Cheryl here in Southern NH, still recovering from "Snowtober"
Lost 4 of my poplars - three snapped in half. Should have cut the other on down after hurricane Irene. Knew that one was on borrowed time....
but as to the snapped trees. Each one was about halfway up - between
15-18 feet up. I think the of the two that face the house, one has to come down the rest of the way. There are no branches below the snap.
It's the other two that I have a question about - both have some branches left. do you think they'll recover enough to continue to provide shelter for local wildlife (birds, squirrels).
If it wasn't so ugly and depressing, I'd consider leaving the other to see it would become woodpecker food. But I want a "pretty" view out the front of the house.
All species in the genus Populus are fast-growing. They should recover nicely, but they might require corrective pruning after recovery. Even the one that has no branches should resprout. Just leave all of them alone until spring. Pruning now will encourage new growth that will be too tender to survive the winter.
Just watch out for root suckers, which are likely to result from damage to the top. If you don't remove them promptly, you will have a poplar thicket.
I don't consider poplars real trees, they are horrid giant weeds with no redeeming value whatsoever, they're for pinheads who are into quantity at the expense of quality... fortunately poplars don't live long. My recommedation is to remove that trash and plant something decent.
I'm guessing you have Lombardy poplars, the tall, skinny jobs? They're not very long lived anyhow, and are probably close to the end of their lifespan. Actually, most of the poplars have very short lifespans and usually brittle wood.
Consider leaving the two remaining ones for a couple of years while you replant the area with longer lived species. Then when the new trees have gotten established, take down the poplars.
Depending on where you are in NH and the ground temperature, it might be possible (and perhaps even advisable) to get the new trees in ASAP, like within the next week. I'm on the other coast and about that far north, and I'd still plant out here but that wouldn't be an option in higher altitudes.
You might also consider some big, fast-growing shrubs for quick color and form in your front yard, with the plan of taking those out when the new trees get bigger.
I'd take those down now, get rid of those trash trees to make room for real trees. I've seen too many people waste ten growing years attempting to grow a privacy screen of those cheapskate trees, they're cheap but utterly useless... they can't screen because they're deciduous, they never grow very thick anyway so they don't offer much screening in summer either. And lombardy poplar wins hands down for the uglist plant on the planet.
Now that I know it's NH, as long as there isn't a problem with deer munching, the perfect screening tree is Canadian Hemlock. And one can definitely plant them in NH now, they can even be planted in frozen ground if one can auger through, back fill, and mulch heavily... for total privacy, if one has the space, plant a double staggered row... find at least five year old specimens from a local nursery, seedlings are too iffy and take too long to look like a tree.
I'm honestly not sure what kind of popular they - they were growing wild here when I built the house and do provide shelter for the birds in their crowns.
Everything is in what I call my copse - a smallish area of trees we didn't take down when we built to screen the house from the road. There are white pines, birches, oaks, hazelnuts and other naturally occurring growth.
Except for the so-called tulip poplar (a magnolia relative, not a poplar at all (and you do have them in NH), most of the poplar species you've got up there don't live long. Some, like quaking aspen, tend to be clonal, and you'll get sprouts all over the yard when they come down. It might be good to figure out what you've got, and if it tends to send up sprouts when the parent trees are damaged. If so, I'd recommend ringing the bark on the remaining trees and letting them starve their root systems to death over the next several years while you replace them with longer lived or more desirable species for next to a road. When choosing trees, it's also useful to look up --- here in Oregon, we live with trees heavily butchered for power line clearance, a sad sight indeed for a mighty old oak or a flat-topped doug fir.
Since you seem to be interested in wildlife gardening and want to keep some privacy from the road (our house is set up like that, too), you might want to consider underplanting with shrubs and vines with good wildlife value, and choosing a couple of replacement trees with those in mind.
New Hampshire's Extension service, Fish & Game dept and Audubon all have nice sections on choosing plants for wildlife value.
Me, I'm still working on the bitter cherry, English ivy and Himalayan blackberry that came with the place... some days, I even think I'm winning.
On 11/6/11 2:42 PM, Kay Lancaster wrote [in part]:
In southern California, the utilities lop off the tops of palms for power line clearance. Of course, this kills the palms. However, they leave the trunks standing. When dry, a dead palm trunk can burn like gasoline and destroy the power lines above it. :(
Here we have two different departments who work together. The Beautification Department plants trees under power lines. The Uglification Department cuts the centre out of them to stop them touching the lines.
and here people can tell the power company not to trim the trees and vines. That's a mistake and half.
A sensible solution must be out there - I'd prefer underground utilities personally. Or a realistic cutback policy. I really don't want to buy a generator but I'm getting too old for 6-9 days with out power.
On the top of the list is to go see what the library has for tree id books,
I suspect I should have a pro come in and take down the "poplars" and a huge old pine with more than a bit of woodpecker activity. Since if it fell it wouldn't hit the house or my driveway, and the cost is prohibitive at the moment, it stays. I can take the poplars down with a box saw.
I was referring to the urban situation of the two Departments. They produce street after street with avenues of U-shape trees! I am rural and the issues are somewhat different.
You can't prevent the power company from clearing the line here. First every neighbour would curse you if you grew (or left) a tree near the wire that came down and blacked out the district, secondly the power company has an easement over the strip of land where the line goes so they have the legal right to cross your property and deal with it (on the easement) whether you like it or not. They have a helicopter that inspects the line about once a year and the cutting contractor follows. I suppose this would be called fascism in some places but it is practical and other than the 'copter annoying the horses does no harm.
Underground would be nice but way too expensive here where there are few subscribers to pay for it.
the list of poplars from Vermont and New Hampshire; if you click on one of the names in blue, you'll go to a page with at least one photo and some links -- you're generally going to be looking for "characteristics" and "plant guide" (if available).
Here's part of the reason you don't have underground lines:
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here are some invasives you don't want to bring in, most likely:
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'm probably sticking my nose in too far, but I tend to recommend that people consider hiring a "consulting arborist" when you're talking about taking down more than small trash trees. These are certified professionals who do not have a link to a "tree care" business, so have no reason to tell you to cut more than is actually needed, and they also tend to spot problems far sooner than the rest of us mere mortals. The society has a general website:
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with some resources, including an "ask a pro":
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The consulting arborists I've worked with and met over the years (I'm a botanist by training) have been really sharp and incredibly knowledgable. The cost is (in my experience) quite modest.
You may also have access to a trained arborist through your city, county or state wildlife or forestry department. I talked a friend in FL into calling one out when she was being told all sorts of nonsense by a company she'd hired to take down a tree that was tipping after a hurricane -- the local forester saved her from signing a contract for about $10K of unneeded work that would have actually destabilized much of her soil.
Years ago, my grandparents were badly taken by one of the fly by night tree outfits, who talked them into removing 5 black walnuts, each about 4 ft dbh, veneer quality trees. And paying for the removal of those healthy trees. And of course they'd take those trees away , no extra charge for that... yeah, right. They were probably worth about $5K per tree as veneer back in the early 60s. :-(
So I apologize to all the honest tree care companies out there, and there are many of you, but I do tend to strongly warn people to know what is actually going on, and a consulting arborist can do just that for you.
the list of poplars from Vermont and New Hampshire;
one photo and some links -- you're generally going to be looking for
spent by PSNH's parent company to maintain the current infrastructure let alone improve it I can't help but think it might be money well spent. From our personal experience, response time has has gone from hours to days. (I've been here for over 30 years)
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I check that list constantly - and have been trying to kill off the Oriental bittersweet and multiflora roses for years. Until such time as certain neighbors move, the fight against purple loosestrife is confined to my yard.
I would if the budget allowed. It just doesn't at the moment - the pine was checked but the town and I was told it wasn't an active threat to the road. (if it had been, I'd be on the removal list for free.)
Right now we're all wishing the estate that owns a house on my access road would allow the town to cut down the dead beeches in the front yard and the leaning pine in the swamp. Can't tell you how many times I've put the flashers on and moved branches out of the road. All three are going to come down soon and those beech are shedding big limbs anytime the wind picks up.
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