Trees you like, Trees you dislike.

[pdqdl]

Thanks for the explanation of the chinese sumac, They do sound like a tree you would not want.

We also do a lot of mowing, particularly rough area mowing.

It is common for us to show up at an abandoned property to mow [city ordinance violation] and find that the entire backyard is filled with these trees. There would be about one 1"-3" tree trunk every 2' to 5' apart. All about 15' tall. What a mess!

No one around here calls them "Chinese sumac", although that is probably the best description for them. They are best known in KC as "paradise trees". Also "tree-of-heaven", although that is less common. One old gentlemen that I knew called them "Sink trees" due to their foul odor.

Did I forget to mention that? They smell worse than any other tree I know. Way worse than cottonwood, walnut, or sycamore that I have read other guys commenting about.

 

[stihl sawing]

You really don't like the chinese sumac, Do you.LOL They do sound like a mess. Don't think i'll be planting none of them.

 

[ropensaddle]

I like Salix caprea, a name is everything

 

[stihl sawing]

I like Salix caprea, a name is everything

UH okay, Another one i'll have to go to the internet and look up.LOL

 

[Saw Bones]

catalpa. Excellent fishing bait, but the worms seem to be on decline the last few years... anyone know why?

My guess would be due to the increased use of Pesticides in the environment.

Even with the restrictions on what we can buy and use, there are a lot more people in the world than there were 20 years ago using variouis pesticides.

Maybe climate changes also.

 

[pdqdl]

... One old gentlemen that I knew called them "Sink trees" due to their foul odor.

Did I forget to mention that? They smell worse than any other tree I know. Way worse than cottonwood, walnut, or sycamore that I have read other guys commenting about.

Oops.

I hate typos: STINK trees. And they do.

 

[pdqdl]

My guess would be due to the increased use of Pesticides in the environment.

Even with the restrictions on what we can buy and use, there are a lot more people in the world than there were 20 years ago using variouis pesticides.

Maybe climate changes also.

I would bet against pesticides. The worms turn into Catalpa Sphynx moths, which are not prone to visiting anything likely to have pesticides, at least that I am aware of.

There may not be as many catalpa trees as 50 years ago, but I doubt that is a problem. They seem to be doing fine in the KC area.

I think it comes back to the braconid wasps and other predators. It is a natural cycle with predators and prey that too many predators cause a severe decline in prey. Not enough prey, the predators begin to decline while the prey makes a comeback. A few years ago, I was watching the catalpa worms (that's when I became aware of them) and learned a little bit about them. That year, there were lots of them in the trees.

Last year, there was a bumper crop in the tree outside my in-laws house, but the entire crop was wiped out by parasitic wasps. This was probably a local problem, and catalpa trees 5 miles away may have been heavily infested with no parasitic wasps to reduce the population.

Think about it: how many people spray catalpa trees?

 

[ClimbinArbor]

Braconid wasps. Generally considered a gardeners best friend, because they parasitize insect caterpillars.

Here is an excellent short story about the catalpa worms and the wasps, imbedded in this article: http://hcs.osu.edu/bygl/bygl2006_22.html
Look down the page quite a way to find the story.

Here is a better picture of one of the worms hanging in death from an infestation:

HOLY CRAP!!! those things dont just kill the worms, they eradicate them lol.

thx for the feedback pd. +1

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I don't know if I replied in this thread yet, but just in case, here's my first thoughts on it this morning...

NO - NO LIST

1. Robinia - mainly the latest in nurseries / disintegrates almost right away
2. Redbud - some scale in our area / most generally very weakly developed here
3. Red leaf plum - one variety & don't recall name. Will know it by ton of suckers in pot
4. Pin oak - due to holding leaves.
5. Raywood ash - disintegrates quick / weak unions typical
6. Sweetgum - too brittle for our area

YES

1. Western hemlock (no adelgid problem here)
2. Crimson sentry maple
3. Purple beech
4. Japanese snowbell
5. Pink dogwood
6. Sequioadendron
7. Stewartia


That's a few for each list.

 

[stihl sawing]

NO - NO LIST


2. Redbud - some scale in our area / most generally very weakly developed here

Can't argue with that, we have a large redbud and i don't see how it still stands. The thing is hollow and has knots all over it. It still blooms every spring though.

 

[greengoblin]

Personally, I cant stand cedar trees. They are weed trees around here.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Personally, I cant stand cedar trees. They are weed trees around here.

Do you mean "Cedrus", or are you thinking of naturalized trees with scale-like needles similar to our western red cedar.

My guess is that you mean your naturalized tree, since you said "weeds".

I like the look of our western red cedar, but they do tend to drop a lot of debris when they get big, and some homeowners don't like all that spent foliage.

 

[ropensaddle]

I love cedars natural bug repellent and great wind, dust breaks!
Not to mention excellent timber--------------

 

[pdqdl]

I love cedars natural bug repellent and great wind, dust breaks!
Not to mention excellent timber--------------

How can this be? I always thought you were pretty sensible.

Are you cracking jokes again ?

 

[stihl sawing]

I love cedars natural bug repellent and great wind, dust breaks!
Not to mention excellent timber--------------

We have a large cedar too. It don't leave a mess. Nice looking tree. The only thing is small cedars come up everywhere And seem like they do it year round. Which we just mow over them.

 

[Kogafortwo]

My favorite trees on my place are Catabla (i think that's how you spell it) They are an excellent shade tree. Plus when they have worms on the leaves they make excellent fishing bait. However, I haven't had any worms on them in years.

The one I hate the most is chinese tallow. Of course everyone hates them.

+1 on the chinese tallow. I just cut all mine down.
And I didn't need no stinkin' permit. They were only 9.99 inches DBH, swear to God.

Like: red & silver maples, bald cypress
Love: live oaks, white oaks

 

[(WLL)]

i like most all trees but for my yard i really like all the flowering ornamental pear,plum,apple,magnolia,cherry,dogwood, and the list goes on and on and on. this time of year these trees are absolutely beautiful and so are many bushes and shrubs