The Mountain Ash, sorbus americana, I ordered from Forest Farms arrived yesterday looking stong, healthy and in great condition.
I selected a place to plant it but ran into a boulder too large and heavy for me to remove on my own. I am going to have to round up some help and a crow bar.
The location gets morning sun and isn't too far from a clump of black walnuts and a large oak.
Ouch, Rose! Murphy's law, isn't it? I have that problem just about every time my shovel hits the dirt. I live in STONY Point, in ROCKland County!
Victor, you're all over the place, great to see you here on the tree forum!
The soil here is filled with rocks too, but I have to hand it to you, it doesn't have the rocks of Rockland County!
If I try to put a shovel into the ground it usually only goes in an inch or so and hits multiple small stones and rocks. Then you have to get down on the ground and dig with a trowel. Oh well, it's exercise.
We lived for a short time just north of Chattanooga TN. I couldn't get a shovel in at all. I had to go buy a pick ax in order to dig for anything. I have no rock up here, digging a hole takes me a matter seconds for something like a perennial, down there, it took me an hour to dig a hole for perennial! I had a rhododendron that I was trying to plant and I came across exactly what you have up there! Had to wait for my husband to get home to try and jimmy that rock out of my way.
Hi Roseone;
How is your Mountain Ash doing, have you got the Rocks cleared, and the tree planted?
I purchased 3 from a mail-or-catalog. They sent me 3 little bareroot sticks about 12-15" tall. I potted them, and they promptly leaved out. I like to nurse them to a little bigger size before I put them in the ground. It's said to be a challenge in my zone (7b) to raise Mountain Ash. But I saw these trees out in SouthWest, and I love the way the bark looks.
Our soil is Clay, and rocked filled. Digging holes always a chores, but for every dozen Mimosa my DH pulled up, and in their places we can trade for an ornamental tree is a good reward itself.
Hi Lily, Sounds like you and I share similar soil characteristics. It may be a stretch for the ash to thrive here but I want to give it a try. Yes, help arrived and we got that rock out and three more, so the tree has a good planting hole. My tree came from Forest Farms and was container grown, head high with a mass of strong roots. All for about $12, not counting shipping. It has leafed out and looks good. I'll post a photo later on. Good luck with yours.
I feel your pain: I live in the geographical middle of TN. Rutherford County is a "dimple" - completely flat, but surrounded by counties with hills.
We are blessed with pockets of red, sticky, clay soil, nestled between massive boulders of limestone bedrock everywhere. Often you don't even have to dig to find the bedrock; it rises up from the ground to greet you. My vegetable garden consists of raised beds - in large part because there isn't enough depth to the soil for a proper garden. (Fortunately, I like raised beds ;o)
Very few subdivisions here have underground power lines because of the expense to lay them. Of the newer ones that do, they typically don't have natural gas lines - for the same reason. (All their utilities are electric, and if they want a gas fireplace, they have to install an above-ground propane tank to run it.)
We're also one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, which means construction is booming. For the past five years, we've endured blast after blast as they attempted to break up and excavate the land surrounding our little subdivision to widen streets and build schools, new homes, apartments and businesses on old farmland.
Good luck with your mini-boulder removal and ash planting! ;o)
Here it is. Tree is about 6' tall from soil level to the topmost branch.
Ooh the tree looks so healthy with interesting branches. I surely will keep White Flower Farm in my must have list. Thanks Roseone, for sharing the pic.
your Sorbus certainly has leafed out early.....I have several 1'' dbh plants in 3 gallon black plastic pots and none of them show any evidence of bud break! ....Maybe it's related to the seed source(N. C. Mtn's @ ~6000' msl)
conifer50
Conifer50, my Mountain Ash, 3 small ones have leafed out as well, though much smaller, but they have broke dormancy. I purchased these as bareroot plants. The same co. sent me two Pawpaw trees, which have shown no sign of breaking dormancy yet. Though, the bark is still green, I'll wait a while before I contact the Co. for replacement of my order.
Rose,
That's a very nice tree. Forest Farm sends out very nice plants. I have a magnolia coming from FF this spring.
I would remove the "trunk" that has the plant label attached to it, though. Take that branch/trunk off right at the base of the tree. Your tree will develop better with just a single trunk. I know you will think I am crazy for suggesting this, and it will be hard to remove that from your newly planted tree, but it will be best in the long run for the tree.
My .02
Mike
Thanks everyone. The tree looking good has nothing to do with me, just a good healthy tree.
Conifer50, your guess is probably correct. My tree came from Forest Farms in Oregon, which I think is a milder climate than you would find at 6000 ft in NC mts. And thanks again for your help in finding this tree.
Lily, just a note, White Flower Farm is in Connecticut and is not associated with Forest Farms, although I think WFF has a lot of good offerings. It's probably a good idea to check Garden Watchdog before you order anything from anyone.
Good luck with all your trees.
Hello Mike, thanks for your input. You're correct, it will be very hard if not impossible for me to prune off that trunk/branch. Your reasoning? Is it to make the tree have just one main leader?
Any input from other tree people will be appreciated before I prune it off. Thanks, Rose
Hi Rose,
The reasoning is to prevent that trunk from cracking from the tree when it gets too large and/or heavy in later years.
Put your fingers in between those two trunks and if you can get your fingers all the way to the bottom where the trunks meet, then you should be alright. If you can't get your fingers to the bottom where the trunks meet, then it's a bad crotch angle and the bad-angled branch/trunk could easily split from the rest of the tree in later years or as the trunks get larger in diameter, they may grow against each other and the one with the bad angle may split off.
My .02
Mike
Thanks Mike, I thought about it all day and have decided to go with your advice. I wish I could stick the pruned branch in the soil and have it root but that must be asking too much.
Thanks again for your input, you may have saved me a lot of heartache down the road.
I'm finally seeing some budbreak in my backyard specimens but high elev. plants may take another month. My S. alnifolia's buds were killed in the recent freeze and I'm not expecting them to flower.
conifer50
today's pic/S. americana
Nice looking Sorbus, Conifer;
I found aphids on my Sorbus' new growth. (2 out of 3), and sprayed these with mild soap. It works! In selecting a site for the young trees. Would these trees tolerate hot sun in the South East? Can I underplant these under other big's oak canopy? Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Kim
Very nice conifer, I hope all the trees do well. Mine is fine, I pruned off the side shoot and we'll see how it does. My tree gets morning sun and is on a slope not too far from a large oak.
This message was edited Apr 23, 2007 9:03 AM
Thank you, Roseone;
Here comes more rocks digging. LOL.
Here's the resulting display from same "bud" pictured above!
Very nice! How old is your tree Conifer?
The side branch I pruned off my sapling and stuck in the ground has rooted and put out leaves. Now I have 2 trees! I'll transplant it it the Fall. Will post a pic one of these days.
Congrats go to Conifer50 for the flowers on Sorbus, and roseone33 for success with planting S. Americana.
Thank you Lily!
I'm thinking my Mt. Ashes are around 7 years and started from seeds!
Good work, Conifer, would you care to disclose where you gathered seed? I might only want to see a mature tree in it's full glory on an outing someday. I live less that a miles from NC border so getting up into the "big" mountains might be a fun hike sometime when one of my sons come to visit.
My seed came from roadside trees along the road from Newfound Gap to Clingman's Dome. Best displays are on the slopes of Black Balsam Mtn. near Blue Ridge Parkway.
