jojo wrote:

Thank you Gary,
How long is very long? They obviously get huge (which would be nice) but the
gap would be that big too
when they die...ug.

This one is rather large..8' tall? and there are no others in the
vicinity...

The length of life seems to vary. I have one that recently faded away
that has a 5" dia. trunk and has been here since I moved into this house
15 years ago. Others have died that have 1.5" trunks, probably 7 or 8
years old. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how long
they live. Since they seem to grow from seeds readily(I presume that's
how they spread), I would think you would get them started, and let
smaller ones grow up under the larger ones so they can continually
replace themselves. This is fine along the edge of a yard or woods, but
doesn't look quite as good out in the center of a mowed space. A good
background tree, but not a center of attention.

Gary