Dying MonkeyPuzzle?

[DrTerp]

We bought this house in Tucson, AZ a couple of years ago and there is a 30' Monkeypuzzle tree here (or so I am told). It is dropping a lot of its 'leaves' or spines or whatever one might call them. Mainly from the upper middle section of the tree. I am assuming this is because we are not watering it enough. The first year we watered it with a surface trickle for about an hour every other day. This year, we sort of let the monsoons take care of it.

I have mixed feelings about the tree as I don't like the falling leaves all over the yard, especially considering how hard and sharp they are.

My questions are ...
1) How should I be watering this tree
2) With proper care, will the leaves that have fallen off come back or will if forever have the unsightly gaps in the middle of the tree?

Trying to have a tree in the middle of the desert (and sort of wondering why - until the sun comes up of course - then the shade is quite nice).

If there are other problems or care issues besides simply watering, please let me know.

Cheers,
DrTerp

 

[treeclimber165]

I have had the misfortune of removing ONE monkeypuzzle (Chile Pine is another name for it). I honestly believe this tree is one of God's mistakes. But you live in the desert and trees are hard to come by. The tree will ALWAYS be nasty and messy, no matter what you do.
If you keep it for the shade, great. As for 'care', all I can say is that the damn things are almost impossible to kill. If you opt for removal, keep in mind most EXPERIENCED treemen won't want anything to do with it for less than exhorbitant prices. If you get a 'cheap' price, the guy has NO IDEA what he is tackling.
Good luck with your dilemma.

 

[Treeman14]

Aw, c'mon Brian. They're not THAT bad. I've removed a dozen or so. You just need good gloves and watch where you grab. The seed pods are extremely heavy and downright hazardous when they fall from the tree.

 

[treeclimber165]

A crane, bucket truck and dump truck is the ONLY way I would EVER do one of those again!