Free Mystery Tree?

Hi all! Just migrated here from Somewhere Else, and I gotta good one for my first post....

My FIL calls yesterday - he does concrete work, some grading, etc. Asks if I want a tree for the yard at our soon-to-be-built house. Of course I did, so I met him at the lot where we'll soon be building. He's got this...TREE on his trailer. Turns out a developer he knows needed it moved or removed, so he figured it'd at least be worth a shot to transplant it. And who can pass up a free tree, especially one that's gotta be 15-20 feet tall? Thing is, neither of us know what kind of tree it is. So I turn to you all for help. I'm posting a composite pic in this post (I've tried to keep it reasonably small), and can post/email larger pics if anyone needs them.

The bark leads me to think it might be some kind of birch, or maybe an ornamental cherry of some sort, but that's a pretty big spread there. So any help would be appreciated, so I can make sure to plant the bugger in the right place. : )

Thanks!
Jason

Snidely, I love your name. Cool
Welcome to DG!
I would guess an ornamental Cherry but that's only a guess.
I'm sure a more knowledgable tree person will help you.
Andy P

Hi. I'm gonna guess Morus (Mulberry). At first I thought it could be Gleditsia but the trunk isn't right for that.

I'm going with Growin's first hunch: I think it is a Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis, albeit a young and not so well pruned one. As soon as it's light, I'm going out to check buds/twigs against the bottom right hand closeup.

Thornless honeylocust is a pretty common shade tree. It also should be tough enough to be grunted around in the middle of January in Nebraska. You ought to get it back in the ground as soon as you can though. Make sure you don't plant it any deeper than the root flare at the base of the trunk, and provide plenty of loosened soil horizontally for new roots to grow into.

Yes, I can't think of anything else it could be, unless it's something really uncommon like maybe Maackia or something. I vote with ViburnumVallet (oops, a typo -- but pretty cool, huh?) and Growin.

Hey Snidely, what was your handle at 'Somewhere Else"? Are you another one of our old GW Tree Forum folks coming on board here?

Guy S.

Well, I'm not *exactly* a T&S forum guy from GW - I tended to hang out on other forums (Building a House, Soil/Compost Mulch, Tomatoes) and lurk in T&S. But I went by "snidelywhiplash" there too, and got the idea to come to DG on the T&S forum. So the credit lies there. : )

Thanks for the info - a thornless honeylocust wouldn't be too bad, especially for free - hard to pass up a $1000(?) tree for nothing. At least the autumn would be easy, since raking isn't really a problem with them. And we're gonna get it planted no later than this weekend. I'm still wondering about the bark, but a Google search tells me THL *does* have lenticels, so I'll go with Gleiditsia unless leaves in spring tell me otherwise. : )

I'm pretty sure it's not mulberry - the tree was intentionally planted AIUI, and mulberry is generally considered a trash tree around here, fit only for windbreaks. Plus the bark on Morus tends to be a more orangey color.

Jason

Welcome aboard, and let us know if your tree leafs out to be something totally unexpected!

Guy S.

OK, Guy (rhyme with oui), so you're not the only one who could be considered French now? ViburnumVallet (rhyme with beret)?

I guess I'll have to start wearing one now, as I get out to plant in this unseasonably warm weather ahead of the rains coming......

I'm still Guy (rhymes with why) and German-American. You call call me any name you wish at dinnertime, as long as you call me! But I could think of you as a vallet (or servant) to your viburnum collection, just as I'm a servant to some other plants and pets here.

The rain just got here last night. No flooding downpours, but every little bit will help recharge our drought-depleted soils. Now it's turning to snow as I type this -- the heavy wet flakes that make thudding sounds and shake the ground like a T-rex as they land! Our ponds and creeks are completely thawed, as is the soil. Same thing happened January 2005.

Normally we should have frost 2-3 feet deep now, with blizzards instead of drizzles, and icicles hanging from our beards. Anyone who still thinks drastic climate change is not bearing down upon us had better wake up.

Guy S.