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| The wife and I moved into this house a long time ago. I tore out everything, plant material-wise and started with a clean slate. She said, "I want shade in the yard in my lifetime," which meant next year. So, I planted, literally, a grove of river birches. Four years later, we had pleasant shade in the front yard. But I have learned my lesson.
The last two years have been heat and drought years, as many can testify. So far here, 28 days over 100 degrees. What is left of the birch grove defoliates happily, piling mounds of leaves everywhere when such happens, irrigation or not. Driving through town tonight the sycamores, both American and European are shedding their huge leaves en masse. For both sycamore and river birch, the natural response to heat and drought is defoliation to lessen the foliar surface area to cope with the condition. So, I guess aesthetically, made for drought or not? Why plant them if these characteristics, and in the case of sycamore with fruiting balls, anthracnose, shedding bark and lace bugs to boot, are inherent?
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Cottonwood knows how to take drought. Siberian Elm too, but I hate those trees. |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Tue, Jul 31, 12 at 22:59
| As long as they live handling it by dropping leaves is acceptable. So few big trees grow in western Kansas at least they do. But yeah, it can be frustrating. My metasequoia dropped 90% of its needles in a week. Of course my usually damp yard went a month with almost no rain. This heat / drought mixture probably is three times in 80 years unique so we will see. How out of the norm is it for your location? |
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- Posted by jimbobfeeny 5a IN (My Page) on Wed, Aug 1, 12 at 6:59
| Northern Catalpa is reputed to be one of the most drought tolerant trees. Oaks are fairly drought tolerant once established, and hackberries will weather just about anything. Trees that don't do so hot are maples, tulip tree, magnolias, basswood, or any other Eastern forest tree (at least trees of rich, moist forests) |
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| The most easily-affected tree from heat/drought on my lot is hybrid Larch (admittedly in poor, dry, alkaline soil beside the road). The sugar maples/tuliptrees start dropping yellow/brown leaves by Sept after a hot/dry summer. River birch even earlier. Redbuds in sun get toasted twig-ends. |
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude 6 PA (My Page) on Wed, Aug 1, 12 at 15:49
| anything with a deep tap root can take drought (hickories,bur oak,ect.). |
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| toronado, it is normal every summer here to go through a month long drought period (or two). Typically when it has been two weeks without rain I super soak the area where the birches are, and leaf drop still comes but is minimal. Soaking once a week this summer hasn't stopped a deluge of foliage. Like jimbob said, all my oaks are just fine and my neighbor's catalpa hasn't flinched, nor have my Shantung or Tartarian maples. Amelanchiers have dropped a few leaves even though they get watered with the birches. I'm ready for winter. hortster |
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| Cottonwood and burning bush, both touted as drought tolerant, have been the first to show extensive leaf drop or burning. Silver Linden seems to have been effected quite a bit as well...again another touted drought tolerant tree! Pinus strobus would be the next plant showing severe signs of stress. Birch is an obvious problem plant in drought. |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Thu, Aug 2, 12 at 1:40
| Whaas, that is the strangest thing about the Cottonwood. Take a drive through dry western Kansas and Eastern Colorado and they are huge and all over. In St Louis they are floodplain trees though! Is it trees used to a damp location showing stress? |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Thu, Aug 2, 12 at 9:16
| There are certain trees that shut down when resources become scarce. Cottonwood is one of them. Quaking aspen would be another. Chokecherry, sumac. Yet these are some of the toughest, most durable plants in the hemisphere. That is not saying they are the most ornamentally attractive. We say we want our plants to perform to this standard. Whatever that may be. But there is always something else we want when we say that. And in the end, plants, be they groundcovers or towering trees, are living things subject to all the whims of nature. We are ones who don't want to admit that. |
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