Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Monday - February 02, 2009
From: Albany, OR
Region: Northwest
Topic: Transplants, Trees
Title: Madrone too close to house in Oregon
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a small Madrone tree (8ft tall) located approximatly 15 feet from my house, with a basement. Should I remove it? ie will it damage the foundation and is the tree strong enough that it will not drop on the house as it gets larger?ANSWER:
This is what the US Forest Service says about Arbutus menziesii (Pacific madrone):
"Once established, Pacific madrone is windfirm, drought enduring and somewhat tolerant of wet, freezing conditions." They also say that the root system is widespread and massive.
So, in answer to your question about whether the madrone is likely to fall on your house, I would so "no, not very likely." In answer to whether the roots are going to damage the foundation, I would say "possibly", but fifteen feet is a pretty good distance from your house for the roots to spread without damaging your foundation.
Given that there is concern about The Decline of the Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and the fact that it is a beautiful tree, it would be a real shame to cut it down. It might be possible to transplant it, but UBC Botanical Garden forum says that Pacific madrone is difficult to transplant since they are prone to disease and the process of transplanting injures roots so that pathogens are more likely to have an opportunity to invade. Oregon State University Extension Service also points out the difficulty in transplanting the Pacific madrone. You can see other posts concerning The Genus Arbutus on the UBC Botanical Garden forums.
In case you decide to try transplanting, here are a couple of informative articles on transplanting trees from the Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Tennessee and from North Dakota State University.
Also, you might contact the Linn County Office of Oregon State University for local assistance in your decisions about your madrone.
More Transplants Questions
Transplanting or seeding Indian paintbrush in Bend OR
July 21, 2009 - I would like to know whether I can transplant native Indian paintbrush plants into my landscaping, or do I need to try and grow them from seed?
view the full question and answer
Buffaloberry from Grandma
June 25, 2008 - I have a "BUFFALO BERRY" that my Grandma brought back from South Dakota.It is approx.8yrs.old.All was well until this spring.It was budding out when we had a very hard freeze and got 3" of snow.Now...
view the full question and answer
Dying branches on Texas Mountain Laurel from Kempner TX
September 14, 2012 - The branches on my Texas Mountain Laurel are very dry and brittle. The leaves are also starting to die. The tree has been in my yard for six years and prior to that it sat wrapped in burlap for ov...
view the full question and answer
Decline of non-native Star Jasmine in California
June 30, 2008 - We just had 2 trachelospermum jasminoides planted in a redwood planter box about a month ago. We can't figure out if we are watering too much or too little but some leaves are turning yellow and the...
view the full question and answer
Transplanting large Silverado Sage bushes from Mesa AZ
August 19, 2013 - We just bought a condo with three Silverado Sage, each one is 6-8 ft tall, trained to grow as "trees" with bare branches for the bottom 4 feet or so, and beautiful flowering branches on top. They ar...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |