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

[HX_Guy]

How are you guys watering these trees? Are they on irrigation or do you put a hose at the base every now and then?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

I think the lawn near my tree is what is causing all the trouble. It has put out tons of huge roots right at the surface of the lawn (to suck up all the lawn water) and I can't even aerate the lawn anymore as my lawn is like concrete and the aerator won't puncture the ground/roots. The big roots have went under the concrete slab for my fire pit and the suckers are popping out on the other side in the dry gravel where there is nothing getting watered. I dug up one of the roots that was growing suckers and the root goes way under my patio towards my foundation. I couldn't dig enough to get the root out and there is no water under my patio (I hope).

Maybe, as you said, if they were isolated and not near another water source they would do better.

You sure seem to have a lot of problems. I have mine in a lawn area and while I am sure there are roots in it, they are not on the surface and not bothering the grass, visible, or even sending up shoots. I have a deep irrigation system on the tree itself (four 1/4 tubes with no emitters place in the root ball when I planted it). I water it regularly and for a long time with that system while the lawn I keep short and shallow on the waterings. I have said it many times, but these trees are everywhere. Next time you go down Sarival, notice all of them planted right next to the sidewalks around Van Buren south. The sidewalks and the walls of the property right next to them all look fine and these trees are bigger and older than mine.

The wind yesterday took a lot of the old leaves out of the sissoo and quite a bit of that ended in the pool or all over the patio. But the worst problem I had with that is my acacia tree. The pool was covered with a layer of yellow balls yesterday. Later I will get the biggest mess I see when the mesquite blooms all dump in the pool. Trees and pools just don't do well together, but I like the shade the trees provide and so I live with the mess and the extra effort with the net to get the garbage out. If you do your own pool, I think it bothers you less than if you pay someone and still have to be out there working on it to keep it clean. The ONLY tree that is really pool compatible are the palm trees and if one wants to be free of tree litter in the pool, they should not delude themselves that any other type is not going to lose leaves or whatever in the water.

[LBTRS]

Yeah, I have emitters on the tree to try and keep it from looking for water elsewhere.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

You sure seem to have a lot of problems. I have mine in a lawn area and while I am sure there are roots in it, they are not on the surface and not bothering the grass, visible, or even sending up shoots. I have a deep irrigation system on the tree itself (four 1/4 tubes with no emitters place in the root ball when I planted it). I water it regularly and for a long time with that system while the lawn I keep short and shallow on the waterings. I have said it many times, but these trees are everywhere. Next time you go down Sarival, notice all of them planted right next to the sidewalks around Van Buren south. The sidewalks and the walls of the property right next to them all look fine and these trees are bigger and older than mine.

The wind yesterday took a lot of the old leaves out of the sissoo and quite a bit of that ended in the pool or all over the patio. But the worst problem I had with that is my acacia tree. The pool was covered with a layer of yellow balls yesterday. Later I will get the biggest mess I see when the mesquite blooms all dump in the pool. Trees and pools just don't do well together, but I like the shade the trees provide and so I live with the mess and the extra effort with the net to get the garbage out. If you do your own pool, I think it bothers you less than if you pay someone and still have to be out there working on it to keep it clean. The ONLY tree that is really pool compatible are the palm trees and if one wants to be free of tree litter in the pool, they should not delude themselves that any other type is not going to lose leaves or whatever in the water.

You're right, trees and pools don't go together but there are some trees that are better than others around pools. I'm just frustrated that I paid a landscape designer, since I didn't know anything about plants in the desert when we moved here, and she said the sissoo was the cleanest tree and was great around pools. Never mentioned the invasive roots, said it didn't have any litter (leaves, pods, flowers) and was the best tree to put in down here.

After speaking to Tree Pro's I found out that the designer I paid didn't know what she was talking about and they said Sissoo's should be banned here as they are one of the most problem trees in the area.

You say the wind took leaves out of your sissoo, do you not have the flowers and pods also? I wonder why mine is producing all this litter and yours isn't?

[observer53]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

You say the wind took leaves out of your sissoo, do you not have the flowers and pods also? I wonder why mine is producing all this litter and yours isn't?

Is it one of those male/female differences, like mulberries?

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by observer53

Is it one of those male/female differences, like mulberries?

Good question.

We have this one live oak tree in our neighborhood that drops tons of acorns all over the sidewalk and street. We have many live oak trees throughout the neighborhood but only this one produces acorns. I asked an arborist, when he was at my house looking at the sissoo, why this one tree is so messy and he would not believe me that it produced acorns. He flat out said "oak trees here do not produce acorns it must be something else you're seeing". I'm very familiar with acorns so there is no question they are acorns but I'm wondering why one tree would do something that the pro's say can't happen here. I wonder if I have a similar rogue tree.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

You're right, trees and pools don't go together but there are some trees that are better than others around pools. I'm just frustrated that I paid a landscape designer, since I didn't know anything about plants in the desert when we moved here, and she said the sissoo was the cleanest tree and was great around pools. Never mentioned the invasive roots, said it didn't have any litter (leaves, pods, flowers) and was the best tree to put in down here.

After speaking to Tree Pro's I found out that the designer I paid didn't know what she was talking about and they said Sissoo's should be banned here as they are one of the most problem trees in the area.

You say the wind took leaves out of your sissoo, do you not have the flowers and pods also? I wonder why mine is producing all this litter and yours isn't?

I've got the flowers, but they are not dropping much yet. Most of what is coming out is dead leaves that are in replacement mode. The pods are up there too, but I am not seeing them drop much either. It will all come down eventually.

Yeah, I got the same story from the nursery: no litter like a ficus but better because it does not freeze. But what got to me most was the fast growing aspect. That is true. These trees are amazing - they go from stick to 20 feet high and wide in a just a couple years. Mine grew like 6 feet the first year! They are almost as fast as a watered mesquite.

[LBTRS]

How big is yours? Mine is probably 30'+ tall and growing.

Seems your elevation puts you a little behind us down here in the low lands. I went through the leaves a few weeks ago and am now on to the pods and flowers.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

Good question.

We have this one live oak tree in our neighborhood that drops tons of acorns all over the sidewalk and street. We have many live oak trees throughout the neighborhood but only this one produces acorns. I asked an arborist, when he was at my house looking at the sissoo, why this one tree is so messy and he would not believe me that it produced acorns. He flat out said "oak trees here do not produce acorns it must be something else you're seeing". I'm very familiar with acorns so there is no question they are acorns but I'm wondering why one tree would do something that the pro's say can't happen here. I wonder if I have a similar rogue tree.

My sister (in Florida) has live oaks that produce acorns. Her goats clean them up. I have a neighbor a few streets down that has a live oak, but I'm not sure whether it gets acorns or not. Perhaps there are different varieties, as well as "genders".

[pbenjamin]

This is what ours looks like, planted in 2009. No problems so far with the roots. It has been shedding flower material a lot in the last few days. You can tell that we have been thinning it out a bit.