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| Good morning GW. I'm here crossing over from the home/kitchen forums to ask your expertise. I tried googling this, but I don;t get very much info other than "dont do it"
H and I just bought a weeping willow, It's sitting in the driveway until saturday when we finally plant it. I want it in the front of the house, but the well is in the front. I know willows love water and are bad news for wells. How close, or should i say.. how far from the well can I plant it? I'd hate to have it in the back where passers-by cant see it beauty. Thanks in advance. Stacy |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Where do you live? How deep is your well? How large is your yard? What direction does it face? Do you have other plantings in your front yard? How much room are you giving this Willow and what kind is it? Can you post a picture of your yard? These questions need to be answered before a qualified response can be given. Mike |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 12:33
| mike left out ... is the well hole lined in pvc/pipe ??? contact local well guys.. until you find the one who put in your well ... unless you know offhand.. and call them.. and ask them their opinion ... this is a WELL QUESTION.. not really a TREE question ... dont you think ... another thought.. my well is 58 feet deep ... tree roots do NOT go very deep ... so the only issue would be.. the first few feet of your well .. and i bet its lined ... perhaps you are confusing septic field issues with a well issue ... my gut really tells me.. there is NO well issue [but i wouldnt risk a shiny penny on it]... the roots simply dont go deep enough .. but then.. i dont know your well system.. per mike's ????'s ken ps: except for the pump.. down in the bottom of the hole.. with a conduit into the house 99% of your well hole.. is empty .. but for electric wire.. and a water pipe ... whats there for the roots to want???? |
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| Wow, so naive. I had no idea there would be so much involved with planning and planting a tree. To answer your questions, I live in NJ. I have no idea the size of my front yard, Maybe you can tell from the picture? The house faces south, the well is in the front aligned with the right edge of the porch, about 10-15 feet from the bottom step. The septic field is in the back where I have about 1 acre of land. This house was built in the 50's so if the well isn't original it's probably very old.. therefore I doubt there is a lining or pvc. I would like to plant the tree, to the right of the well, closer to the front of the property. There is also a gas line in the area, but I have not read any precautions against planting a weepeing willow near a gas line.
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 17:56
| The other question is what kind of weeping willow? There are varieties that are moderately well-suited to an urban/suburban landscape even close to a water source. But your standard weeping willow - Salix babylonica - is just too darn big for 95% of most urban/suburban properties and is too water aggressive to be planted anywhere near a well, septic system or inground pipes/plumbing. Be strong - just say "no" :-)) fwiw, willows also tend to be rather short-lived trees and prone to numerous disease issues and with weak wood prone to wind damage and breakage.......just a few other reasons they do not make great average-sized garden trees. |
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| Thanks gardengal... but the willow is already paid for and in my driveway! I'm pretty sure it's just a standard weeping willow. The question still remains.. how close is too close to be near a well? |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 19:28
| The question still remains.. how close is too close to be near a well? ===>>> no.. the question remains.. whether your well is lined ... are you simply going to ignore the obvious??? a kitchen analogy.. you want to know how powerful your new oven/stove will be.. by asking about the toaster.. focus.. find out about your well ... if there is 100 feet of hermetically sealed pipe.. down to the water level.. the tree is irrelevant .. your county water board .... should have all your well info available ... i happened to ask my engineer neighbor about your question ... he laughed.. and said.. that here in MI.. all wells are lined.. to below the water table.. which in our case is 58 feet down.. the third aquifer down .. the tree is irrelevant.. period ... now i have done more research on your topic than you.. hop to woman.. lol .. and you MAY NOT TAKE THIS INFO TO THE BANK.. do your own local research ... ABOUT THE WELL and what gall said too .. i had a willow at the old house.. 10 feet diameter [not a typo] ... NOT A FRONT YARD TREE... unless your front yard is measured in acres ... and it was a horribly messy tree year around.. wind storms.. ice storms.. sticky snow.. surface roots.. just no upside to it.. this is a prime tree for a park.. golf course.. or the neighbors house.. lol.. good luck .. really ... i want you to get the right info .. to make your decisions properly ... ken |
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| Your gift is a liability. Can you return it? I'm a garden freak with 10 acres and 10 or 12 ponds with no willows. That, with the above information and advice, should tell you something. Planting a willow is like watching a horror film unfold. Mike |
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- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Sat, Jun 16, 12 at 10:57
| I have lived my whole life in New Jersey, and I can't begin to count the number of weeping willows that end up roots to the sky after a hurricane or nor'easter; I lump them in with trailer parks as storm magnets. I strongly recommend that you find a different tree. |
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| "Thanks gardengal... but the willow is already paid for and in my driveway!" Sadly, no, it's not (already paid for). You've made the initial downpayment, the 'entry fee.' Like when my wife bought me a $100 Jack Russell's Terrier. Hah! I nicknamed him the 'Hundred Dollar Dog,' and while well-worth it, he's cost way more than that over the years. Vet bills, a chain link fence, food... If that willow tree gets big & falls over (which they can do), and you pay to have the mess cleaned up & hauled off, it will put a new perspective on the 'already paid for' thing. Richard. |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 17, 12 at 13:34
| The question still remains.. how close is too close to be near a well? Anywhere on the same property......unless we are talking multiple acres. |
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| I'm with Ken, the answer to the question asked (not everything else discussed) depends on the well, not really the tree. |
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| Thank you all for your opinions/suggestions. We decided to throw caution to the wind and planted the willow 55 ft from the well. I've never been much of a planner, so I think consulting the town or an engineer for something as simple as planting a tree would be overkill. It is my understanding that willows roots grow horizontally, and I would think that 55 ft is far enough that It wouldn't do any damage to the well/pump. Then again I could be wrong and it may topple over long before the tree gets big enough to reach it, In either case, I can only admire it daily and hope for the best. Thanks again for the responses and advice. Had I posted BEFORE purchasing the tree, I would have heeded your advice... but where would be the fun in that? and drrich2... we are also waiting on the arrival of our first puppy. I hope neither the tree or the dog go the way of your "hundred dollar dog" ... But that may be a discussion for later. |
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| I hope you're usually more cautious about things than you seem to be in this case! Taking chances is one thing, but it almost seems that, since we recommend you do research instead of just giving you a definite answer from our crystal ball, you just don't really care. Maybe I'm misreading your thought pattern...I hope so. 55 feet may buy you some time, but that alone sure isn't the answer with a tree with the potential size of a mature willow. |
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