I've got 6 or 7 mesquite seedlings and one ironwood seedling from seeds I
picked up off the ground
in Phoenix this summer. They're about 7" - 8" tall now. I know that
various mesquite varieties are hardy to about 0 degrees F. I'm just
outside Boston, and one or two days a year we hit 0 or go just below.
I thought I'd try planting one or two in a protected sw-facing patch in
an L-shaped corner outside my house.
Do you think they'd survive? I'd cover them if it got near 0.
Do you think they'd thrive come spring? (or, I could wait to plant them
until spring).
I'm afraid the roots may be invasive. Would they likely hurt the
foundation of the house?
Just wondering what you all think.
Thanks,
Ed

MLEBLANCA wrote:
:Do you think they'd survive? I'd cover them if it got near 0.
:Do you think they'd thrive come spring? (or, I could wait to plant them
:until spring).
:I'm afraid the roots may be invasive. Would they likely hurt the
:foundation of the house?
:Just wondering what you all think.
:Thanks,
:Ed
:
:
: Ed, I think that mesquite is not a very suitable plant for a home
: garden. It is a Phreatophyte. What does that mean? It means it
: has very long, probing roots that will seek out water from the water
: table, or OTHER PERMANENT WATER SOURCE.. This means
: your sewer, water pipes, well, septic tank would be a suitable
: substitute for a high water table.
: It also needs lots of heat, and room to spread.. In good soil, with
: lots of water available, they can reach 20-30 feet in height.
: Maybe in a container with poor soil????

: Emilie

Thanks for your helpful cautionary advice. It made me reconsider, and
makes me think I will confine them to big containers (where they probably
won't prosper, but rather that than water line problems.)
I wonder...with their voracious thirst, how did they become so prolific
in Phoenix? Do their tap roots reach so far down that they eventually hit
groundwater?
It's funny, mesquite seeds are supposed to be hard to start. I notched a
few, soaked a few overnight, and quite a few sprouted. But I've had zero
luck with the dozens of creosote seeds I've tried to start. (Why would I
want creosote? I love the smell of creosote in the morning, to change a
phrase) Oh, they sprout, then quickly die. May be too wet in the peat
pots for them.
As you can see, I'm one Bostonian who is in New England winter denial, or
trying to get there, anyway.
Cheers,
Ed

In article ,
says...
I wonder...with their voracious thirst, how did they become so prolific
in Phoenix? Do their tap roots reach so far down that they eventually hit
groundwater?


They have been found as deep as 150 feet below the
surface and supposedly can reach over 200 feet.
--

http://home.comcast.net/~larflu/owl1.jpg

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

In article , Ed
writes:

I've got 6 or 7 mesquite seedlings and one ironwood seedling from seeds I
picked up off the ground
in Phoenix this summer. They're about 7" - 8" tall now. I know that
various mesquite varieties are hardy to about 0 degrees F. I'm just
outside Boston, and one or two days a year we hit 0 or go just below.
I thought I'd try planting one or two in a protected sw-facing patch in
an L-shaped corner outside my house.
Do you think they'd survive? I'd cover them if it got near 0.
Do you think they'd thrive come spring? (or, I could wait to plant them
until spring).
I'm afraid the roots may be invasive. Would they likely hurt the
foundation of the house?
Just wondering what you all think.
Thanks,
Ed


Ed, I think that mesquite is not a very suitable plant for a home
garden. It is a Phreatophyte. What does that mean? It means it
has very long, probing roots that will seek out water from the water
table, or OTHER PERMANENT WATER SOURCE.. This means
your sewer, water pipes, well, septic tank would be a suitable
substitute for a high water table.
It also needs lots of heat, and room to spread.. In good soil, with
lots of water available, they can reach 20-30 feet in height.
Maybe in a container with poor soil????

Emilie
NorCal