Posted: 3/12/2008 9:58:31 AM EDT
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I've noticed this trend for a while now and these kind of subdivisions are becoming the dominant option for home buyers... at least it seems like it to me. We're planning on moving and we were checking out a few open houses in a neighborhood like this, where it looks like they just plowed through and leveled everything and anything that was sticking out of the ground. I'm not sure what was there before but it's definitely bare now. My first thought was if we moved in a place l like that we could plant trees. I'm not entirely sure what kind of trees have a fast enough rate of growth where we would see a difference in a short period of time. My second thought was having a more "mature" tree "transplanted", but if this is even an option I'm guessing it would be rather costly. The third thing I just saw on TV... austree. Never heard of it so I know nothing about it... Wondering if anyone else has any experience with adding trees into an otherwise bare piece of property. |
That was one thing I didn't like about new communities. No trees , or new trees they just planted, but they take forever to grow. I did notice a few communities though, that try not to mow everything down. They try and keep mature trees and work around them. This was in NC.
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Down here in Texas I call those neighborhoods without trees "Rice-paddy homes", as many of them were literally built on old rice patty land. Oddly enough, since I moved out of Houston in an unincorporated area near Magnolia, there are still some idiotic new subdivisions going up that mow down all the native 80-100' tall pine and Oak trees, build, then plant grass and yes - two 6-foot tall pines or Oak trees in the front yard.  Utterly idiotic.Personally, I'd suggest you go for a more mature neighborhood with large native trees. Nothing like it. CMOS |
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Some fast growing trees also die quickly and are susceptible to disease so choose carefully. Pin Oaks grow relatively fast. I have a couple that are maybe 10 years old and more than 20ft tall probably... I could snap some photos when I get home if you're intrested. Black Walnut trees grow relatively fast too but they tend to kill all the vegetation underneath them and a lot of people don't like the big, smelly walnuts. |
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I think the faster trees grow, the more fragile they are. We have a bunch of Bradford Pears in our subdivision. They smell like dead meat when they bloom and lose much of their tops in a high wind. You can get some balled and burlap 8-10 footers, dig a good hole and amend the soil you refill with. Water like hell the first year and in dry spells the next. I have an oak that came up as a volunteer on the corner of my lot. My wife has been after me for 3-4 years to cut it down. Last year the neighbors cut down a large pine next to it that shaded some of her bushes. My oak has hit 20-25 feet and is saving the day during the summer. |
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Depending on where you live, relatively decent-sized trees don't have to be too expensive. I remember my wife and l looked at some oaks for her house in TN, and I was suprised at how inexpensive they were - including the charge to have that truck with the big claw scoop out a hole. (Sorry I don't remember the numbers, and it was about 10 years ago). If you're planting, a lot of willows and river birches will grow REALLY fast, if they get lots of water. A good friend of mine had an underwater stream on her property, and planted a willow - and it went from a tiny little thing (that she brough home on the back seat of her Integra) to a giant monster with a trunk as big as her waist, and about 40 feet high in about five years - it was completely ridiculous. It looked like a mature tree that had been there forever - but that kind of growth requires a lot of constant water. But, even without more than regular watering, river birches and willows do seem to gro pretty fast. The Bradford pear seems to be a very popular tree for landscaping - it grows fast, leafs out early, and keeps its leaves late - with pretty fall color. BUT, most varieties tend to get top-heavy, and can lose major brances, or crack compleltey in heavy wind or ice storms. I hate them. |
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OK, well here is the time to hate me guys ,........ Im one of those tree killing bastards. The reason most subdivions are treeless is because its easier cheaper and faster to mass grade the entire subdivion instead of grading each individual lot one by one. Ive been in the clearning and grading business for over 10 years now and while I agree I would want MY house to have trees its MUCH easier for me the grading contractor not to have to work around trees and not have to worry about what the ground level is like around the tree incomparison to where grade on the house is going to be. Along with mass clearing and grading you can make the subdivision look more uniform ...... take the dirt from the really high places and use to fill the low places. Yes I am a hunter and outdoorsman and hate to see that environments get trashed but it is how I make my living as well. |
| I have the biggest tree on the block, and I love it. Older neighborhood (1983) with wonderful trees. I have lots of friends who live in those stripped neighborhoods and they SUCK! Plus their construction might as well be glued together. New houses being built are pieces of shit. |
Pin Oak leaves SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! I hate the damn little things. Nice trees, though. |
| These "Scorched Earth" neighborhoods are an eyesore and don't expect to grow tall trees in your lifetime. I am not a builder nor an arborist, but the basic jist of what I've learned is … When they clear the land for the development the deep top soil is usually stripped down to the clay for a firmer building surface. Once building is complete, a thin layer of soil is laid down smooth for landscaping, lawn and other quick growing foundation plants. During all this, construction and landscaping equipment are also adding to the problem by further compacting the soil. You can plant trees in this, but without the deep base of nutrient rich topsoil trees can never develop the deep, sturdy root system needed for them to grow to any appreciable size and due to the densely compacted soil from the building and landscaping process it further hinders growth. |
Yeah... The developers clear cut a copse of trees, build the houses, and then they put saplings in. Not an indictment of developers at all... Just kind of funny. "We want our trees WHERE WE WANT THEM, not where squirrels pooped..." |
Off hand, do you know any names of home builders on the coast or near the coast(subdivisions) |
Some types of Bamboo spread by runners just under the soil. If you want them in only a certain area you will have to fight a continual rear guard action!
Pretty much spot on. I think if I ever built I'd have them pencil out any landscaping. I notice around here they have the foundation plantings virtually touching the foundation. A few years later the plants are growing up the side of the house. Great when it comes time to re-paint. And azealas and other acid lovers don't need to be next to an alkaline concrete/morter area. |
DON'T plant Bamboo!!! The last idiots that owned my house did and the shit is horrible. Just plant trees and water them well. |
And if you ignore this advice, wear gloves when you handle it. Some of the stuff has fine hairs or something when green. Sort of like micro cactus needles. If you plant bamboo adopt a panda. |
Well, nature doesn't make life convenient for humans, so we change it. Nothing wrong with it, just the facts. We like nature, so we recreate little artificial bits of it around our houses in planters, and we pretend that a manicured lawn is natural. All this while driving down concrete highways in speedy contraptions, to work in boxes of steel and glass. Nature understands. It regrows. We can take time out of our productive lives to appreciate it once in awhile. Another thing that people lack is patience! Usually prices are slashed on trees at nurseries right before they grow too big to be transplanted. My dad has bought several oaks and maples that way. |
+1 Stop planting invasive shit! Have a little patience. Worthwhile plants take a while to grow. |
 The house we bought six months ago HAS bamboo - and we can definintely see that it's going to be hard to manage it. ETA: On the up side, it also has about twenty really tall oak trees, tons of japanese maples, a bunch of dogwoods, and lots of other nice stuff. For a half-acre lot, the trees kick ass. |
+1 I grew up in coastal NC. Gotta get rid of the pines, which uproot too easily and destroy property in the hurricanes (hurricane season is three months long every year). It's smart to have the flora closer to the ground. To the OP, though, he wants higher trees to help provide shade and thus save on cooling costs in the summer (my guess, right?). Cypress is good. Also, in my prior home, I wanted to build a natural fence (not high, just up to eye level) and evergreen firs and other bushes were GREAT. |
My house was built by Stevens, The other builder that did my subdivision is Everett. They are building heavy right now in Leland, on the south side of the Cape Fear river. There are a few new subdivisions being laid out right now on my side in Wilmington. John Travolta, and Kid Rock are building new houses right now just outside my subdivision on the river. |
I know a fantastic one. Will send you the info in IM. |
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We live one of the treeless subvisions. It was cotton fields that where developed and sold for 25K-35K for 3/4 acre lots. Trees can be planted. Sad part is the newer subdivisions are same price but much smaller lots. But I can live with the lack of trees for now, in exchange for great schools,low crime,safe neighborhood,etc. |
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Yes, I'm aware of the option to buy a home with trees... but I'm considering all options and knowing this is one I'd like to know where I could take it. Leyland Cypress - I think I know what they are. They don't lose their "leaves", right? They're also not exactly pleasant to the touch IIRC. I'm guessing they would be best for yard shade and privacy? Pin Oak - Why are these bad? I think this is what's in my front yard where I am now. They seem like pretty "traditional" trees. No? Willows - Guess it depends what kind? I kind of imagine "weeping" willows are the best shade trees... but they're good for yanking a branch off and whipping a bad kids ass with it. River birches - are those the ones with that really ugly bark that comes off in bug chunks? Bradford Pears - Smells like dead meat? As opposed to live meat? Either way... doesn't sound too appealing. Black Walnut - smelly walnuts are not my thing either. Rose of Sharon - WTF are these? Trees or plants? Any other types that are fast growing and maybe moderately low-maintenance and not offensive to the majority of the senses? I was also just thinking that in this sort of "scorched earth" sub-divisions where you have neighbors in close proximity all around you there might be some objects to you planting any kind of trees that might throw leaves into their yard or send roots on their side of the property line. I know some people might actual like moving into places like this just so they don't have to worry about raking in the fall. I'm not a big fan of it but the trade-off is the yard looks less barren, you get a little privacy, and eventually maybe some nice shade in the yard and maybe on the house which would reduce A/C expenses in the summer. What other complaints from the neighbors might you expect to get? Where we live now there are people all around our yard and the fences are chain-link on the back and one side so if we threw in some big shrubs/privacy trees I feel like it would rub them the wrong way... Do you also need some sort of permit to put on in by the town? Or at least have someone come out and survey the spot(s) you plan on planting to make sure you're not plopping it on top of a utility?
Youch!!! I'd hate to fall from the top of that ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Somehow I doubt the neighbors would dig too much on that one.
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Yeah, river birches have that flaky papery bark. I really like it, but if you don't, then you should obviously avoid them There are a number of varieties of willow - I've seen corkscrew willow grow really fast as well, and it's a nice-looking tree. Not droopy like weeping williows. Another tree that I found grew very fast, was a lombardy poplar. Other poplars might be similar, I only tried the lombardy. It grew very fast, but is a very vertical tree. So if you wanted screening, planting a bunch in an irrelgular line can work really well. The ones I had reproduced by sending out runners and growing new trees, so it was awesome! You kept getting more of them!  Norway spruces are also awesome screening trees. They can grow slowly at first; if you get the bagged/burlap size, the tend to not grow very fast for the first two years, but then they really take off. They're particualrly good for screening, because they are evergreen, and very good-looking trees, IMO. An added benefit is that you can cut them down for Christmas trees too, if you get behind in your Christmas shopping and don't have time to go find a tree. 
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Pathfinder, often for a grand or so, you can buy a tree that is almost too large to move with nursery equipment. Nurseries will firesale these trees before they have to cut them down. My dad has bought several that way to replace storm damaged trees. When he gets them, they are already 15-18 feet tall, and have a trunk like your thigh. Oaks and Maples can be moved that way. |
Lombardy Poplar is not always a good option. These trees can be bad, depending on your needs. "Hackberry" "Norway Maple" "Silver Maple" "Mimosa" "Lombardy poplar" "Leyland cypress" "Pin Oak" "Cottonwood" "Willow" There are loads of other plants to avoid too. Obviously this advice doesn't apply to everyone. Take it from me. Silver maples aren't worth the trouble! |
You will have surface roots that can make mowing the lawn fun, and they seek water faster and harder than anything, so if they get out of control, they can damage foundations. They grow fast, to be sure, and can be pretty, but they are weak as well. I've had them. I would never plant one intentonally. Hard maples are worth the wait. |
You are sitting on a gold mine. Those things are outrageously expensive. 
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I do understand the business end of the mass clearing. I just think that a developer could get a premium price per house of it still had the native, tall trees on property. CMOS |
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When I first read the title I saw Topless Subdivisions and I was thinking what a great idea that is... I have a heavily wooded lot and took down some dead trees and planted Ginkos in there place. They are slow growing but will last for a couple of thousand years. -JTP |
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Just for an example, here's a pic of our place below: Note that although we have a good many native trees, I still have planted over a dozen 5-7' pine and Oak trees (Water Oak & Live Oak). I consistently get 4-6 FEET of growth per year on these new trees by the manner in which I feed and water them. CMOS 
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I am not happy with this trend myself. I'll probably be buying my first home in the fall, and we're going to be looking primarily at relatively new homes, built within the last 5 or so years. Most of the developers in this area clearcut trees when they build a development; a few leave the trees. You can always transplant trees, or get the hybrid tree you linked, but there's the rub: you'll have trees, but your neighbors still won't. Aesthetically, your street will still look like a barren plain with houses on it, only with a patch of trees. |
Actually at the 30 year point a lot of the trees will be too big. My particular cul-de-sac (and adjacent streets - former orange grove) each lot had a camphor tree or similar in the front yard. At the 30 year point many of the trees were being taken out because they had out grown the yards. I have liquid ambers in my front yard that I planted as seedlings and at about 20 years they are about 30-40 feet tall. Almost all of larger trees have had to be removed and replaced. This is Santa Ana wind territory and we get winds gusting 70-90 mph most years. |
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I've built 3 new houses. 2 in sub divisions and this one in a corn field. All 3 the builder put in a stupid crabapple tree. All 3 of them were dead in no time. My Grandpa planted a 2 Maples about 20 years ago. One on each side of the drive. One is awesome the other still looks like when it was brought home. He said it was the clay on that side of the drive. I just got a nursery book in the mail. I've always liked Weeping Willows. Salix Babylonica. It says they grow as much as 8-10 feet a year! Can that be? |