my fallen tree - $1000 later

[Rogar]

I'm sorry to hear about your tree. Nice trees add to a home's comfort and I've not understood people with treeless yards.

Last spring a big wind toppled my back neighbors giant Blue Spruce into my yard. It unfortunately fell into the power pole and snapped it and crunched the wooden fence. It was an ordeal. I was told that Blue Spruce have a shallow root system and are prone to blow downs. In the forests they have some wind protection from other trees that buffer the wind, but in the city where they stand alone they are prone to blow downs when they get big.

[iris lilies]

I wish our community garden Blue Spruce would blow down. It is growing into the fence and it shades garden beds. It just doesn’t belong.

But the previous community garden leader, the Garden Diva, fancied the community garden her personal park and she planted inappropriate things and now we are living with them. This Blue Spruce has enough fans ( those who don’t have to garden near or around it) that it is a Sacred Thing. You know how the tree people are. Eyeroll.

[catherine]

I wish our community garden Blue Spruce would blow down. It is growing into the fence and it shades garden beds. It just doesn’t belong.

But the previous community garden leader, the Garden Diva, fancied the community garden her personal park and she planted inappropriate things and now we are living with them. This Blue Spruce has enough fans ( those who don’t have to garden near or around it) that it is a Sacred Thing. You know how the tree people are. Eyeroll.

Hey there's room for every"body"--flowers, vegetables and trees, if done right. I could never live without trees on my property, but I also have a lot of sunny spaces to grow things.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a horrible event in my neighborhood because as people cut the trees down, our lovely, mature tree-lined street is turning the neighborhood into something that looks like a Monopoly board with houses just plunked on a 1/4 acre of turf. It's a nightmare.

[Rogar]

I wish our community garden Blue Spruce would blow down. It is growing into the fence and it shades garden beds. It just doesn’t belong.

But the previous community garden leader, the Garden Diva, fancied the community garden her personal park and she planted inappropriate things and now we are living with them. This Blue Spruce has enough fans ( those who don’t have to garden near or around it) that it is a Sacred Thing. You know how the tree people are. Eyeroll.

In think it's not uncommon when people plant things to not anticipate how big they might get. I've had to remove three old trees in my yard that were interfering with structures. One was a huge spruce with roots that were turning my concrete driveway into rubble. I've seen or done similar things planting perennials that get overgrown in a few years. There's just a time when they need to go or be cut back. I think maybe spruces can be pruned of their lower branches.

The up upside is that picking and planting new trees is sort of rewarding. They are fun to watch grow and even though they might not grow fast enough, they will be a legacy for the next property owner.

[iris lilies]

In think it's not uncommon when people plant things to not anticipate how big they might get. I've had to remove three old trees in my yard that were interfering with structures. One was a huge spruce with roots that were turning my concrete driveway into rubble. I've seen or done similar things planting perennials that get overgrown in a few years. There's just a time when they need to go or be cut back. I think maybe spruces can be pruned of their lower branches.

The up upside is that picking and planting new trees is sort of rewarding. They are fun to watch grow and even though they might not grow fast enough, they will be a legacy for the next property owner.

yes, a legacy of annoyance.

Haha, y’all know I cant resist yanking your chains about the sacred trees.

[CathyA]

So sorry for your loss. I was raised by a grove of trees and I love them. I'd suggest a fast-growing white pine, but they can be pretty fragile in ice. I love evergreens, so I'd probably replace it with one. They offer to birds, what deciduous trees cannot, so I like to have them around. Plus, if you want privacy all year round, they're good too. Would you be interested in growing seed from the one that fell, and planting a new one from that? Yeah....it won't be as tall as the one that fell, but it would be a child of that tree. Good luck with whatever you choose. And the mulch will be wonderful to use too.

[pinkytoe]

I am finding this a very challenging place to garden but won't give up yet. The spruce stood in a large, semi-circle stone enclosure so I can put a good tree in the middle and native plants around it...someday. I think I used up my budget for anything new until I save up more. I have to have trees and green though to feel normal, so...the obstacle is the way.

[SteveinMN]

The Emerald Ash Borer is a horrible event in my neighborhood because as people cut the trees down, our lovely, mature tree-lined street is turning the neighborhood into something that looks like a Monopoly board with houses just plunked on a 1/4 acre of turf. It's a nightmare.

EAB took six of the seven trees on the boulevard of our block -- all removed in one day. Taken at the proper angle to focus on the older houses on the block, the neighborhood would have looked much like it did in the early 20th century, when it was converted farms and fallow ground. Should have taken such a picture but I was still in shock from losing all that shade in one day.

[iris lilies]

Our ash trees, planted carefully 30 yearsars ago for being respectable slow growing shade trees with no known diseases are now both gone. One was in poor health and old, the other not yet attacked by the ash borer, but we took them down before they got really dangerous.

It can cost more to fell a diseased tree than a healthy one because the diseased tree has rot and it is more dangerous for the climbers to take them down.

i am glad my father is not alive to see all of this destruction with the ash trees. Those were his favorite and he planted them everywhere.

[Rogar]

yes, a legacy of annoyance.

Haha, y’all know I cant resist yanking your chains about the sacred trees.

My hometown gets 12 inches of precipitation a year on the average. Where I live now we get 14" average, but last year it was less than 10". I have an appreciation for most things that are green, non-invasive, and don't require extra water. Not having to replant every year or few is a bonus.