Sarsasparilla Tree Question

[Shell91]

Hi I will be planting 4 Sarsasparilla trees in my front yard this November. They are not very big and I want them to do well. How far appart and how deep do I need to plant them? They will be going in a full sun area where a mimosa tree used to be and I will have to dig out the grass and fence the spot to keep the lawn guys from mowing them down. Also does anyone know how well these trees will do in zone 9, southeast Texas? Thanks for any advice and help Shell

[Shell91]

ooops :) They're Sassafrass trees :) (much embarassment) Shell

[Frankhartx]

Well here in zone 7 they grow like weeds and seem to thrive under most conditions they don't seem to be bothered by any insects or diseases--good foliage, nice fall color

[Shell91]

Cool. I'm hoping to get some color from them during our 4 or 5 day fall and

3 days of winter :) Hopefully they will grow like weeds here too. Shell

[Marley1372]

sassafrass is a very fast growing tree that should do alright in zone 9. They have the potential to get pretty huge so you may want to place them a good distance apart.

Toad

[gregpresley]

[Shell91]

Hi Thanks for the advice. The spot I have in mind doesn't have any overhead wires or and pipes I know of. I will check for pipes though. I plan on putting the trees in the front yard to get some shade and some color in the fall. I kind of would like to plant them like a small grove that I could eventually plant a nice flower garden around.

Shell

visit

For consumer info about tree care, visit

[Shell91]

We have a huge Chinese Tallow Tree in the back yard. Got to be about 150 feet tall. Leaves tons of tree trash, leaves and twigs and such all over the yard, and has huge roots that we had to have removed from the yard. Some of the roots were at least 2 feet in diameter. Hopefully the Sassafrass trees won't get quite that big :) I might put one in the back yard to replace a pecan tree that was electrocuted when some power lines were downed n my back yard. Fast growing is a good thing :)

Shell

[Shell91]

Thanks for the tip. The spot I have in mind doesn't have anything valuable close by. It's a good sized lawn with a holly hedge in front and what I thought was a prycanthia hedge on one side (not sure what it is really) Nobody parks on the street by the holly and we plan on moving the driveway over several feet so everything sould work out well.

Shell

[Babberney]

If you cut roots that big, don't put anything valuable within 150' of that tree--it's likely to fall over at any time (depending on how close to the trunk the cuts were made). If it doesn't fall, it's still likely to decline rapidly starting at some point in the nest 1 to 10 years.

fast growing=dying young=weak and brittle wood, as a general rule.

Keith For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit

consumer info about tree care, visit

[J Kolenovsky]

Congratulations! This is one of those all around trees (Redbay, Retama) that look good in the environment and attract wildlife. This tree hosts Palamedes, Spicebush and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. You will enjoy the tree and butterflies for years to come.

I'd allow 20 foot centers and plant no deeper than they were in the container. The tree historically remains a shrub or small tree for a long time and then the hormones kick in and it goes upwards. (page

174-175, Butterfly Gardening for the South by Geyata Ajilvsgi)

J. Kolenovsky

zone 8b-9a

Shell91 wrote: