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| In New Mexico, Russian Olives are invasive plants, and I found out that they spread to the Rio Grande's banks far from their original planting site because birds eat the fruit. Not wanting to contribute to this problem, I have decided not to plant a russian olive tree in my sun baked, poor sandy soil back yard. Does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative tree to plant? It should be fast growing, heat and drought tolerant, thrive in poor, sandy soil, and be tolerant of cold (0 degree) winters that are typical of the part of Albuquerque I live in. Thanks,
coco |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by lavenderforluck z5CO (My Page) on Thu, Jun 7, 07 at 3:50
| maybe try these Geijera parviflora (Australian willow) or http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/text/
droughttolerant |
Here is a link that might be useful: Drought Tolerant Trees
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| You might enjoy this search site too. When I was looking at trees my sister might get in AZ, I noticed many trees can't be shipped there. Probably it's due to invasiveness also, but I would never have guessed so many trees could go crazy in that dry heat. http://www.arborday.org/ |
Here is a link that might be useful: Arbor Day trees
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| I do think this is a question that might be answered for you on some of the regional forums: SW Gardening, Arizona, Texas .... Once you get ideas, you can determine if one of them is a native plant by checking the USDA Plants database and other sources. You have a unique situation in terms of climate that many of us in the East are not familiar with. That's not to say that you won't get an answer here, but you might want to try in both places. |
Here is a link that might be useful: southwest forum
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| I would look around the neighborhood to see what types of trees are doing well in your area. Once you see a tree that you like, you can figure out what type it is, do a little research on how fast it grows, and decide if you want to plant one. IF you are planting on a lawn or other irrigated place, most of the native trees in the area will do fine. Cottonwood, for instance, will do fine with the amount of water that a lawn receives even though it has the reputation for being a water-loving tree. My suggestion is Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis). It is native, has great-looking flowers, blooms much of the summer, and should be hardy where you live. It is very drought tolerant but can take irrigation as well. |
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| Silver buffaloberry is the best alternative to russian olive. Looks similar but native and has all characteristics you describe. I have 2 in my backyard here in albuquerque. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Silver Buffaloberry
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