Wednesday, May 13

My Trashy Tree

Way back when I posted about a tree just behind my deck that I couldn't identify. It's a messy one that drops trash of one sort or another on my deck all year long. Last weekend, I finally found someone who knows what it is! While in the van delivering wedding flowers, we passed a tree like mine, and I asked Mel's brother Billy what it was and he said Chinaberry. I should have known he'd know - he knows everything that grows!

I found out the type just in time to have it cut down. I asked mr. kenju to have our tree man cut it down, since half of it is dead or dying anyway. The other half drops crud (leaves, stems, blossoms, berries) all year long. I am ready to be rid of it - although I ordinarily hate to cut trees down unless they're completely dead or diseased. But I am tired of sweeping the deck nearly every day!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes it just has to happen.

Kay Dennison said...

Good for you!!! Saving yourself work is a good thing!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

CONGRATS, on finding out what this tree is and also getting rud of it. I agree with you about cutting down trees...BUT...this one sounds like it is on the way out, anyway....!

Buzzardbilly said...

I get those trees that I think they call Tree of Heaven locally, but I don't know the real name of. Anyway, those trees have babies and babies and babies everywhere. I needed my new chainsaw just for those suckers because they're overtaking the bushes and landscaping. One day wwe probably wouldn't be able to open the front door for them if I didn't start cutting some back.

BTW, you have an award at my blog today!

Gilly said...

The URL of the Chinaberry link had 'poison' in it, so I imagine it is not a good thing to have around a house! Never seen it in the UK, well not in the frozen north, anyway ;) We have our own pernicious problems. Ground elder, for one, its taking over at the end of the garden. Apparently the Romans introduced it because they liked to eat it. Wish they'd taken it away with them!

Arkansas Patti said...

Not all people are good people and not all trees are good trees. You did what you had to do. Besides, it was all ready sick. Consider it a mercy killing.
I share Buzzardbilly's love ot the Tree from Heaven. It is insidious and smells like peanut butter when you mow the pups.

Bobkat said...

I always hate cutting down trees too although I have a similar situation. I have a tree next to my drive and it drops rubbish all over my car all year! leaves in autumn, seed covers in spring and worse of all sap all summer! Ugh! It has to go!

colleen said...

I googled it to see what one looks like but got so many photos it was hard to tell. Looks like it made pretty blossoms. We got a giant pine to come down soon.

tiff said...

Now you can get some gargantuan ornamental grass or something!

denverdoc said...

Oh messy trees; I thought "Ah, she has a catalpa, or maybe a sumac." I've got both those messy trees in my yard (at least the catalpa is glorious when in bloom) plus some dreadful tree with lethal thorns jutting off the branches and loads of little black berries that seed new dreadful trees rather easily. I'm sorry I ever let that one get started in my yard whatever it is.

Weary Hag said...

How interesting ... I'm with you on not liking to cut trees down in their prime ... but sweep the deck everyday? Don't blame you one bit. That's too much like work. LOL

srp said...

I have a shrub back at the juncture with the preserve and at first I thought it might be a wild blueberry, but now the hanging bell shaped flowers are gone and no berries. Have had no luck yet. I would love to have a blackgum tree back there... scientific name... Nyssa sylvetica... so you see why I'd like it. We had one in our yard in MS but I didn't know what it was until we went to Monticello here in VA... Jefferson has them on his property. They have great dark oval berries for the birds and the most gorgeous flame red leaves in the fall.

Ginnie said...

I know the feeling. I have an old crab apple tree that is half dead and I need to at least get the branches that no longer bear leaves cut down. Good for you.

rosemary said...

Should make decking a bit better....we have pine needles all over the place plus cottonwood sticky things everywhere including Violet's paws.