Tips Needed On Blocking Off Grass Area From The Dogs

[Erny]

Bummer ..... just read up. Prone to suckering if roots are damaged or hit an obstacle such as clay soil. I am on clay soil and I believe (from what I read) the suckers can be a real nuisance in small gardens . Dang it. I thought I'd finally found the tree for my back yard.

[RubyStar]

Don't worry about the thread hijack guys, I'm learning here

Well my trees went bye byes today. Backyard looks bare Stumps get ground down later in the week. I honestly can't believe my big beautiful (toxic) tree is gone It gave character and a peacefulness to my yard, now it looks hot and stark, and not to mention BORING. I'm very sad it's gone but know it is for the best, there is no way I would have left it with dogs.

As for blocking my yard off, well it's half done now with garden stakes and some sort of wire from the garden section that came in rolls. Doing half the grass and leaving half for the dogs

Edited January 23, 2010 by RubyStar

[horus]

Bummer ..... just read up. Prone to suckering if roots are damaged or hit an obstacle such as clay soil. I am on clay soil and I believe (from what I read) the suckers can be a real nuisance in small gardens . Dang it. I thought I'd finally found the tree for my back yard.

Yep, Robinias are suckers for suckers. R. pseudoacacia also tend to grow lopsided ie they will put on growth on one side of the tree and then the other side will catch up, so they can look bigger on one side rather than having a uniform shape. What do you want your tree to provide? Gleditsia is similar to Robinia but a bit larger, there are probably grafted varieties these days, though. Have you looked at Lagerstroemia (Crepe Myrtle) heaps of varieties these days that provide summer flowers and autumn foliage- one of my favourite trees, Pyrus (Ornamental Pear) spring flowers and stunning autumn foliage, there are lots of grafted varieties and another personal favourite, Maples (for a sheltered position), Magnolia, Prunus (Ornamantal Plum) winter/spring flowers and autumn foliage, Betula (Birch), Ulmus (Elm)? All of these are deciduous but if you are after an evergreen the possibilities are increased.

[macka]

I have a golden robinia in my yard, quite a large one, and yes, we have suckers everywhere! It is a nice tree but has this unfortunate side effect.

And because it is a grafted tree, the suckers are horrible thorny things which don't have the lovely golden colour of the original tree.

Mind you, the ones in the garden are easily pulled out when small, but because we back onto council land I can see them popping up over the other side of the fence where I can't get to them, and there are a few in the neighbours backyard as well which have just about grown into their own trees.

Another worry is if your neighbours get suckers in their yard and posien them, it can actualy kill your tree.

Nice tree to look at but not something I'd plant given the choice.

What's wrong with a good old gum tree?

Edited January 23, 2010 by macka

[Erny]

What do you want your tree to provide? ... All of these are deciduous but if you are after an evergreen the possibilities are increased.

I would actually love an evergreen. But I think my preferences narrow the field down and I've not been able to find what I want that would suit. For example (and I think I've mentioned this in another thread some time back) my MOST favourite tree is the Peppercorn Tree . Too big for my back yard.

I thought of gum tree, but got put off because of people telling me how much mess there is (was thinking about one of those newer varieties that have been designed to grow smaller - I'm pretty sure they are red gums). But I agree that they are lovely trees and I do love their gentle shapes.

My backyard is on the south side of my home, but being fairly high up (I'm built on the side of a hill - steep, although not by any stretch extreme) my yard cops a little of the weather from the east and a reasonable amount from the west (hot sun; wind).

I don't need a tree that is too dense in its foliage as that would cut down the light factor to my lounge/family room, which faces out south to the back yard. I love the 'peace' that soft, feathery foliage gives (such as in the peppercorn tree) and the cool shade it would provide (which of course would benefit my dog, but also protect some of my other plants from the scorching sun).

I checked into White Cedar ages ago. Quite like the tree (and the scent is adorable) but too big. And from what I read here, a "no-no" when it comes to dogs.

Thought about Lilypily, but its foliage is more dense than I really want and I've been told the berries can cause a bit of a mess. I think I could cope with that, but to be honest, Lilypillies don't really float my boat as a feature tree, which mine would end up being.

Robina 'Fresia' is out (as per previous post).

Thought about an orange tree which would compliment my wonderful lemon tree, but its foliage too is more dense than I would like - and I'd prefer a canopy style tree. If the orange tree grew anything like my lemon tree, it would take up far too much ground space.

All the trees I like and could potentially have grow too large.

Maybe I just need to move to acreage. I think I'm a country girl at heart .

I don't think I thought about Crepe Myrtle for the backyard - perhaps I dismissed them when my heart was set on evergreen. I do like them (ergo the Crepe Myrtle I planted in the nature strip, and the mini crepe myrtle in my front yard), although they are fairly slow growing and I think it would be some time before I would be able to enjoy the shade it would eventually make. Thanks for that suggestion, Horus. Will re-visit that line. Prunus doesn't 'do' anything for me, but will check into your other suggestions - thanks ..... I appreciate them.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Erny

[horus]

One of the grafted flowering gums would be OK. They do not grow very big and are quite spindly so would allow light to penetrate while still giving some shade. Banksia, Melaleuca or Leptospermum would also be fine. Something like the Lemon Scented Tea Tree would be perfect if they grow in your area and there are some Melaleucas that have golden or lime green foliage. Looking out of your lounge room at a Banksia in flower would be pretty special, especially when the birds are feeding on the nectar.

There is a tree out there somewhere that is perfect for you. We just need to find it!

[Erny]

Will look up all of which you have mentioned - thanks again, Horus .

Actually, I think I need one of those "backyard make-over" things - you know, the ones on TV where I go away on a holiday (with my dog, of course) and come back to find it is all done? Just want to keep my lemon tree and a few other 'special' plants that I've put in over the past couple of years.

Hey Horus ..... aren't you due for a trip to Melbourne yet? ;)

Accomodation would be taken care of :D .

[hortfurball]

Actually, Tiggy's tree is a Tipuana tipu (or Pride of Bolivia). Sorry Horus You missed the bit where Tiggy said it has yellow flowers, and the seed pods are different too.

Unfortunately this isn't an ideal tree either, as it both suckers and sets seed easily and is known to be invasive, so is on the alert list for environmental weeds.

Erny, Acacia is botanese for wattle.

If you want a smallish tree with feathery foliage, have a look at Albizia julibrissin (Persian Silk Tree). It grows 5 - 12m high, is deciduous so will let light in in winter, has pretty fluffy pale pink flowers.

Its leaves also close up at night, and in the rain, so on an overcast rain drenched day it will let more light in too.

Another nice small tree with feathery foliage is Virgilia capensis (Cape Virgilia). It grows 5 - 7m high, is semi deciduous in colder climates and has mauve flowers. It's short lived though, usually only about 15 years.

Amypie, bring a leaf sample along to the next DOL meet and I'll confirm the diagnosis and treatment. It would seem that Erny is right though.

ETA: Oh, it would help to know why the sooty mould is there. Look for hard waxy white bumps (White Wax Scale) or hard brownish bumps (Brown Scale) on the soft green stems, or little cottonwool like things (Cottony Cushion Scale or Mealybug), or clusters of little insects on new growth and flower buds (Aphids).

Are there ants running up and down the tree? They 'farm' aphids for the honeydew.

For any bits of the tree you can't reach to wash the leaves with warm soapy water, a strong blast from the hose is better than nothing.

Edited January 27, 2010 by hortfurball

[macka]

Gum trees do shed, but all that material is free mulch for your garden beds!!

[Erny]

Hortfurball - thanks for the suggestions. The Persian Silk ...... I got really excited when I saw and read about it. Until the bit about them seeding everywhere and becoming a nuisance. I need to be concerned for myself but also mainly for my neighbours and I wonder if that is likely to be a big bother. I really love the tree though.

However, the Virgilia Tree !!! I remember that from my childhood. We had one growing next door and it was beautiful when in flower. We spent many hours climbing in it. I will definitely look into this more closely, as this may prove to be just the tree that I am looking for.

Cheers and .

[indigirl]

i have laid weldmesh and cyclone mesh on my lawn to stop the dogs digging in the bare bits. Downside is you have to pick ip it before you mow each time. But means dogs can have full use of the yard and unless you are right of top of it you dont relaly notice the mesh, so it looks very neat.

[hortfurball]

Gum trees do shed, but all that material is free mulch for your garden beds!!

Only if you really LOVE applying lots of wetting agent. The wax on gum leaves is a major contributor to water repellent soil. It's ok when mixed with a lot of other nice rich humous, but if someone's offering free large bags of gum leaves as mulch, don't go there.

Hortfurball - thanks for the suggestions. The Persian Silk ...... I got really excited when I saw and read about it. Until the bit about them seeding everywhere and becoming a nuisance. I need to be concerned for myself but also mainly for my neighbours and I wonder if that is likely to be a big bother. I really love the tree though.

However, the Virgilia Tree !!! I remember that from my childhood. We had one growing next door and it was beautiful when in flower. We spent many hours climbing in it. I will definitely look into this more closely, as this may prove to be just the tree that I am looking for.

Cheers and .

You're welcome.

Hmmm, I didn't know the Silk Tree was weedy, and I'm usually the fanatical anti environmental weed lobbyist (not that you would have noticed )

The other benefit of the Virgilia is that being short lived, they are also fast growing!

[oakeydoak1]

My silk tree is not weedy at all