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Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 10:42
| I saw a nice Yellowwood (Cladrastis Kentukea) at an Asheville, NC botanical garden, and I quite liked it. Leaves like an ash, which remind me of the old homeplace, and bark of a beech, which is my favorite tree. Nice white flowers, and, reportedly, good yellow fall color.
But some websites say it's a short-lived tree. I understand that it can have problems with narrow crotch angles and weak branching/breakage problems with age. But if you plant in a good spot and prune for good structure, can it be long-lived? If I'm going to plant a tree, I'd like the possibility of my grown grandkids telling their kids about who put it there (and my kids are in elementary school, lol). |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| IMHO, you can get a reasonable life out of the tree. By that I mean something like 60 years at least. The state champion Yellowwood is not to far from me at an old home of a local doctor that was central in the creation of the Buffalo National River (look it up sometime, it's beautiful), and no doubt was planted probable about 60 years ago. So that seems like a good baseline to work from, and these trees are still very healthy. Compared to potential 200-400 years, that is short lived. But compared to practical human time scales, that is not bad at all. Certainly much better than the 10-20 years you will get from many of the ornamental flowering trees. Arktrees |
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 12:07
| Good to hear, Arktrees. I have two of them - one straight kentukea (that I bought as C. lute) and one 'Perkins Pink', and they have been in the ground for a little over seven years and have not yet flowered. It is my understanding theta they do not flower when young - is that your experience? They have grown nicely - I got them as #5s from Forest Farm - and I am pleased with their look. Their fall color is not particularly noteworthy (at least here). The crotches are narrow but I have had no breakage, and we get some fierce wind here at times. This is the first time that I've gotten any first-hand info about them. Thanks, and acer I'd go ahead and plant one - they really are nice trees. Sara |
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| I don't have first hand experience in the since of having one. But what I can tell you is that I see them occasionally planted in the area. There are several on the University of Arkansas campus, but those took a hard hit from the worst ice storm on record in Jan 2009. I can't tell you what age they begin to flower, however, the local Sams Club has probable 12-15 of them planted in landscape islands. These were planted as 2" caliper plants, and they began to flower about the third year. They have flowered yearly since. The trees are exceptionally beautiful in flower. As for fall color, I can say nothing about yours, or your climate, but they have been very nice here. Below is some pictures I took last fall. BTW, F&F, I suggest you look at American Smoketree to add to your plants. They would do well in your climate (they need it to be DRY), and have exceptional fall color, along with a unique Aqua summer color. Yellowwood from the University of Arkansas campus. But I missed it's peak.
From a local park.
Bonus pics. American Smoke Tree in the same local park.
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 14:57
| Nice shots, thanks! My Cladrastis were really puny when I planted them - they are now starting to look like trees. I can't wait for them to flower. And if you mean by American Smoketree, Cotinus obovatus, I have one and it provides arguably the best fall color that I have. A winner! Sara |
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| Yeap, Cotinus obovatus. Sorry I forgot to include the species name. Arktrees |
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| I have a beautiful specimen in western Nebraska, sandy alkaline soils and exposed to high winds. It has been a great specimen, planted 27 years ago and we love it. Beautiful bloom and with a light scent. But it does have narrow crotch angles and often included bark at the crotches. Mine has never suffered any wind damage but it is a candidate for it. I could have done some judicious pruning shortly after planting but then I could have bought a winning Power Ball number but I didn't do either. |
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| A unique hardy tree, big ones are always interesting to see. I have seen the structural issue mentoned. Look at pruning manuals for pointers on pruning and training. |
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