Why I Like My Austrees

Why I Like My Austrees WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 28-4-13 I live on a half-acre lot in suburban Minneapolis. Our property backs onto a park so it feels like we have more room than we do. Even so, my nearest neighbor's deck is just a stone's throw away from ours. To create a barrier between decks, three years ago I ordered some Austrees û fast-growing hybrid poplars that originated in New Zealand. FARM SHOW first wrote about Austrees some 20 years ago when they were developed. A Colorado company, Rocky Mountain Austrees, now sells them in North America. Austrees are said to grow 10 to 15 ft. the first year and that much or more in subsequent years, reaching their full height of 50 to 70 ft., depending on soil and water conditions. You can let them go or trim them into a hedge, which is what I wanted to do. I planted four 2-ft. Austrees between my deck and the neighbor's. I followed instructions and watered the young trees heavily for the first couple weeks, keeping them soaked. I also put the company's fertilizer tablet into the holes with the trees to give them a fast start. The four trees took off like crazy. Five months later, at the end of the summer, they were about 25 ft. tall and I had to start cutting them off at the top. The next year they resumed their fantastic rate of growth and I cut at least 30 ft. off the top of the trees to keep them at "hedge" level. Then last winter, I cut off nearly all the branches, leaving only the thickening trunks. This spring, the trees burst out all over like Chia pets, filling in more thickly than ever and giving us the privacy screen we wanted. I should point out that these are "messy" trees. They have a lot of small leaves that drop late in the fall. They also have a very aggressive root system so they shouldn't be planted near tile lines or basement foundations. Another note of caution: If you don't plan to water and fertilize these trees during the first year or so, don't even bother planting them. I planted a number of other Austrees at the back of my lot and just left them there without any attention. Three years later, those trees are only about 4 to 5 ft. tall and don't look good. One other note: Rocky Mountain Austrees, sells a couple of other fast-growing varieties which I tried. The Golden Pannier is a gold-leafed hybrid that's designed to be a shade tree, with bigger leaves and spreading branches. The three trees that I planted looked good briefly in the spring but the leaves turned black as the summer went on. They were sickly and I cut them down after a year. Another variety, the fast-growing Merlot Poplar, grows more upright, more like the Austrees. The leaves have an attractive reddish tint to them and they grow as fast as the Austrees. I'm only on my second growing season with these trees but they look good and might actually might make a more attractive windbreak than the Austrees. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rocky Mountain Austrees, P.O. Box 9307, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80932 (ph 719 635-9380; website www.rmausa.com).

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