I am going to plant some trees around my 10 acres in the very top part of the Texas Panhandle. I was going to buy them from the US Dept of Ag. The lady that I talked with this morning is rather new and didn't know what kind they will have for sale only that you order them in Oct and they deliver them in March. These are grown for this area in Lubbock, Texas. Have you all ever ordered some and what are your choices?? Would like a fairly fast grower and would rather have something else besides evergreens. I wonder what kind they have. Thanks Bill

-- Bill Porter (porboy298@yahoo.com), August 14, 2001

Answers

Bill,

I work for a state conservation agency and I'm pretty sure the nursery that your thinking of is state run rather than USDA. I made a quick web search and found Indian Mound Nursery run by the Texas State Forest Service (http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/...look under forest management). They offer the following: Pines: Loblolly, Longleaf, Slash asnd Virginia Hardwoods: Baldcypress, Bur oak, Cherrybark oak, Live oak, Nutall oak, Sawtooth oak, Shumard oak, Mexican Live oak, Water oak, White oak, Pecan, Cottonwood, Chinese Pistache, Mexican plum and Sweetgum.

Anything fast growing is also usually short lived and forms weak wood prone to breakage. A happy medium of growth rate and strength would be a good choice. I don't know your area or soils so can't advise species.

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), August 15, 2001.

A practice they use here is to plant fast-gowing trees, accepting that they'll die soon (say 10 or twelve years), as nurse-trees in a shelter belt along with the slower-growing ones. You get shelter fairly rapidly and it establishes a favourable micro-climate for the other trees.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), August 15, 2001.

Don Armstrong is correct,I think. Australia has roughly the same climate as the US, that is, it has areas that compare with our areas The writer suggesting shelter trees is likewise correct. It is a fine way to get through the years until the better trees are reasonably mature. I planted hybrid populars (sometimes called Pennsylvania populars) guaranteed to grow eight feet a year. Mine grew nine-plus the first year after a late planting and leveled off at eight and a quarter to eight and one half in succeeding years. This is the sixth year and they are now more than 70 feet high and hale and hardy. he elms, hickories and pecans they sheltered are still babies. I* found the dried out cuttings about six inches long in the dead of winter at a flea market for 50 cents each. I waited until April, soaked them in a buck of water overnight, and watered them a time or two when it seemed dry.

-- Gordon Crump (hermit@duo-county.com), August 16, 2001.