Trees coming down is sad
When we bought this property ten years ago, one of the things we loved was all the trees. Today the last of the front trees are coming down. It is so sad.
The thing is, they were all old trees, what you would call mature trees. And while trees coming down is sad, trees, like the rest of us, have a life expectancy.
And these trees aren’t near the redwood forest’s long-life ones.
We had an Arborist come out a few years ago and he told us they were all mature, but let me be honest here: we could have helped them live longer if it hadn’t been for a few factors.
The drought
Most of the time we have lived here, we have been in a severe drought every summer. I have lived in Texas on and off most of my adult life, but the past ten years have been pretty significant. All the trees in the area have suffered.
The Historic freeze.
We lost a tree when there was too much ice build-up on it, and it snapped and almost took our fence out. It was below freezing for over three days. Our trees aren’t used to that ice and cold. We also lost a palm tree-looking thing in our front area.
Mistletoe.
Mistletoe is a parasite and feeds off its host for water and nutrients. You take a tree or a bush, such as our crepe myrtle, already suffering from the drought, and your tree doesn’t do so well.
So today is sad as our last large tree in the front will be coming down. Since only a small portion of it leafed out this year, you can clearly see the mistletoe and the many dead branches.
We live in an older home. it was built in the ’30s. And many of the trees were probably here since then. As they have grown large, their proximity to the house is apparent. And I mean close!
The one that is coming down today is very close. If it came down on its own, it would take out a big chunk of our roof and family room windows. That has always made me a little bit worried.
New trees
We intend to plant new trees. Far enough away from the house to be safe if they came down.
Trees that will grow fast enough to provide shade more quickly than a slow-growing oak tree.
We found an Arizona Ash from a nearby nursery that looked promising and will probably go in next week.
While we would love a big ole magnolia, they are slow growing, but maybe that would be ok, paired with a couple of Ash trees in the front?
I will be sure to let you know what we come up with!
