That’s the length between my corner of Tetrapanax papyrifer and the red sempervivum next to my neighbor’s driveway.
The red sempervivum next to which I recently noticed a tiny tetrapanax baby. A baby that somehow traveled under 8ft of concrete driveway to emerge ready to grow tall. Thankfully my neighbor looked at this as a gift, not a curse.
The circle is just up the street, in another neighbor’s front garden. This is a chestnut, and its roots are going to strangle it…someday.
Right? I mean this can’t be good.
My first thought was: where else are these emerging that you just haven't noticed yet? My second thought was: oooh, I like plants that surprise you with strong spreading abilities. :)
ReplyDeleteYa I was wondering the same thing, where are they!? In the back garden? Across the street? Last year 3 popped up in my garden, I was thrilled and left them to get bigger and stronger before giving them away. Sadly winter seems to have done them in as there is no sign of them yet.
DeleteA Not Recommended plant in my climate--it is even more aggressive here. Thought maybe your area with colder winters would keep it in check. They reseed, too.
ReplyDeleteOur climate does keep the reseeding in check, since the frost always manages to zap the blooms before they can fully develop.
DeleteCrazy tetrapanax! That's weird about the roots of the chestnut. Was it grown in a pot for too long? What would make roots do that?
ReplyDeleteGood question. This garden was "professionally" installed and maintained (I've never once seen the homeowners weed, water, dead head...anything). A big suckering branch from the base was cut out last year (you can just barely make it out in the photo) so I know the caretakers have seen the circling roots, just not done anything about them, if there is anything that can be done.
DeleteWOW!!!!! I would be thrilled if your tetrapanax could travel a few hundred miles north and pop up mysteriously!!
ReplyDeleteCareful, don't tempt it...
DeleteWhoa! The plant with the dinosaur name behaves like one too. Glad your neighbor is ok with the pup. I've lusted after one of these for a while, but in my small front yard I'm re-thinking that desire. Still, they're so cool looking! Palms and bananas just don't do it for my for the tropical look. There are giant ones in front of a house on the famous Peacock Lane (Christmas light wonderland), though I haven't been by there since the brutal winter to see if they've recovered.
ReplyDeleteJim N. Tabor
You should get one! Seriously. They are amazing and the pups really are easily dug.
DeleteWow. Are you scared now?
ReplyDeleteHa, no...not until I see one busting through the basement wall.
DeleteTetrapanax has outwitted me even with bamboo rhizome barriers here in Berkeley, so I'm wary of using it in an open garden. I've never had it self-sow from seed here in Berkeley, but boy does it spread from the roots. It's gotten 15 feet tall in one client's garden, along with another root invasive Wigandia that's now 30 feet tall by across. Seldom any severe cold to keep them in check here.
ReplyDeleteAnd the severe cold actually seems to only encourage them to send up runners, in my experience. As long as they're happily growing upward (not knocked back by the cold) they seem less likely to want to send out new plants.
DeleteTetrapanax does spread out about but I don't find it difficult to keep in check. Just snap away if it appears somewhere where it's not wanted (if digging up roots is not feasible). Curious about that circle!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it's really not hard to control. If anything it's a challenge to dig the babies in a way that they can be transplanted. My friend Jane told me she heard digging them in the fall gives you a better chance of survival.
Deleteit's a tree buried too deep. that's what I kept trying to tell a neighbor whose trees were dying. the root crown should be above the soil line. she didn't believe me, but the trees did. dead and gone.
ReplyDeleteI thought maybe that was the case too but have been watching it for sometime and it never appeared to be too deep, see Evan's comment below.
DeleteWow - you could end up surrounded by a Tetrapanax forest! I actually live in constant fear that's what's going to happen with my Albizia.
ReplyDeleteYikes, it seems like they would be harder to spot, and thus more likely to take over when you weren't looking!
DeleteI'd take a tetrapanax if you ever have unwanted pups! Better than it going to the pound. :) As for the chestnut, it surprisingly is not planted too deep, as the root flair is visible. The circling roots is the result of the tree growing too long in a container and is more common than you would think, especially in "professionally" installed landscapes. Roots start circling as soon as they hit the edge of the pot. If left too long they become woody and inflexible and can't be straightened out during planting, which absolutely should be done for the long-term health of the tree. Not that the average landscaper worries about little details like that. Usually they do things as fast as possible, not even bothering to loosen the roots before planting, and sometimes they even leave burlap or wire around tree roots. I've seen it more often than i'd like. The problem can often be corrected by removing the circling roots before they cut into the the trunk, but in this case I worry that it may be too late. Those roots are so large that cutting them may kill the tree anyway, and the root base may well have other problems we can't see. If you couldn't tell, bad planting practices by landscapers and bad repotting in nurseries is a bit of a pet peave with me
ReplyDeleteI'll add you to the list Evan, so far I see nothing in my garden but imagine it's just a matter of time. As for the chestnut what you say makes sense, I'll be watching to see what happens long term...
DeleteWow, you've really illustrated and explained it well! That's a survivor plant! (I like your neighbor's Sempervivum, too.)
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely little semp!
DeleteI would so welcome a Tetrapanax forest, but alas, I have killed three so far.
ReplyDeleteWhat time of year are you planting them? And where are you buying them?
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