Re: Downed trees
I think it's true that most of the Eucs that appear to be shallow rooted are
the forest giants, that certainly do grow in protected forest habitats. They
certainly aren't always shallow rooted though, that really does seem to be
related to other factors such as depth of soil, water accessibility etc.
They have a complex and specialized root system that in their own
environment is related to mycorrhizal associations.
Fertilizer use and artificial watering usually seem to contribute to poor
root systems, as well as planting from root bound states.
If they are root bound you will frequently do better to really hack at the
roots to loosen them up, and then cut back the tree correspondingly.
The slowness of the leaves to break down is similarly environment based. In
their natural environment they slowly make lovely leaf mould, helped along
by numerous indigenous animals and fungi.
Margaret Moir
Olive Hill Farm
Margaret River, Western Australia.
www.wn.com.au/olivehill
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Starkeson <johnsaia@dnai.com>
To: <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 9:52 PM
Subject: Re: Downed trees
>
>
> Joe Seals wrote:
>
> > I also suspect that there are a few trees that are
> > inclined, no matter what, to send out emphatically
> > "horizontal" root systems. These, too, seem
> > wind-ignorant.
>
> I would suspect that the shallow rooted eucs might do quite well against
> the wind in their native habitat, if they grow in forests of eucs, which
> is what we americans are led to believe from the photos we americans see
> of Australia. Similarly, large stands of (shallow-rooted)
> Sequoiadendron in California are unaffected by wind, because the whole
> serves as a windbreak to the individual trees. Maybe some australian
> botanists aboard can comment on this theory. Of course, this would not
> apply to species that grow in isolated patches, if any.
>
