Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Planting trees near house 22Aug 24, 2012 12:00 am Hmm.all this talk is interesting. I would love to take a photo and see what you guys think but it's absolutely bucketing down with rain right now In Adelaide....maybe tomorrow ![]() Why are priates scary ? Because they yaargh.. Re: Planting trees near house 23Aug 24, 2012 6:18 am i have seen a few real problems with people planting trees like this close to a dwelling leighton from clark new homes Re: Planting trees near house 24Aug 30, 2012 10:20 pm This is an excerpt from a news letter written by a highly respected colleague and Horticultural icon, Peter Coppin. ![]() Now for something out of left field – do trees commit suicide? Have you noticed the increasing number of trees (especially Eucalypts) all over the place that have simply curled up their toes and died, often with most of the leaves still attached? Generally when this happens it's understandable to suspect Armillaria root-rot, gas leaks, malicious damage (or even Jarrah die-back). But I have looked at dozens of specimens where none of these potential causes seem to be involved, or at least they're only a part of it. It's known that the first three maladies mentioned above may cause otherwise healthy specimens to die, usually fairly rapidly. But Jarrah die-back and other diseases/disorders (Tuart yellows, Marri canker, etc) are more likely to be fatal where other stresses/maladies are involved, the main one being climate change where reduced rainfall and dropping water tables put trees under immense stress. We also know that trees emit volatile oils and gases through leaves, bark and roots, which vary in chemical composition according to the individual specimen's state of health. When this is a negative change they become more susceptible to attack by pest and disease – some pests such as borers and termites detect this and thus attack stressed trees more vigorously. But do trees communicate with others? One theory gaining more credibility is that these emissions also warn neighbouring trees of impending attack by pest or disease, resulting in those neighbours initiating more intense defense mechanisms – how brilliant is that? And twice now I have seen where after one specimen has died where we were able to seemingly find an answer, the next year one or two of their immediate neighbours also died but with no plausible explanation – spooky or what? And there are many other thoughts and theories about how trees may be more 'alive' than we think, such as they can feel pain or what indigenous people from NSW & QLD call the 'tree spirit' - I don't even want to go there but am keeping an open mind. So can trees think? And no, I'm not on drugs or had magic mushrooms for dinner! But it's not so long ago that people (like me) were taught that trees do not have an internal electrical system, and it's now commonly accepted they do. There's lots of internal tree activity/responses that we simply don't appreciate, like biennial bearing, where trees count how many seeds (fruit) they're carrying, and if that's excessive they trip a hormonal switch so they will only have a light flowering and therefore a light seed-set the following season and visa versa. The more we learn the more we realise how little we know about trees and how they function. So here's where I'll go out on a limb (and no excuses for the weak pun) and suggest that trees may well detect that the situation is hopeless and literally shut up shop. While until recent history they would struggle and do everything to survive if possible, they seem to predict that conditions are literally untenable. The climate change sceptics may put on all sorts of ignorant slants on this, but maybe apart from water stress as I mentioned, other factors such as slight changes in atmospheric CO2 and heat stress (both soil and air temperatures) are ringing the death bells. Hope this may give you some food for thought, and would be happy to hear your comments. Cheers, Peter Coppin Horticultural Consultant www.petercoppin.com Dedicated to Promoting Sustainable Practices and Healthy Landscapes Sign up to his news letters, you'll learn a heap. Re: Planting trees near house 25Aug 31, 2012 11:47 am Sounds a bit like Avatar! but there is a lot more to this world than is apparent on the surface. Fascinating stuff, all creation is an amazing thing. Our standard double-glazed window is tested to achieve, Rw 34, and can be glazed to suit Rw 39. The price is good too... 3 22360 ![]() 0 0 You can fill them and repaint but I'd almost guarantee that with normal seasonal expansion/contraction they'll open up again. Best solution I've found to this problem is… 3 7782 ![]() |