Re: Street trees
- Subject: Re: Street trees
- From: J* D*
- Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 19:17:27 -0700 (PDT)
I'm convinced that plants sold in the San Francisco
area labeled Metrosideros excelsa are mostly hybrids
of M. excelsa and M. kermadecensis, for the leaves
vary from the longer, pointed form of M. excelsa to
the short oval of M. kermadecensis. Plus the bloom on
most trees is so random in timing as to cause one to
yearn for the gorgeous picture painted below (thank
you). I suppose in isolation that scattered-flowering
phenomenon might be attributed to the cooler & drier
climate of San Francisco. And another thing, the
production of aerial roots varies tremendously by
individual; whether that's a result of genetic play
with M. kermadecensis, local microclimate, or simply
individuality, I can't say.
the oldest Pohutukawas in San Francisco (Strybing
Arboretum and Russian Hill) are tremendous trees. I'm
interested to see how the profusion of young street
trees will grow to pique the local civic neurosis
about large trees.
Having recently seen Metrosideros polymorpha in
habitat in Hawaii, I'm revisiting my romance with the
genus.
How about the vine species? Do Kiwis or others use
them in their gardens much? So much untapped potential
for us in California.
-Jason Dewees
San Francisco
--- Tony and Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz> wrote:
> Barry Garcia wrote:
> >
> > gardenguru@yahoo.com writes:
> > >Metrosideros tomentosa, New Zealand Christmas
> Tree
> >
> > Meterosideros' are wonderful trees, and are clean
> from what I've seen.
>
> Just to clear up a couple of points Barry.
>
> According to the NZ flora, M tomentosa is regarded
> as just a synonym and
> the proper name of this splendid tree is
> Metrosideros excelsa. The Maori
> name, by which it is mostly known here, is
> Pohutukawa.
>
> And I certainly would not describe it as a clean
> tree. I once gardened
> for a household where there was a smallish tree of
> this species in the
> corner of a paved courtyard and all year round we
> battled with its
> droppings, from masses of spent flowers to leaves
> and various-sized
> twigs. We really used to curse the mess it made!
>
> As to using it as a street tree. There are several
> streets in my local
> city which were planted with it way back - maybe
> about 50-60 years ago -
> and because it is definitely south of its natural
> range here it has
> remained moderately small and manageable, but in its
> real home in the
> warm north it would soon outgrow the position and
> form an immense
> spreading canopy and a mighty trunk. To really do
> justice to its growth
> it needs a lot of space and looks magnificent for
> instance in a seaside
> park. They are indeed very fine at their best and
> the display of flowers
> hard to beat. I understand in California the
> flowering tends to be
> spread out, but the natural habit in its homeland is
> to have one
> magnificent burst lasting from around Christmas for
> about a month,
> though individual trees may spread things a little
> by varying their
> starting date. Many of the wild trees love to grow
> hanging on the most
> inaccesible of cliffs, often with gnarled exposed
> roots running down the
> cliff face, and when in flower the combination of
> blue sky, blue sea and
> crimson flowers can be breath-taking and evoke the
> best of the Christmas
> season for any Kiwi.
>
> As to the street plantings of Pohutukawa in Lower
> Hutt, they were
> discontinued after a few years, even though the
> trees are set in grass
> strips so the dropping would not matter much. It
> sees the locals
> objected to the way the trunks pretty soon thickened
> up, as they were
> afraid they could at night give cover to criminal
> lurkers! At least
> they made people walking past after dark
> uncomfortable. They also tend
> to put out low and unacceptably spreading side
> branches, which over the
> years have necessitated a good deal of major surgery
> to keep them from
> encroaching on carriage-way or footpath.
>
> Moira
> --
> Tony & Moira Ryan
> Wainuiomata - at the
> Southern tip of North Island, NZ, Lat 41°15'S, Long
> 174°58'E
>
>
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