In article ,
"Bob Hobden" writes:
|
| | So it's well drained, if it's also sunny how about Albizia julibrissin,
| the
| | Silk Tree. Can take the cold to a point, -12°C in a friends garden, but
| not
| | cold with wet roots hence my comment about well drained. Similar but
| | slightly bigger eventually is Acacia dealbata what we call Mimosa
| | (N.Americans call the other one Mimosa)
|
| Summers are too bloody cold for the former - I have one, but it isn't
| growing, as the new wood fails to ripen enough to come through the
| winter. Acacia dealbata isn't much easier in most parts.
|
| I've got a few I've grown from seed from a friends tree (in SW. France) and
| they have grown well outside all year, I've just planted the first out in an
| Aunts garden in Isleworth. I notice there are now a couple planted out
| across the River at Kew too. Around this area I wonder if they would do
| well, certainly Acacia dealbata does and flowers well, it's now quite common
| and some are becoming large trees.

I have grown several from seed, and bought another. They all grew well
in the first year (or when coddled), but none thrived outside. More
importantly, Bean describes the same effect as normal. Apparently,
it can take a lot colder than -12 Celsius if the wood is well ripened.

Acacia dealbata is easier in sheltered places, because it doesn't
need to ripen its wood. But it is very sensitive to a mixture of
even mild frost and wet, like most plants of that type. That did for
my A. retinoides, and a dealbata before it.

| As I said, region of the Country, aspect, and position count a lot.
| We are only 17 miles W. of London, the warmest part of mainland UK.

Yes, but your summers are no warmer than mine - less so, if anything.
That is important for the Albizia. Let's see how they go in a few
years; mine is a long way off being dead - it just doesn't do more
than rebuild itself each summer (and is only 1-2' high).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 5/7/08 22:35, in article , "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Nick Maclaren" wrote after
"Bob Hobden" writes:
|
| So it's well drained, if it's also sunny how about Albizia julibrissin,
the
| Silk Tree. Can take the cold to a point, -12°C in a friends garden, but
not
| cold with wet roots hence my comment about well drained. Similar but
| slightly bigger eventually is Acacia dealbata what we call Mimosa
| (N.Americans call the other one Mimosa)

Summers are too bloody cold for the former - I have one, but it isn't
growing, as the new wood fails to ripen enough to come through the
winter. Acacia dealbata isn't much easier in most parts.


I've got a few I've grown from seed from a friends tree (in SW. France) and
they have grown well outside all year, I've just planted the first out in an
Aunts garden in Isleworth. I notice there are now a couple planted out
across the River at Kew too. Around this area I wonder if they would do
well, certainly Acacia dealbata does and flowers well, it's now quite common
and some are becoming large trees.
As I said, region of the Country, aspect, and position count a lot.
We are only 17 miles W. of London, the warmest part of mainland UK.

A friend of ours had one in a French garden in a hamlet outside a town
called Chauffailles in the Rhone-Alpes - think I've got the district right.
It's pretty damp there and opposite their garden was a big forest of
chestnut trees IIRC. The mists were stupendous. They hadan Albizia there
for years but one snowy winter did it in. It wasn't the cold as far as they
could tell, it was the considerable fall of snow that then melted into the
Albizia's roots for days and days on end, keeping it not just cold but
soaking wet.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

"Sacha" wrote

A friend of ours had one in a French garden in a hamlet outside a town
called Chauffailles in the Rhone-Alpes - think I've got the district
right.
It's pretty damp there and opposite their garden was a big forest of
chestnut trees IIRC. The mists were stupendous. They hadan Albizia there
for years but one snowy winter did it in. It wasn't the cold as far as
they
could tell, it was the considerable fall of snow that then melted into the
Albizia's roots for days and days on end, keeping it not just cold but
soaking wet.

Yes, it's one of those plants that can stand the cold well but not the cold
and winter wet together. Whilst it probably wouldn't do down your way for
that reason it may here as we are nowhere near as wet as your area*, and we
are loam over gravel.
Certainly it's noticeable that Kew has planted theirs on slight hillocks
probably to try to avoid that problem.

* I bet the grass around you is still green, here it's all parched brown,
and our lawn has stopped growing.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 5/7/08 23:25, in article , "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote

A friend of ours had one in a French garden in a hamlet outside a town
called Chauffailles in the Rhone-Alpes - think I've got the district
right.
It's pretty damp there and opposite their garden was a big forest of
chestnut trees IIRC. The mists were stupendous. They hadan Albizia there
for years but one snowy winter did it in. It wasn't the cold as far as
they
could tell, it was the considerable fall of snow that then melted into the
Albizia's roots for days and days on end, keeping it not just cold but
soaking wet.

Yes, it's one of those plants that can stand the cold well but not the cold
and winter wet together. Whilst it probably wouldn't do down your way for
that reason it may here as we are nowhere near as wet as your area*, and we
are loam over gravel.

Apparently, Hyams had one in this garden and it died off. I'm sure it must
have been for that reason, as we know where he planted it - in that very
wide border to the left of the big lawn if you look down the garden from the
house front. I doubt he could have chosen a wetter spot if he'd worked it
out on both hands for a week.

Certainly it's noticeable that Kew has planted theirs on slight hillocks
probably to try to avoid that problem.

* I bet the grass around you is still green, here it's all parched brown,
and our lawn has stopped growing.

GREEN!!! It's positively neon. I do not want to hear about people with dry
weather. Pah! ;-))
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 5 Jul, 19:56, Blairadamwitch Blairadamwitch.
wrote:
Hi,
Looking for advice on a tree to plant in my small front garden.

Don't want anything too expensive and would prefer an evergreen but
I'm flexible. My soil is clay builders junk/rubble.

I'd consider a fruit tree. Apples need another apple to polinate them
but you can get trees with several varieties grafted onto one root
stock to solve that sort of thing, and they are not too expensive.
Over a very long period the stronger one will come to dominate, but
they can be fun for 10 years or so, and longer with artful pruning.
Go and chat to a good, independant, local garden centre (not the DIY
sheds) and they will find you something suitable for the area and for
your needs . Think too about plums, or pears or cherries, but be
prepared in any case to wait for your first crops.

You will almost certainly want to improve the soil somewhat, at least
to give it a decent start. Dig out a biggish hole and mix any
vegetable matter/ well rotted compost/ riding school waste into the
existing stuff - the rubble will help with drainage.

Make sure you plant the tree with the graft above ground level, and
stake it well. Put a long stake in several inches away from the trunk
and use figure-of-eight ties to give it support. Loosen these each
year until you think it is strong enough to last without the stake -
this can be up to 5 years in windy areas.

Mix some bonemal into the soil when planting to help with root
formation, and if the area is dry in the summer bury a length of scrap
pipe a long way down and sticking out of the soil. Water down that to
encourage the roots to go downwards, not spread at the surface.
Trees need a lot of water in early years until the roots get down deep
enough.

Trees are sold bare-rooted or container grown. Bare rooted trees are
best planted in the winter or spring, and container grown can be
planted at almost any time unless it is really hot and dry. The
bigger the container the better and the more expensive.

The message
from Stewart Robert Hinsley contains these words:

My mother had a winter viburnum - as a standard tree. I presume it had
been grafted on to something, as usually, it is of a shrubby disposition
IME. Mine certainly is.

I wouldn't recommend it for as specimen for a lawn; in my humble opinion
it's better suited to an informal woodland garden. Winter honeysuckle
(Lonicera fragrantissima, or an allied species), again in my humble
opinion, would be a better choice, but it is also deciduous. But I don't
know what soil or climate it likes.

Recently, I got an evergreen honeysuckle. Looks like the ordinary
common-or-garden variety. After initial sulking, it's decided it likes
where I've put it and is reaching for the sky.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 5/7/08 23:34, in article ,
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote:

The message
from Stewart Robert Hinsley contains these words:

My mother had a winter viburnum - as a standard tree. I presume it had
been grafted on to something, as usually, it is of a shrubby disposition
IME. Mine certainly is.

I wouldn't recommend it for as specimen for a lawn; in my humble opinion
it's better suited to an informal woodland garden. Winter honeysuckle
(Lonicera fragrantissima, or an allied species), again in my humble
opinion, would be a better choice, but it is also deciduous. But I don't
know what soil or climate it likes.

Recently, I got an evergreen honeysuckle. Looks like the ordinary
common-or-garden variety. After initial sulking, it's decided it likes
where I've put it and is reaching for the sky.


I've seen a Cotoneaster grown as a weeping standard. It's probably not more
than 4' tall but it's extremely effective. And while it's not evergreen, we
have a Wisteria planted as a 'tree'. When it's in flower, it's really
lovely.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 11:56:38 +0100, Blairadamwitch
wrote:


Hi,
Looking for advice on a tree to plant in my small front garden.

Don't want anything too expensive and would prefer an evergreen but
I'm flexible. My soil is clay builders junk/rubble.

Anybody have any ideas?

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

Amelanchier

Pam in Bristol

In article ,
bobharvey writes:
| On 5 Jul, 19:56, Blairadamwitch Blairadamwitch.
| wrote:
| Hi,
| Looking for advice on a tree to plant in my small front garden.
|
| Don't want anything too expensive and would prefer an evergreen but
| I'm flexible. My soil is clay builders junk/rubble.
|
| I'd consider a fruit tree. ...

I would advise against a fruit tree, of the sort bred for cropping.
They are prone to a hell of a lot of problems in poor conditions.

However, a crab apple or even one of the traditional damsons is
another matter. They are usually a lot easier to grow, equally
decorative, and you can still eat the fruit. Indeed, many of the
small-tree Rosaceae would do, as other people have suggested
(Amelanchier, Sorbus etc. etc. as well as Malus and Prunus).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 6/7/08 11:15, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
bobharvey writes:
| On 5 Jul, 19:56, Blairadamwitch Blairadamwitch.
| wrote:
| Hi,
| Looking for advice on a tree to plant in my small front garden.
|
| Don't want anything too expensive and would prefer an evergreen but
| I'm flexible. My soil is clay builders junk/rubble.
|
| I'd consider a fruit tree. ...

I would advise against a fruit tree, of the sort bred for cropping.
They are prone to a hell of a lot of problems in poor conditions.

However, a crab apple or even one of the traditional damsons is
another matter. They are usually a lot easier to grow, equally
decorative, and you can still eat the fruit. Indeed, many of the
small-tree Rosaceae would do, as other people have suggested
(Amelanchier, Sorbus etc. etc. as well as Malus and Prunus).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

NB to OP, not evergreen though, if that matters a lot.
--
Sacha

The message
from bobharvey contains these words:

You will almost certainly want to improve the soil somewhat, at least
to give it a decent start. Dig out a biggish hole and mix any
vegetable matter/ well rotted compost/ riding school waste into the
existing stuff - the rubble will help with drainage.

Old bones, leather woollens, etc in the bottom of the pit will continue
providing nutrients for yonks, slowly, and encourage roots to go deeper
than they otherwise might.

(This is a good ploy for planting rhubarb, too, BTW.)

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

I've seen a Cotoneaster grown as a weeping standard. It's probably not more
than 4' tall but it's extremely effective. And while it's not evergreen, we
have a Wisteria planted as a 'tree'. When it's in flower, it's really
lovely.

Yes. I'm taking my own advice and will plant one so it snuggles-up
amongst the varigated ivy tree.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

However, a crab apple or even one of the traditional damsons is
another matter. They are usually a lot easier to grow, equally
decorative, and you can still eat the fruit. Indeed, many of the
small-tree Rosaceae would do, as other people have suggested
(Amelanchier, Sorbus etc. etc. as well as Malus and Prunus).

Service tree? Then you can brew chequers...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 6/7/08 14:27, in article ,
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

I've seen a Cotoneaster grown as a weeping standard. It's probably not more
than 4' tall but it's extremely effective. And while it's not evergreen, we
have a Wisteria planted as a 'tree'. When it's in flower, it's really
lovely.

Yes. I'm taking my own advice and will plant one so it snuggles-up
amongst the varigated ivy tree.

Since planting the one in the photo below, we've planted two more near it.
So we'll 3 'ladies in crinolines' soon!
http://i30.tinypic.com/takas2.jpg
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

In article , Rusty Hinge
2 writes

They're lovely, and I'd like one, but...

They need an acid soil, and IIRC, lots of water. Builders' rubble tends
to the alkaline.


No they don't ! I have an arbutus in my garden, chalk, flint and clay
but def. NOT acid. Done so well it's outgrown it's place at the back of
a border between my flowers and my veg.!

Very rarely gets watered as it's up the back,

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk