When we moved here just shy of a couple of years ago there were three trees in our yard.
Two majestic ash trees in the front and an elm tree at the side of our garage.
But Arizona has been in a drought for many years and apparently it finally caught up with them.
First the elm tree died.
We learned it was a Siberian Elm, which is really a weed.
Leaves dropping from the tree had littered our side and back yards and sprouted and grew into towering weeds and threatened to take over.
So we were glad when it succumbed but twigs and branches fell from it into our yard and onto our roof.
So a few days ago a pair of arborists came to cut it down.
One man went up in a cherry-picker with a chain saw and began attacking the evil elm.
Before long the towering tree was reduced to this.
Just a stump to identify where it had been.
Then the crew attacked one of the ash trees in the front yard that had also died.
The pieces cut off were fed into a wood chipper that swiftly converted then into dirty brown dust.
And too soon, it seemed, this was all that was left of that formerly sturdy tree.
So now all that remains is one of the ash trees.
I've been trying to save it with deep watering several times a week and it seems to be fighting for it's life.
A sad tale of life and death in Arizona, the land of eternal sunshine.
I'm comforted by trees now, there are trees standing that were good size when I was a kid, in Bend, Oregon. Drake Park has several. It pleases me that with good fortune they could still be there 100 years from now. I'm sorry about your trees, they must have once provided shade in that Arizona sun.
ReplyDeleteA lot of these trees have a 'shelf life'. Those flowering plums? 15 years. Most are gone or struggling at this point in our neighborhood. We have two 'junk trees' -really messy/lots of seedlings - that we wish would die! At least when replanting people are making better choices than the original trees. Trees in developments are usually fast growth. All bang when planted, but for a shorter duration.
ReplyDeleteIf your Ah tree is an 'Arizona Ash', it is short lived and will rot from the inside. I know this after we 2 in your TX front yard.
ReplyDeletetc-Light/Breezes And now someone has more mulch. Good luck protecting your Ash.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you lost your trees. My big mulberry tree has been struggling the last few years and my neighbor texted me it’s likely a goner. I’ll call the tree cutter when I get home. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteWe have the emerald ash borer here. They are slowly making their way across the state leaving virtually all the ash trees dead. Probably you are safe in AZ. The eternal sunshine would probably toast them.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that a tree could be a weed, a large one too! It's dangerous to have dead trees around so good for you for having them removed.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to lose trees this year. Many trees are shedding leaves now.
ReplyDeleteI am worried about our trees, with so little rain for them this year. Like Red said, many are beginning to drop leaves already. I would very much hate to lose our shade trees. Does your yard seem bare now without your two trees? I understand why they had to go though.
ReplyDeleteDo you know anyone with a post hole digger? Have them dig a few deep holes around the tree about a yard away, drop in a length of agriculture pipe and fill in the dirt around it, use the pipes to add water that gets down to the roots of the tree. Cap each pipe somehow so it doesn't fill with dirt and leaves and get blocked.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see trees go..even more so when they have to be chipped instead of the wood used
ReplyDeleteMy last house in Florida, all of the trees that were there when I built it, were dead within a couple of years. The guy who cleared the lot, took out a Bay Laurel that was beautiful, because he didn't like them. It was a native tree and probably would have survived.
ReplyDeleteHow the mighty have fallen! I'm glad you're making an effort to save the sole remaining ash. I've never heard of a Siberian elm. I'll have to look that one up.
ReplyDeleteA lot of work.
ReplyDelete