Garden Tip: “Neil! I need a fast-growing shade tree. Which ones are best?” A lady called my statewide radio program this morning. She lives in Bowie, and she said she wanted a fast-growing tree that would grow very large. I asked her to list the things that would be most critical for her new tree. I acknowledged that she wanted fast growth and a large tree. She preferred deciduous. I asked if it needed to be a pretty tree, and she said, “of course.” I asked if she cared if it had serious insect or disease problems, and she replied, “I don’t want those.” I asked if it needed to be adapted to her soils and climate, and she agreed that it did. So we made this list: Fast growth Large Deciduous Attractive Pest-free Adapted And I said to her, if I could deliver several trees that would have five of those six assets, which one would she take off her list. She thought for a moment, and then she concurred that fast growth was the least critical feature. Truth is, when you choose a live oak, Shumard red oak, chinquapin oak, bur oak, cedar elm, pecan or Chinese pistachio, your tree will grow 75 percent as fast as the “trash trees” and live 10 times as long.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 17:30:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015