On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:03:21 -0500, George Shirley
wrote:

Treedweller wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 15:50:47 -0500, George Shirley
wrote:


That's why we don't have any. We often get winds up to 50 mph and the
Bradfords generally just snap off. Same with the ornamental plums people
plant around here. Got enough trouble with the pine trees snapping off
about 40 feet up and falling during hurricanes. Even oaks are brittle
around here, no tap roots. Only trees that didn't blow over during Rita
were those useless sweet gums.

George

HMM, a tree that survives where no other can . . . sounds pretty
useful to me!

k

They don't blow over because they have tap roots that go to hell. They
don't break because there is no grain to the wood, it's all twisted up
inside, they're a pain in your yard because of the gum balls (seed pods)
they drop. Some are big as a golf ball and they've got little spikes all
over them. If there was an infertile sweet gum I would agree with you
that they would be a good tree to have.

George
In a suburban lawn, it is rare that trees are harvested for lumber.
They are generally planted for shade (i.e., reduced energy costs in
summer) and for beauty. Incidentally, they also mitgate storm runoff,
saving cities money that they would spend on maintaining storm drains
and processing said water. They shade lawns, reducing need/costs of
irrigation (and water is going to be worth gold in coming years). Not
to mention the esoteric benefits of happier communities and reduced
stress in neighborhoods where trees are growing.

I don't really care why they survive; they are valuable assets to our
community and our environment. Your fixation on the inconvenience of
a few spiky balls is not a reason to call these trees useless. Maybe
you should look for a local scout troop. You might convince them to
come pick up the balls for you; they could probably come up with a
nice craft project that would put them to good use.

k