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Lombardy poplars are fast-growing, hardy and attractive deciduous trees, but they can eclipse shorter trees and eventually grow too tall for use around utility lines.
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Large trees need big landscapes and care taken about placement
Bigger isn't always better when it comes to trees
By Tony Tomeo
Those who read my columns regularly might have noticed I am particularly fond of large trees. I especially enjoy the maples (genus: Acer).
By maples, I don't mean puny Japanese maples. I mean the real maples, such as silver, red, sugar, Norway and Bigleaf maples. Red and Norway maples are actually very practical trees, but the others are just too large for most garden applications.
With few exceptions, larger trees have more difficulty fitting in than smaller trees. When large trees are used, all obstacles they may encounter should be considered.
Improper placement of trees may eventually cause damage to pavement, swimming pools, roofs, gutters, fences, utility cables or even foundations. Some species of trees may also clog sewers, although this is not nearly as common as some think.
A larger tree also produces a larger mess. Neighbors are often compelled to accept extra mess and often extra shade.
Another consideration is not what the trees may damage, but how they may be damaged by arborists employed by the electric company to perform line clearance. Lower utility cables, which include cable television, telephone and lower voltage electrical are usually not a threat to trees. However, it is necessary to prune trees away from the high voltage cables at the top of the utility poles. Pruning is done not only to protect the electrical equipment, but to prevent the trees from being singed.
Although very rare, sparking twigs or unfortunate squirrels can start fires. Squirrels or rats will form a circuit if climbing from a tree onto a high voltage cable and then fall, often flaming, to the ground--not a pleasant sight.
It is always important to know what tree you are planting so that the size will not be a future problem. If you choose to contend with the problems of large trees in your garden, that is your prerogative. As a horticulturist, I understand.
However, it is impossible for the electric company to allow trees to interfere with their equipment. It is therefore necessary to use non-invasive trees near utility easements, or to use those that will not mind being pruned around the high voltage cables.
Trees with a single main trunk (excurrent) such as redwoods, or strictly vertically growing trees, such as Lombardy poplars, are definitely not appropriate choices. Incidentally, palms cannot be pruned down below a height limit without the removal of the single terminal bud, which results in the tree's death.
Tree of the Week: Lombardy Poplar
Although a very stately tree when used formally, the Lombardy poplar, Populus nigra 'Italica', is not suitable for all gardens. I feature it not as a recommendation, but to better inform those who like the tree. It has recently become a popular poplar (say that 10 times fast.) because of its very fast growth, low maintenance and tolerance of adverse growing conditions.
These qualities make it useful in rapidly developing industrial areas where large landscapes are proportionate to their size. It grows to at least 40 feet tall. If planted with other more practical trees such as London plane tree, they will be established in only a few years but may eventually be removed in favor of the slower but better-behaved trees.
For home gardening, it's important to be aware that Lombardy poplars may sucker profusely. The roots are attracted to the moist underside of concrete, which will break as roots grow. Poplars and willows also are among the few trees that can clog older sewers or septic systems.
In spite of their bad qualities, they are elegant trees with good yellow autumn color. They are very easy to grow from stems up to a foot long (or longer) stuck at least four inches into the soil in late winter and kept moist as they leaf out in spring. They root so easily that they may be stuck precisely where the new trees are desired.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo may be contacted at 408.358.2474.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
