Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Need Tree Ideas...
I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About
seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
The upkeep required on keeping Crapes in tree form is quite a chore, too.
And to get lots of flowers in the summer in Austin, you need to water them every day. However, if you are looking for screening rather than trees, they do make very colorful and tall bushes! And you don't have to water them at all once they are established...but at least a weekly dousing gave me some color. John "escape" wrote in message ... On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:32:33 GMT, "John Baker" opined: I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John Fruit trees require pruning and maintenance, which is well worth it. I have a 'Dixieland' peach tree. It has very low chill hour requirements (400), so it does well here and after three years I had a crop of 15 bushels last summer. Delicious fruit, but you do have to prune. Low chill hours means that, the temperature of 45 degrees or less has to last for at least the recommended amount of chill hours. So, in other words, my tree variety of 'Dixieland' requires 400 hours of temperatures below or at 45 degrees in order to set fruit. I like Crepe myrtles, but they are not evergreen if you want a screen. With fruit, you get to eat what you grow, so I would direct you in that way, but you may not want the upkeep required. Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
John Baker wrote:
I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Thanks, John Plums do well around here. Pretty easy to care for except for birds, coons, and late frosts. -- Gary Brady Austin, TX |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
I said that. But you have way fewer flowers in the Summer if you don't water
them a lot. A trip through West Lake Hills in August is proof of that! John "escape" wrote in message ... On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:48:51 GMT, "Tex John" opined: The upkeep required on keeping Crapes in tree form is quite a chore, too. And to get lots of flowers in the summer in Austin, you need to water them every day. This is a myth. They do not require any pruning, ever. They are drought resistant and can withstand a great period without water if mulched after spring rains. They are over watered if you water every day. However, if you are looking for screening rather than trees, they do make very colorful and tall bushes! And you don't have to water them at all once they are established...but at least a weekly dousing gave me some color. John "escape" wrote in message .. . On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:32:33 GMT, "John Baker" opined: I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John Fruit trees require pruning and maintenance, which is well worth it. I have a 'Dixieland' peach tree. It has very low chill hour requirements (400), so it does well here and after three years I had a crop of 15 bushels last summer. Delicious fruit, but you do have to prune. Low chill hours means that, the temperature of 45 degrees or less has to last for at least the recommended amount of chill hours. So, in other words, my tree variety of 'Dixieland' requires 400 hours of temperatures below or at 45 degrees in order to set fruit. I like Crepe myrtles, but they are not evergreen if you want a screen. With fruit, you get to eat what you grow, so I would direct you in that way, but you may not want the upkeep required. Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I don't overwater mine and I rather hate pruning as an activity so mine
rarely get too much of either so don't expect me to push the nubby-look viewpoint. In Austin, when the plants go dormant in July and August, like most plants, the Crapes quit growing and that includes new leaves and new flowers. Unless you water them every day. I worked in a home-office of a rich fellow that had his sprinkler system set just to water the Crapes every day even though it was illegal (water rationing and all) (it was legal to water them by hand each day, but Lord forbid that he would lift a hand! :) Him and his rich neighbors had the most beautiful Crapes while mine in south Austin (as you say, in MUCH better soil) got a little bare since I was doing the "water once a week just to keep the St Augustine from dying". They still had flowers mind you; they were just old and getting a bit crispy. Don't have that problem here in Houston; everything grows just about all year long. (Oh how I long for the dog days of summer where I only had to mow every other week! Try 4-6 days here for a 'kept' look...) As far as pruning, the OP said he wanted trees. The growth habit of Crapes is more like Yaupon, Waxleaf Ligustrum or even Red Tipped Photinia. One huge bush. Beautiful, especially when covered in bright pink flowers! The best ones I've seen were just north of Columbus on an old farmstead fenceline: easilly 25 feet tall and 20 feet around. No pruning, No watering. And who knows how old. Back to pruning: they throw up so many suckers and they back-bud so easilly, to keep a tree shape (by that I mean "one or more trunks several inches thick and are visible") does take work and constant attention. The suckers alone rob the entire upper portion of the tree of the nutrients that would be going into the flowers which are now going into a new sucker and ANOTHER trunk. And, yeah, once they get big, that oh-so-natural nub look will have you looking into electric saws. Wish I had a fence line to plant some on now. Oh, and let's tell him about making babies. I keep left-over 6" or 1 gallon pots, fill with whatever dirt or soil happens to be handy, and if I cut off a nice shoot or branch, say pencil thick and two feet long, I stick a couple in these pots then put them somewhere they will get watered with my other plants. Next year, free Crapes! No muss, no fuss, no rooting hormone...just stab them in. They are like Ficus around my house...pots of cuttings everywhere! John in Houston "escape" wrote in message ... West Lake Hills is on one to four inches of soil, at the most. It is mostly limestone, caliche and other aggregates. In those instances, I would not select a Crape myrtle. I would have a whole different idea in mind. Then there are areas like mine where I have a minimum of 3 feet of soil before I hit caliche. I found that out when I dug the pool. So, your "upkeep required" is what I took the liberty of correcting. People DO make the mistake of pruning to nubs the limbs of Crape's, but it is wholly unnecessary, as you can see by the beautiful specimens outside the Barton Springs Exhibit building by the pool. Magnificent muscles on those trees. They do not get that large if you prune them. That's all I was saying. On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:45:54 GMT, "Tex John" opined: I said that. But you have way fewer flowers in the Summer if you don't water them a lot. A trip through West Lake Hills in August is proof of that! John "escape" wrote in message .. . On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:48:51 GMT, "Tex John" opined: The upkeep required on keeping Crapes in tree form is quite a chore, too. And to get lots of flowers in the summer in Austin, you need to water them every day. This is a myth. They do not require any pruning, ever. They are drought resistant and can withstand a great period without water if mulched after spring rains. They are over watered if you water every day. However, if you are looking for screening rather than trees, they do make very colorful and tall bushes! And you don't have to water them at all once they are established...but at least a weekly dousing gave me some color. John "escape" wrote in message .. . On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:32:33 GMT, "John Baker" opined: I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John Fruit trees require pruning and maintenance, which is well worth it. I have a 'Dixieland' peach tree. It has very low chill hour requirements (400), so it does well here and after three years I had a crop of 15 bushels last summer. Delicious fruit, but you do have to prune. Low chill hours means that, the temperature of 45 degrees or less has to last for at least the recommended amount of chill hours. So, in other words, my tree variety of 'Dixieland' requires 400 hours of temperatures below or at 45 degrees in order to set fruit. I like Crepe myrtles, but they are not evergreen if you want a screen. With fruit, you get to eat what you grow, so I would direct you in that way, but you may not want the upkeep required. Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
I have had good luck with "Red Rocket" and "Dynamite" crepes.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/e...pear/pear.html http://www.schulznursery.com/Tipsmain.html#FruitTrees "John Baker" wrote in message ... I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Tex John" wrote in message ... The upkeep required on keeping Crapes in tree form is quite a chore, too. And to get lots of flowers in the summer in Austin, you need to water them every day. However, if you are looking for screening rather than trees, they do make very colorful and tall bushes! And you don't have to water them at all once they are established...but at least a weekly dousing gave me some color. John And they have really pretty, interesting bark and trunk shapes when they grow up. Cindy |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Wow. I never water mine--never have. And I get zillions of flowers for
a very long time. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Well...here is what I have done.
After this past weekend...I planted two fruit trees, a Bonanza Dwarf Peach and a Metheny Plum tree. As far as the fence line, well, i thought about the fact that the myrtles wouldn't be so much an additional privacy fence, but more trees and pretty flowers. So...since the budget is not ready for that yet...i'll start thinking about blooming bushes, maybe something like Oleander. thanks for all the ideas and replies, John "John Baker" wrote in message ... I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
If you don't trim it, Crapes will give you a bush. And cuttings are so easy
to root you can do a whole fenceline with just a few plants over a couple of years. Course Oleanders are supposed to be easy to root, too, and give a quicker screen. John in Houston "John Baker" wrote in message ... Well...here is what I have done. After this past weekend...I planted two fruit trees, a Bonanza Dwarf Peach and a Metheny Plum tree. As far as the fence line, well, i thought about the fact that the myrtles wouldn't be so much an additional privacy fence, but more trees and pretty flowers. So...since the budget is not ready for that yet...i'll start thinking about blooming bushes, maybe something like Oleander. thanks for all the ideas and replies, John "John Baker" wrote in message ... I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line. About seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow fast. I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another fence line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what fruits grow well in Austin area. Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just want some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence. Thanks, John |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Tex John wrote: If you don't trim it, Crapes will give you a bush. And cuttings are so easy to root you can do a whole fenceline with just a few plants over a couple of years. Course Oleanders are supposed to be easy to root, too, and give a quicker screen. Crepes will give you a bush or a tree. But if you want it to flower well it still needs to be trimmed at the top and sides. Oleanders are easy to root but they are poisonous to humans. Make sure your children are old enough to understand not to chew on the stalks. A family died painfully after using oleander stalks for barBQ skewers. Harold |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
"Harold Robbins" wrote in message m... Tex John wrote: If you don't trim it, Crapes will give you a bush. And cuttings are so easy to root you can do a whole fenceline with just a few plants over a couple of years. Course Oleanders are supposed to be easy to root, too, and give a quicker screen. Crepes will give you a bush or a tree. But if you want it to flower well it still needs to be trimmed at the top and sides. Oleanders are easy to root but they are poisonous to humans. Make sure your children are old enough to understand not to chew on the stalks. A family died painfully after using oleander stalks for barBQ skewers. Urban Legends http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/oleander.htm "Origins: This sorrowful tale of the fatal poisoning by oleander sticks used to roast treats over a campfire has been part of the urban legend canon for decades... A version of it appears in a gardening book published in England in 1886... Though we've searched for news stories about such a tragedy, we haven't found any, not even an account of a non-fatal poisoning. " |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
cat daddy wrote: Oleanders are easy to root but they are poisonous to humans. Make sure your children are old enough to understand not to chew on the stalks. A family died painfully after using oleander stalks for barBQ skewers. Urban Legends http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/oleander.htm "Origins: This sorrowful tale of the fatal poisoning by oleander sticks used to roast treats over a campfire has been part of the urban legend canon for decades... A version of it appears in a gardening book published in England in 1886... Though we've searched for news stories about such a tragedy, we haven't found any, not even an account of a non-fatal poisoning. " WARNING: Snopes is not credible. Do a google search and you will find reports around the world about oleander poisoning. Snopes is and interesting page but they are not credible and I would not place the lives of human beings on the accuracy of their reports. http://www.indegene.com/Main/Info/in...rPoisoning.asp .... more than you wanted to know about oleander poisoning. ... Here is a link that might be useful: british journal oleander poison ... http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/l...472313747.html Here is a link to THe Harvard Medical School: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtPr...=t&k=basePrint |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
cat daddy wrote: "Harold Robbins" wrote in message m... Tex John wrote: If you don't trim it, Crapes will give you a bush. And cuttings are so easy to root you can do a whole fenceline with just a few plants over a couple of years. Course Oleanders are supposed to be easy to root, too, and give a quicker screen. Crepes will give you a bush or a tree. But if you want it to flower well it still needs to be trimmed at the top and sides. Oleanders are easy to root but they are poisonous to humans. Make sure your children are old enough to understand not to chew on the stalks. A family died painfully after using oleander stalks for barBQ skewers. Urban Legends http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/oleander.htm "Origins: This sorrowful tale of the fatal poisoning by oleander sticks used to roast treats over a campfire has been part of the urban legend canon for decades... A version of it appears in a gardening book published in England in 1886... Though we've searched for news stories about such a tragedy, we haven't found any, not even an account of a non-fatal poisoning. " Here is a link the the Harvard Medical Journal: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtPr...=t&k=basePrint Harold |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Elliot Richmond wrote:
On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 16:08:35 GMT, Harold Robbins wrote: WARNING: Snopes is not credible. Do a google search and you will find reports around the world about oleander poisoning. Snopes is and interesting page but they are not credible and I would not place the lives of human beings on the accuracy of their reports. On the contrary, Snopes is very credible. Neither Snopes nor anyone else is questioning the toxicity of oleander. The Snopes article was ONLY about the urban legend of a family or Boy Scout troop or whoever suffering fatal poisoning after toasting stuff on a fire using oleander sticks. All of the sources you give affirm the toxicity of oleander, but none of them mention this incident. Elliot Richmond Freelance Science Writer and Editor Trust a darn science writer to make us stick with the facts..... ;-) |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
been away long time, need ideas | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
need simple birdhouse ideas | Gardening | |||
Help- Need ideas for sloped lot.. | Gardening | |||
Need 100 off, of potted Box hedging - Any ideas ?? | United Kingdom | |||
Need Ideas, fish protection? | Ponds |