Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Hi Folks -
I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Will redbud grow in you zone? It's a beautiful tree and grows very quickly.
It's downside is that it is not particularly long lived. "Tom Newton" wrote in message ... Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Have you tried Martin Viette nurseries, in East Norwich, Nassau County? I
consider their container trees very large. Personally, I would plant another American Dogwood, maybe a different color this time. It's a beautiful native tree. Another nice exotic is the Japanese snowbell tree (syringa). Very pretty in bloom. ~flick |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
The message
from "Tom Newton" contains these words: Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? If your previous cornus's ailment was an infectious disease common to the species, it's possible a very expensive new one will become infected by planting it in the same place. Janet |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
The message
from "Tom Newton" contains these words: Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? If your previous cornus's ailment was an infectious disease common to the species, it's possible a very expensive new one will become infected by planting it in the same place. Janet |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
In article , "Tom Newton"
wrote: Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom You should call around to growers until you find a specialist who doesn't merely "find" mature trees to move for you, but acclimates them before sales -- usually a sideline of tree nurseries & hybriders & grafting companies who have all the tree-moving equipment so also salvage interesting trees before housing are torn down or whatnot, or take them from salvagers to acclimate for later sale. The companies that merely "find & move" the trees don't have a very good success rate, maybe 70% of the trees die if they've merely been ripped ou of some future construction sight & plopped in a hole in another yard. But growers who also acclimate salvaged finds for sale a year or two later get some really nice things & really know how to baby them through those first stressful months following a dig-up & root-shortening. They'll usually guarantee them for a year. Some retail nursery near you probably also just trucks in container-grown bigger maples & beeches & bigger field-grown cedars & such -- not many nurseries have the clientelle & the space, but most regions have one or two places that have impressive larger tree stocks (& they'll know where to get items bigger still, but you may find a 15 to 20 foot tree is more than sufficient to start with). I love maples & they should be available in all reasonable sizes up to 20 feet without searching too distantly. If they can be selected in autumn you'll know for sure you have great autumn colors -- not all are of equal merit in autumn no matter how lovely in spring. But bigger Japanese maples may make your $2,500 budget look awfully shy of enough. Most commonly gardened trees surprise me by their affordability, but with Japanese maples it's shocking what some of them go for past twelve feet. Some pretty good-sized beeches in the 10-15 foot range tend to be very affordable, & they're great trees that bulk up & heighten rapidly. I'm seriously enamored of beeches & one of the sadnesses of having only a small bit of land to garden is I cannot collect beeches as easily as crocuses -- I'd have twenty different kinds if I owned enough land. They're mostly container-grown even at surprisingly large sizes, are trouble-free in the ground, & come in all sorts of shapes & leaf-colors & leaf-shapes, & they grow fast without getting weak or outgrowing a yard. Kousa I'm only moderately fond of, but there are some stranger lesser-seen dogwoods that turn up for sale from time to time. It's too bad you're not a northwesterner as I could send you right to a couple places that'd have almost-affordable trees at sizes that impress -- most places around the nation can't match the good prices we get here, but the bigger specimens are certainly available in most places for a bigger price. The rich variety of cedar cultivars is also very impressive, many shapes & sizes available. If you got a fifteen-footer cheap with a rootball surprisingly small for the tree's height, some of those will put on 18 inches a year & bulk up around the base pretty fast too, yet many of the named cultivars max out at 30 or 40 feet so never get big enough to threaten a house. Plan to drive a little distance when you find out which are the nurseries that do stock and/or acclimate larger trees. When you see them in front of you you'll see so many options. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Personally, I would plant another American Dogwood, maybe a different color
this time. It's a beautiful native tree. They're too susceptible to diseases nowadays. -paggers They're not so wimpy as one might think. The original poster said his was 80 years old; not bad in my book. Around here I see many in bloom, looking lovely for years. Would I take a chance and spend $2500 on one? Well, no. But the small b and b'd dogwoods at the local nursery are definitely worth giving a try. ~flick |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Thanks for such a thoughtful response!
Actually, the earlier comments about the american dogwood (a tree native to my area) ... bith for and against. It's funny it was mentioned because my tree guy has located an american dogwood on a person's yard 10- miles away -- my guy wants 2,200 installed, he'll garantee the tree. My wife and I drove past the tree a few days ago, I'd say its a 20+ year old american dogwood -- and perfect specimen that never got the fungus or the beetle. It's about 18ft high and 15ft round, almost perfectly symetrical... the stem is about 7 inches diameter -- nice tree The only concern we have is by placing it where our old american dogwood finally died of disease and blew over a year ago, we may be putting the new tree at risk. But then again it's garanteed, and once we do get it established, we can give it preventative medicine, right? Kousa's are a safer choice for sure, but a nice original pink blossoming american dogwood would make a nice centerpiece Tom "paghat" wrote in message ... In article , "Tom Newton" wrote: Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom You should call around to growers until you find a specialist who doesn't merely "find" mature trees to move for you, but acclimates them before sales -- usually a sideline of tree nurseries & hybriders & grafting companies who have all the tree-moving equipment so also salvage interesting trees before housing are torn down or whatnot, or take them from salvagers to acclimate for later sale. The companies that merely "find & move" the trees don't have a very good success rate, maybe 70% of the trees die if they've merely been ripped ou of some future construction sight & plopped in a hole in another yard. But growers who also acclimate salvaged finds for sale a year or two later get some really nice things & really know how to baby them through those first stressful months following a dig-up & root-shortening. They'll usually guarantee them for a year. Some retail nursery near you probably also just trucks in container-grown bigger maples & beeches & bigger field-grown cedars & such -- not many nurseries have the clientelle & the space, but most regions have one or two places that have impressive larger tree stocks (& they'll know where to get items bigger still, but you may find a 15 to 20 foot tree is more than sufficient to start with). I love maples & they should be available in all reasonable sizes up to 20 feet without searching too distantly. If they can be selected in autumn you'll know for sure you have great autumn colors -- not all are of equal merit in autumn no matter how lovely in spring. But bigger Japanese maples may make your $2,500 budget look awfully shy of enough. Most commonly gardened trees surprise me by their affordability, but with Japanese maples it's shocking what some of them go for past twelve feet. Some pretty good-sized beeches in the 10-15 foot range tend to be very affordable, & they're great trees that bulk up & heighten rapidly. I'm seriously enamored of beeches & one of the sadnesses of having only a small bit of land to garden is I cannot collect beeches as easily as crocuses -- I'd have twenty different kinds if I owned enough land. They're mostly container-grown even at surprisingly large sizes, are trouble-free in the ground, & come in all sorts of shapes & leaf-colors & leaf-shapes, & they grow fast without getting weak or outgrowing a yard. Kousa I'm only moderately fond of, but there are some stranger lesser-seen dogwoods that turn up for sale from time to time. It's too bad you're not a northwesterner as I could send you right to a couple places that'd have almost-affordable trees at sizes that impress -- most places around the nation can't match the good prices we get here, but the bigger specimens are certainly available in most places for a bigger price. The rich variety of cedar cultivars is also very impressive, many shapes & sizes available. If you got a fifteen-footer cheap with a rootball surprisingly small for the tree's height, some of those will put on 18 inches a year & bulk up around the base pretty fast too, yet many of the named cultivars max out at 30 or 40 feet so never get big enough to threaten a house. Plan to drive a little distance when you find out which are the nurseries that do stock and/or acclimate larger trees. When you see them in front of you you'll see so many options. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Thanks for such a thoughtful response!
Actually, the earlier comments about the american dogwood (a tree native to my area) ... bith for and against. It's funny it was mentioned because my tree guy has located an american dogwood on a person's yard 10- miles away -- my guy wants 2,200 installed, he'll garantee the tree. My wife and I drove past the tree a few days ago, I'd say its a 20+ year old american dogwood -- and perfect specimen that never got the fungus or the beetle. It's about 18ft high and 15ft round, almost perfectly symetrical... the stem is about 7 inches diameter -- nice tree The only concern we have is by placing it where our old american dogwood finally died of disease and blew over a year ago, we may be putting the new tree at risk. But then again it's garanteed, and once we do get it established, we can give it preventative medicine, right? Kousa's are a safer choice for sure, but a nice original pink blossoming american dogwood would make a nice centerpiece Tom "paghat" wrote in message ... In article , "Tom Newton" wrote: Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom You should call around to growers until you find a specialist who doesn't merely "find" mature trees to move for you, but acclimates them before sales -- usually a sideline of tree nurseries & hybriders & grafting companies who have all the tree-moving equipment so also salvage interesting trees before housing are torn down or whatnot, or take them from salvagers to acclimate for later sale. The companies that merely "find & move" the trees don't have a very good success rate, maybe 70% of the trees die if they've merely been ripped ou of some future construction sight & plopped in a hole in another yard. But growers who also acclimate salvaged finds for sale a year or two later get some really nice things & really know how to baby them through those first stressful months following a dig-up & root-shortening. They'll usually guarantee them for a year. Some retail nursery near you probably also just trucks in container-grown bigger maples & beeches & bigger field-grown cedars & such -- not many nurseries have the clientelle & the space, but most regions have one or two places that have impressive larger tree stocks (& they'll know where to get items bigger still, but you may find a 15 to 20 foot tree is more than sufficient to start with). I love maples & they should be available in all reasonable sizes up to 20 feet without searching too distantly. If they can be selected in autumn you'll know for sure you have great autumn colors -- not all are of equal merit in autumn no matter how lovely in spring. But bigger Japanese maples may make your $2,500 budget look awfully shy of enough. Most commonly gardened trees surprise me by their affordability, but with Japanese maples it's shocking what some of them go for past twelve feet. Some pretty good-sized beeches in the 10-15 foot range tend to be very affordable, & they're great trees that bulk up & heighten rapidly. I'm seriously enamored of beeches & one of the sadnesses of having only a small bit of land to garden is I cannot collect beeches as easily as crocuses -- I'd have twenty different kinds if I owned enough land. They're mostly container-grown even at surprisingly large sizes, are trouble-free in the ground, & come in all sorts of shapes & leaf-colors & leaf-shapes, & they grow fast without getting weak or outgrowing a yard. Kousa I'm only moderately fond of, but there are some stranger lesser-seen dogwoods that turn up for sale from time to time. It's too bad you're not a northwesterner as I could send you right to a couple places that'd have almost-affordable trees at sizes that impress -- most places around the nation can't match the good prices we get here, but the bigger specimens are certainly available in most places for a bigger price. The rich variety of cedar cultivars is also very impressive, many shapes & sizes available. If you got a fifteen-footer cheap with a rootball surprisingly small for the tree's height, some of those will put on 18 inches a year & bulk up around the base pretty fast too, yet many of the named cultivars max out at 30 or 40 feet so never get big enough to threaten a house. Plan to drive a little distance when you find out which are the nurseries that do stock and/or acclimate larger trees. When you see them in front of you you'll see so many options. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
"Tom Newton" wrote in message ... Thanks for such a thoughtful response! Actually, the earlier comments about the american dogwood (a tree native to my area) ... bith for and against. It's funny it was mentioned because my tree guy has located an american dogwood on a person's yard 10- miles away -- my guy wants 2,200 installed, he'll garantee the tree. My wife and I drove past the tree a few days ago, I'd say its a 20+ year old american dogwood -- and perfect specimen that never got the fungus or the beetle. It's about 18ft high and 15ft round, almost perfectly symetrical... the stem is about 7 inches diameter -- nice tree The only concern we have is by placing it where our old american dogwood finally died of disease and blew over a year ago, we may be putting the new tree at risk. But then again it's garanteed, and once we do get it established, we can give it preventative medicine, right? Kousa's are a safer choice for sure, but a nice original pink blossoming american dogwood would make a nice centerpiece Tom Replanting with another eastern dogwood, Cornus canadensis, (not 'American' -there is also a western dogwood species) will not automatically assure that tree will contract the same problems. Dogwood anthracnose, the most common reason for failure of eastern AND western dogwoods, is not site specific - it is species specific and location will have little, if anything, to do with your new tree contracting the problem. OTOH, transplanting a fairly mature specimen of the same species (and $2200 is going to be a good sized tree) is asking for problems, guaranteed or not. These trees are just too prone to this rapidly spreading pathogen and stress due to transplant shock can be a real stimulus to developing this ailment. And there is no effective means of prevention. If your heart is set on a dogwood, look for a kousa or one of the Rutgers hybrids, both of which demonstrate considerable disease resistance. IMO, kousas put on a much better and long lasting show than either the eastern or western species. Other trees to consider in addition to these or pretty near any form of Japanese maple are Stewartia psuedocamellia or monadelpha, Parrotia persica, paperbark maple (Acer grisseum), Styrax japonica or katsura (Cercidiphyllum). These should all be available (at appropriate costs) in specimen sizes and with the exception of the maples, have no significant disease or pest problems. FWIW, transplanting a specimen sized tree is always a concern. For the money you are planning to invest, a guarantee is essential. pam - gardengal |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
I think a good centerpiece tree for Long Island would be some really
beautiful variety of Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana). I'm not particularly fond of the pale pink and white varieties, but there are some that come in darker rose colors - and when I lived in the Southeast I loved to pass a particular tree that had deep purple buds opening to a deep reddish purple. I have never been able to find the name of that variety. Anyway, the magnolias should be "transplantable" and long lived - and in some years, the trees will rebloom in August. "Tom Newton" wrote in message ... Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Wow Pam -
Excellent advice. We're still on the fence about the Eastern Dogwood... the problem is I pass on the to work every day and I'm starting to get attached to it! By the way, the tree man also has an amazing 20ft Jap red maple... symetrical, massive... he wants $4500 installed and garanteed... I'll tell you... if I had the money... this one is definitely awesome... Changes are we'll hold out for a kousa -- thanks! Tom "Pam - gardengal" wrote in message news:xlR6c.45597$1p.719758@attbi_s54... "Tom Newton" wrote in message ... Thanks for such a thoughtful response! Actually, the earlier comments about the american dogwood (a tree native to my area) ... bith for and against. It's funny it was mentioned because my tree guy has located an american dogwood on a person's yard 10- miles away -- my guy wants 2,200 installed, he'll garantee the tree. My wife and I drove past the tree a few days ago, I'd say its a 20+ year old american dogwood -- and perfect specimen that never got the fungus or the beetle. It's about 18ft high and 15ft round, almost perfectly symetrical... the stem is about 7 inches diameter -- nice tree The only concern we have is by placing it where our old american dogwood finally died of disease and blew over a year ago, we may be putting the new tree at risk. But then again it's garanteed, and once we do get it established, we can give it preventative medicine, right? Kousa's are a safer choice for sure, but a nice original pink blossoming american dogwood would make a nice centerpiece Tom Replanting with another eastern dogwood, Cornus canadensis, (not 'American' -there is also a western dogwood species) will not automatically assure that tree will contract the same problems. Dogwood anthracnose, the most common reason for failure of eastern AND western dogwoods, is not site specific - it is species specific and location will have little, if anything, to do with your new tree contracting the problem. OTOH, transplanting a fairly mature specimen of the same species (and $2200 is going to be a good sized tree) is asking for problems, guaranteed or not. These trees are just too prone to this rapidly spreading pathogen and stress due to transplant shock can be a real stimulus to developing this ailment. And there is no effective means of prevention. If your heart is set on a dogwood, look for a kousa or one of the Rutgers hybrids, both of which demonstrate considerable disease resistance. IMO, kousas put on a much better and long lasting show than either the eastern or western species. Other trees to consider in addition to these or pretty near any form of Japanese maple are Stewartia psuedocamellia or monadelpha, Parrotia persica, paperbark maple (Acer grisseum), Styrax japonica or katsura (Cercidiphyllum). These should all be available (at appropriate costs) in specimen sizes and with the exception of the maples, have no significant disease or pest problems. FWIW, transplanting a specimen sized tree is always a concern. For the money you are planning to invest, a guarantee is essential. pam - gardengal |
Looking for a Centerpiece Tree
Great Idea !
Actually, the other end of our yard alrady has a wonderful magnolia (we call "her" maggie) that already acts as a centerpeice of that area -- thanks! Tom "gregpresley" wrote in message ... I think a good centerpiece tree for Long Island would be some really beautiful variety of Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana). I'm not particularly fond of the pale pink and white varieties, but there are some that come in darker rose colors - and when I lived in the Southeast I loved to pass a particular tree that had deep purple buds opening to a deep reddish purple. I have never been able to find the name of that variety. Anyway, the magnolias should be "transplantable" and long lived - and in some years, the trees will rebloom in August. "Tom Newton" wrote in message ... Hi Folks - I live on Long Island. Last fall, we lost our beloved american dogwood, which was the centerpiece of the backyard. It was 80 years old, big round and craggy, a real gem, but it has been dying a slow death from various ailments common to the species, and it finally fell in a wind storm in December. Anyway, there's a void out there in the backyard that my wife and I can't stand anymore. We'd like another nice round show-piece type of tree in that spot, perhaps a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese Red, but the nursery size versions of these trees are tiny... and will take forever to grow to the size we like. So at this point we're considering having a tree company locate us a mature tree locally and transplant it here with a budget of about $2500. Besides a Kousa or a Jap Red, are there any other recommendations out there? Thanks for any advice. Tom |
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