;)

oh yeah, that is soon! I lost the webpage.

[dug_down_deep]

The one I like is in power lines. The other isn't. :(

I figured you'd see it soonish and can tell us then... ;)

if it is in the power lines. coming from someone who works for the power plant... trim it before the power company does. I promise you that you will not like what they do.
Um, probably being a little overly parental here, but... If it's in power lines, don't trim it yourself. You could get electrocuted.

[A Dead Relative]

I have never cried over a tree, or missed one that bad, but every time I look at trees cut back for power lines I cringe. Trees are suppose to have a defining shape, and when they are cut back that much it's really ugly. One of the trees had a monstrous U cut in it.

I was trying to explain the whole shape thing to someone, and they looked at me like I was crazy, and telling me, "it's a stupid tree."

[tjakey]

My parents also live in the house I grew up in. My Dad planted an oak right in the middle of the front yard. Now, nearly 5 decades later that is one of the most regal trees I have ever seen, smack in the heart of a Pittsburgh suburb.

[Hevvin Machine]

Once I learned how invasive and awful those trees were I lost all compassion for them. :)
My understanding is that maples are native to this part of the world, the northeast quadrant of the USA. Grass-> pines-> oak/hickory -> beech/maple (with some redbuds and dogwoods thrown in for a splash of color).

Humans can be invasive and awful. But I don't think losing all compassion for them is quite the appropriate response:p
Hev

ps~ Over the last few days the yard company routed out the stump, redid the topsoil, and planted grass. This morning when I left for work the guy was spreading straw. He probably had no idea why I threw my coffee mug at him.*


* I didn't really, I just enjoyed fantasizing about doing that!

[Daynna]

I remember being very sad when my grandparents cut down my favorite climbing tree at their house. I spent a lot of time in it (was a lonely lonely child heh).

I could never cut down an old tree. It seems disrespectful to kill something so long-lived.

(ADD kicking in) Speaking of trees, we have two beautiful blooming trees in the front yard of our rental house and they really smell bad. My husband says they smell like dog farts, but I can't describe it really. If I post a pic will someone tell me what they are? :)

[nygreenguy]

My understanding is that maples are native to this part of the world, the northeast quadrant of the USA. Grass-> pines-> oak/hickory -> beech/maple (with some redbuds and dogwoods thrown in for a splash of color). They are, but that doesnt mean that cant have an invasive habit. (also called weedy)

[Puck]

Give it a shot, Daynna. I bet we can figure it out.

[Anne]

The one I like is in power lines. The other isn't. :(

I figured you'd see it soonish and can tell us then... ;)

if it is in the power lines. coming from someone who works for the power plant... trim it before the power company does. I promise you that you will not like what they do.

heh. I know.

However, the power lines are entwined halfway up the tree. It's dead, not a 'trim'.

And, yeah, what BD said.

[Brianna]

The one I like is in power lines. The other isn't. :(

I figured you'd see it soonish and can tell us then... ;)

if it is in the power lines. coming from someone who works for the power plant... trim it before the power company does. I promise you that you will not like what they do.

heh. I know.

However, the power lines are entwined halfway up the tree. It's dead, not a 'trim'.

And, yeah, what BD said.

Yep. If it isn't it will be topped.

report it to the power company, they might take it out for you.

[nygreenguy]

I remember being very sad when my grandparents cut down my favorite climbing tree at their house. I spent a lot of time in it (was a lonely lonely child heh).

I could never cut down an old tree. It seems disrespectful to kill something so long-lived.

(ADD kicking in) Speaking of trees, we have two beautiful blooming trees in the front yard of our rental house and they really smell bad. My husband says they smell like dog farts, but I can't describe it really. If I post a pic will someone tell me what they are? :)

Since I teach dendrology, I sure hope I can! Im willing to bet, right now, they are magnolias of some sort.

[Daynna]

Awesome! I have a horrible digital camera and couldn't figure out how to focus up close. Here is a link to a pic of the whole tree, and a blurry up close of the flowers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27452051@N00/3456264241/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27452051@N00/3457082218/

My hubby corrected me on his description of the smell. He said it was a mixture of dog farts AND antifreeze lol.

[nygreenguy]

To me it looks like a Pyrus calleryana, Callery Pear (or the Bradford cultivar, cant tell).

The flowers are pretty, but smelly. These are planted everywhere. The flowers are a dead giveaway for something in the rose (rosaceae) family.

[Daynna]

Thanks! I looked them up on google images, but they look too similar for me to tell. The leaves just grew in today. They appeared overnight! I'm clueless when it comes to things that grow. :)

I was walking across the campus (where I work) the other day and took a new route as a shortcut. Suddenly that familiar smell assaulted me. Sure enough, there was a whole line of the things along the walkway. They are very pretty, though!

[nygreenguy]

Thanks! I looked them up on google images, but they look too similar for me to tell. The leaves just grew in today. They appeared overnight! I'm clueless when it comes to things that grow. :)

I was walking across the campus (where I work) the other day and took a new route as a shortcut. Suddenly that familiar smell assaulted me. Sure enough, there was a whole line of the things along the walkway. They are very pretty, though!

They are planted because they are practically invincible, the flowers are pretty and the leaves stay on a long time! Unfortunately, they smell like ass, with a hint of ethylene glycol.

[nygreenguy]

Once I learned how invasive and awful those trees were I lost all compassion for them. :)
My understanding is that maples are native to this part of the world, the northeast quadrant of the USA. Grass-> pines-> oak/hickory -> beech/maple (with some redbuds and dogwoods thrown in for a splash of color).

Humans can be invasive and awful. But I don't think losing all compassion for them is quite the appropriate response:p
Hev I think I should have explained a bit better.


Now, just because it is native doesnt mean its a good idea to plant it. When looking for street trees, there are some key characteristics you want.

1) small stature
2) Disease resistance
3) salt resistance
4) longevity
5) Pretty flowers or fruit and fruit that isnt annoying.

Silver maple doesnt fit any of these. These trees get huge, fast. They have awful fruit that get everywhere. They have a VERY short life (~50-70 years) and they tend to get heartrot. Now, when you hear about a storm knocking down tons of trees, 90% of the time its silver maple. And you know how big these trees get, when they fall, they cause damage! They are simply one of the worst trees to plant for landscaping but because they grow SO fast, people plant them!