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Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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Posted by cdal1 Tx (My Page) on Sun, Nov 15, 09 at 20:38
Hi,
I am new to this forum and like the information offered here. I have just purchased a lot that is just under 2 acres with no trees. It is located in Beaumont Tx, I believe zone 9. The lot seems high and dry. Like most people I want a fast growing shade tree. I know fast growing trees are usually weaker trees, but would like your input. I am new to all of this, at my current home I planted a autumn blaze maple and a hybrid poplar. The poplar in just a few years is growing like crazy and the maple doesnt seem any different.
So the trees I have found searching the net are the sycamore tree and the american elm. Would you recommend these trees for me or have any other trees that you would recommend for me.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say. BTW I plan to plant about 6-8 trees in total. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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- Posted by bboy USDA 8 Sunset 5 WA (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 15, 09 at 21:11
| Visit local collections and see what you like. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| Do a google on the chinkapin chestnut. It might not be easy to get a hold of, but it is fast growing and you can help save it from extinction. Castenea pumila. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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American Elm is fast growing and desirable. The DED resistant varieties are generally recommended.
Sycamores are great trees too. Very fast growing and tolerant of many stresses but the do prefer a wet site and that's where you'll get the best growth.
People up north say that Autmumn Blaze Maples (Silver maple hybrids) are fast growing. Down south they are rather slow growing for some strange reason. Red maple varieties tend to grow much faster. But none of those are going to grow as fast as Elms and Sycamores. Sycamores appear to be popular in texas. There's some faster growing oaks that are popular there too such as Shumard oak and Bur Oak. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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- Posted by ltruett Zone, 9 Houston (My Page) on
Mon, Nov 16, 09 at 8:00
| Montezuma cypress can grow fairly fast and will stay evergreen or close to it for you. Bald cypress would be good too. I have a hybrid (Nanjing Beauty) that grew over 7 feet last year. Mexican white oak is another fast growing oak. For something a little different you could get a CLUMPING bamboo that will give you some shade faster if you need it and it won't take over your property. I'm sure this crossed your mind but I would also pick trees that would hold up in hurricanes since you are close to the coast. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Nanjing Beauty
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| Nanjing Beauty cypress is a nice looking tree. Dark green foliage. Very fast grower (twice the growth rate of bald cypress). Botany Garden website gives 50% discount if bought 5 trees or more (have to call for it). Go with 20 to 26 inch Nanjing Beauty - 3 1/2 inch pot and watch them grow to 5-7 feet by next year if given plenty of water or a lot of rain. They should be 50 feet in 10 years. Has to be much better than pine trees that snap in half too easily whenever hurricane comes through. Mexican white oak is nice as well. Pretty fast grower for oak tree. They are also evergreen. It is often an alternative to Live oak for area with oak wilt in central Texas. Shumard is a fast grower but not bur oak in my opinion. Chinkapin oak is nice but a lot of places say it is slow to moderate grower but I watched one young tree grow 7 feet this year so who knows? I'm sure there are other oak species that are fast grower. Mexican sycamore is another option as well. Drummond red maple, native to southeast Texas, is another good option. Lacebark elm is super fast grower. I like 'Bosque' variety the best for its form. Regular ones can be wild looking. I think it will provide shade in shortest period of time compared to other trees that I've listed. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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Bald Cypress and Live Oak are 2 trees that are recommended for hurricane resistance.
Southern Pines will provide shade in a hurry as would Cottonwoods but neither are recommended near house with a danger of hurricanes. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| Thanks for all the advice. I wil check out the lacebark elm and the Nanjing beauty as well. My local nursery doesn't seem to want to be of much help. But I found a place in Houston called rcw nursery. They seemed to know there stuff, and were pretty helpful over the phone. But the search continues. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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- Posted by bboy USDA 8 Sunset 5 WA (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 1:49
| 5 trees have been designated Texas Superstars. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Superstar Plants
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| Personally, living that close to the coast, I'd just plant a bunch of Nanjing Beauty around the house and be done with it. Hurricanes are a pain in the butt to deal with. Massive clean up, etc. They stay evergreen round year. Grows very fast. I talked to the director of Dallas Arboretum about it and he's a big fan of it. He said it grows very fast. I've seen it a couple weeks ago and wow it sure grew a lot past two years when I became aware of it a few years ago. I want shade but last thing I want is a tree falling on the house like those tall pine trees! My sister got very lucky. Her several large oak trees barely missed her house when Hurricane Ike came through. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| I'm starting to take interest in the Nanjing beauty. But I'm having a hard time finding good pics of the tree in a yard. Anyone have any pics of this tree in your yard or someone elses? |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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- Posted by ltruett Zone, 9 Houston (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 18, 09 at 8:20
The first picture was probably taken late spring and had grown a foot or two. The second picture was probably taken late summer and grown about 5-6 feet. Overall the tree has grown from 3 feet tall to over 10 feet this year. It is still growing now though at a much slower rate.
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RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| Here's a picture of mine. I planted it in March or April. I think it grew around 3 feet. I had to stake it because it's exposed to constant strong south winds and I didn't want it to get stuck leaning to the side when the root system took hold later on. It's almost 6 feet tall. You should see how small it was when I planted it. It was barely noticable... |
NB at Dallas Arboretum
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| The picture was taken in December of 2007. You can see that it was still evergreen (mine finally turned red in February and was bare for few weeks in Dallas after repeated freezes). It's over 20 feet at that time. Now, maybe close to 30ft? 
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RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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Lou,
Do you know how old the tree that was 20 ft tall in the pic is? BTW that is a nice looking tree, something I would definately like to have. Thanks for all the pics everyone, has helped a lot. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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Just came across another option for me called a crepe myrtle. The one I saw that i liked was the natchez crepe. Anyone have any input on this tree or any other crepe? Also what kind of growth rate and height can I expect from this?
Thanks |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| The director told me he planted it as 5 gallon sized tree in March of 2004 so it's been in the ground over 5 years. Fast grower indeed. I'm going there tomorrow to collect seeds from it and that huge Montezuma cypress and take a picture and post it here. Unfortunately, someone pruned NB way up like 10 feet above ground?? so it doesn't look as good at the moment. Eventually, they will tower over you with high branches so it will feel very open yet providing partial shade. |
Natchez CM
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| Natches crape myrtle is very nice. It has moderate growth. It will eventually get to 25-35ft tall and wide. It has one of longest blooming period for crape myrtle. It does best in full sun. I'm considering planting one somewhere. |
RE: Help planting trees on 2 acre lot
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| Found the picture of ltruett's NB from last year right after it was planted... It was September of 2008. 
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