Can you offer any comfort to two women grieving over torn-out trees?

[Bertha Venation]

All around us, for years they've been clearing forest-type land to build houses, townhouses, and apartments. I am furious about this, and there's not a god damned thing I can do about it.

This morning, as I left the house, I saw a big machine with a giant bucket extended, flying (it seemed) toward one of four large trees surrounding an abandoned farm house. Before they began development, they staked the ground around these trees with orange snow fence stuff, leading us to believe that these trees would be spared. Great idea, we said to ourselves. If they have to ruin this land and our semi-idyllic existence here, at least they have these trees to add a little grandeur to the place.

We couldn't have been more wrong. That big yellow machine barely stopped before the bucket fell, stripping the branches off the tree.

I have never been more heartsick. I have no words to describe it.

I doubt there's any comfort to be had; still, have you any ideas on how to ease the grief a little?

[Major Nikon]

1. Find a place to plant some new trees

The great thing about trees is that if you plant the right variety, it will probably outlive you. A 1 gallon tree at Wal-mart only costs $15 or so. It's one of the best investments you can ever make.

[Bertha Venation]

3. We'll plant one in our front yard.

Thanks.

[Major Nikon]

5. Look for the smallest one you can find

Besides being cheaper, smaller trees are more likely to survive transplant compared to larger trees.

[Bertha Venation]

6. I didn't know that.

Thank you!

[NickB79]

13. Make sure you size the tree to your yard

Don't plant an oak that will be 60 ft tall at maturity if you have a small yard, for example. There are plenty of small varieties of trees out there that only grow 30 ft tall or so. Also, have you considered planting a tree that will bear fruit or nuts? That way, you'd have both shade AND food production.

I personally like bare-root trees; they're cheaper and seem to establish better than potted trees that might be root-bound in a too-small pot. The only down-side is that you usually only plant bare-root in early spring, before they leaf out. I order almost exclusively from Burnt Ridge Nursery out of Washington State now, as I've had very good luck with them over the years: http://www.burntridgenursery.com/ Their website doesn't list everything; you can request a catalog for a full listing of what they carry.

[zanana1]

7. I second that. Plant LOTS of them! nt

[HappyMe]

2. That's crappy.

I'm sorry to hear that.
If you have the space, plant a couple of trees at your place.
If you have a town park, have a tree planted there.

[Bertha Venation]

4. Thanks.

We have the perfect spot in our front yard. We're going to a nursery tomorrow to buy a tree. Thanks, HappyMe.

[irisblue]

8. tree info i learned the costly hard way

know where your water/sewer/gas lines are. tree roots will be twice the size of the canopy, tree roots like water, they are okay with sewage water too. i was not okay with sewage in my basement. check, check, recheck. your state agriculture office can give good advice on trees that will do well in your area. ( government in action...woohoo)

[KamaAina]

9. Find a park that has lots of trees

and go camp in it. Go ahead and hug a couple!

[RebelOne]

10. I feel your pain.

The big lot behind my house has been cleared of trees and any other greenery. A giant apartment complex being built there. I dread the thought of all those people that will be moving in once it is completed.

[knowbody0]

11. no comfort, but much empathy

for six hours the dozers fell the forest next to me. each tree shook the earth as she died, I heard them screaming and was nauseated. I had to lay down, I was weak in the knees.

what I did was rescue the ferns amongst the ruins. they are thriving here, but each spring I cry again.

Peace and love

[applegrove]

12. I'm with you. They'll lose the canopy. There was a suburb where I live that got rid of all trees

as they built townhouses. It took a generation to get those trees back. It looked so much better.

[elleng]

14. SO SORRY,

and so foolish of them; trees add real value to property, so whatever the cost of building AROUND trees would be recovered not long down the road (unless they're clearing for walmart.)

FYI, as to buying trees (have a great day tomorrow; good weather for hanging around nurseries,) roots of weeping willows seek water, damage water lines, so avoid such. (We had to take one down, some years ago, as it had attacked our neighbor's water lines.)

[TuxedoKat]

15. So sorry

I hate hearing stories like that. I feel guilty when I pull up weeds sometimes, so much so that I often transplant them to another spot where I don't mind them growing. I planted four trees last year, two cherry trees, an apricot and a weeping willow. They all made it over the winter. I was so thrilled and so happy to see them leafing out this spring. One of the trees, a dwarf cherry, flowered and will have little cherries already! Weeping willow trees grow very fast and don't block out too much sun. I ordered my trees from this company:

http://www.starkbros.com/?gclid=CKb1grX9irACFUdN4AodXkbMpg

They have many kinds of trees and different sizes too: standard, semi-dwarf and dwarf. It looks like the dwarf trees (8-10ft max) might fruit earlier but not live as long. Semi-dwarf (10-15ft) take a little longer to fruit, but last longer. If you don't have a lot of space you might be able to plant more with dwarf or semi-dwarf trees.

One thing I learned about planting trees is be sure to dig a pretty big hole because the roots don't like to be cramped. Be sure to get some kind of fertilizer too. (((HUGS)))

[Denninmi]

16. I can so relate to this.

When the wave of massive development went through my region of SE Michigan in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s, all of the former forests and fields that I loved as a child disappeared, replaced by ugly suburban sprawl. And, especially disheartening was when they developed the old abandoned orchard across the street from me that had formerly been used to pasture a herd of cows, and the field behind me that was my childhood playground and a rich breeding ground for all manner of birds and wildlife, and full of numerous species of wildflowers.

I was lucky enough that I was able to save little pieces of it ahead of the dozers. The field project was announced for development in the winter, and the actual process began in the summer. That gave me the spring to transplant numerous small trees, shrubs, vines, and wildflowers to my own property. I still have most of the woody plants, and some of the wildflowers.

Yes, sad, but as you know, there isn't anything you can do to change it. Just do what you can with your own property to create your own little piece of heaven.