Do NOT plant a Sissoo tree whatever you do!!! (popular in Phoenix area) (transport, oil)

[Java Jolt]

Why are sissoos still planted in the new builds when it's known how disastrous they can be?

There are many different species of shadetrees which can grow well here and don't have the problem with treacherous roots or sucker growth.

I guess this type of tree has some benefits, it can treat certain health disorders and it's even used as a toothbrush in some cultures. Dalbergia sissoo: Shimshapa Uses, Research, Side Effects

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by Java Jolt

Why are sissoos still planted in the new builds when it's known how disastrous they can be?

Builders can get them much cheaper that better quality trees. Plus they are fast to establish and grow quickly compared to most other trees.
I still remember when those dirty eucalyptus trees and mulberry trees were popular with builders years ago.

[pbenjamin]

If they use the right chemicals when the tree is taken out you don't have to dig out the roots and you won't have the problem with sprouts that people keep reporting here.

[cactusland]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

Builders can get them much cheaper that better quality trees. Plus they are fast to establish and grow quickly compared to most other trees.
I still remember when those dirty eucalyptus trees and mulberry trees were popular with builders years ago.

What was wrong with eucalyptus?

Right now I have a bottle tree and I am pulling my hair out. It drops such a massive amount of leaves, limbs and massive pods year round I am seriously considering tearing it out, but it provides a ton of shade. I am scared though that due to its limb dropping tendencies it will drop one that will do damage.

[locolobo13]

Originally Posted by cactusland

What was wrong with eucalyptus?

Right now I have a bottle tree and I am pulling my hair out. It drops such a massive amount of leaves, limbs and massive pods year round I am seriously considering tearing it out, but it provides a ton of shade. I am scared though that due to its limb dropping tendencies it will drop one that will do damage.

Eucalyptus lose limbs a lot during storms. Other than that I have no problems with them. Mulberry's I like but I think new ones are not allowed in the valley due to pollen.

So what kind of shade tree do people here recommend. I'm going to have to replace one in the next couple of years.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by cactusland

What was wrong with eucalyptus?

Right now I have a bottle tree and I am pulling my hair out. It drops such a massive amount of leaves, limbs and massive pods year round I am seriously considering tearing it out, but it provides a ton of shade. I am scared though that due to its limb dropping tendencies it will drop one that will do damage.

The leaves! I had two of them and they were big - 40 feet or more. They lost tons of leaves every spring, and then continued to drop them the rest of the year. We were constantly raking to keep things neat. Also, the flowers or seeds or whatever stink - not obnoxiously but it's not a pleasant odor. Last, but not least, they drop limbs. We'd be in the house and hear a crack and a crash. Luckily they never fell on anyone, but one did crush the fence.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Eucalyptus lose limbs a lot during storms. Other than that I have no problems with them. Mulberry's I like but I think new ones are not allowed in the valley due to pollen.

So what kind of shade tree do people here recommend. I'm going to have to replace one in the next couple of years.

I don't know that I would recommend them, but we finally gave up on all these exotic trees that still lose leaves, die in summer, freeze back in winter, get diseases, and went with mesquites. They have their problems - messy mostly - but the mess is not that hard to deal with. They get the puffy stuff in spring which requires me to skim the pool every day for about a week, then they drop pods a little later that requires a raking. Otherwise, the tiny leaves sort of disappear into the rock (we have all rock now). On the positive side, they do well here. They tolerate heat, drought, freezes, hard water, and root rot. Shade in summer is great but they lose leaves late in winter for a while. You can prune them to be tall or wide, single or multi-trunk. Chileans and velvets (the AZ native) are about the same. Chileans have fewer thorns making pruning them easier, but velvets seem to have denser foliage and get huge and green with water. We have both.

If I had turf and better soil, I would go with citrus. They are very clean and you can eat the fruits of your labor taking care of them.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Eucalyptus lose limbs a lot during storms. Other than that I have no problems with them. Mulberry's I like but I think new ones are not allowed in the valley due to pollen.

So what kind of shade tree do people here recommend. I'm going to have to replace one in the next couple of years.

They don't seem to root very deep, we had about 30 fall down up the street from us when the ground got saturated and the wind came and down they went.

[stevek64]

Any tree will root shallow or deep depending on the watering schedule that it is given so I wouldn't generalize overall about the depth of roots of any tree.

I've found the eucalyptus trees we've lived around to be very stable if they were watered correctly in their early years. There are of course many different varieties of eucalyptus trees and some might be weaker in the wind but there's a huge one close to us that has taken some major wind/intense micro bursts and besides dropping a few small twig branches, it's held together nicely. As already mentioned, I will agree on the leaf factor.....they drop a bunch of leaves, at least this variety.

As for the popularity of sisso's, I think it depends on the area/neighborhood/builder. In the areas we've lived around the valley, I didn't see many of them. I agree on the super fast growth factor that probably some builders like to keep their clients happy but there are other trees that grow fast that are native like palo verde's and mesquites that don't have the root issues.

[InchingWest]

Why would anyone in North America purposefully plant something that's native to the Indian subcontinent?