Here is a test for my fellow posters :)

You will be graded ;)

What kind of tree is this?

How about dead or just ugly. ;)

Froggy beat me to it!! I must be getting slow! hahahaha

I don't think it is dead because you can see little pinkish/red buds forming on it. It may be easier to ID once it has some foliage or flowers on it. But even then I am not much help with shrubs or trees. It looks like it is overdue for a good trimming but how you prune it back really depends on what it is first. What zone are you in? That might narrow it down to less than a million shrubs or trees LOL

Here is my guess.... it's not one that I have in our yard.

Jennifer

Japanese Maple?????

Don

ML gets an A+ as he had the correct answer :)

LL gets a B+ b/c she paid attention and I liked her answer :)

FM3 and R3D3 both get an F for being so very funny as usual! ;) :lol: :lol:

Here is a link to what the tree is supposed to look like with foliage
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/158439/

Mine is shaggy looking and needs to be pruned. I just haven't had the nerve (or the knowledge) to do it. It is located in my front yard now but I have had my eye on it for the new pond when ever that happens.
I will post a pic of it when it's all leafed out. It looks way different. I do like the way it looks in the winter with no leaves. I like the twist and turns for the branches but I am a little twisted myself. ;)

With all this "I can't wait for Spring" talk I thought I would give us something else to do.
Thanks for playing along you are good sports! :)

Welcome to the bad corner Froggy! Nice to have some company!!
We can shoot spitballs at the brainiacs in front of us!!! hahaha :P

Derrick

Thanks Derrick, consistancy in life is imporatnt and looks like I'm doing a good job.
Sure glad Tia wasn't my teacher in school at least they only gave me "D's " for being a smart A** . Crazy as it seems I had planned on buying a Japanese Maple this evening to plant by my ponds also. After seeing Tia's "wild one" not so sure .... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Froggy

Tia's better at puters than she is at trees. :P :D :lol: :lol:

No, no, no boys! You didn't get an F for Failing. You got and F for being "F"unny. :)
No one fails here. We are all winners!! :)

No spitballs either ;)

FM3, don't let my bad example keep you from getting one. They are really nice (IMO) if properly trimmed. I kinda like the wild look some. They grow slow too. I think one would look nice by your new pond. Maybe with a light near it. I like the red colored ones myself but I also like red cowboy boots so what do I know ;)

Tia

You know me too well Sadie ;)

Well home Depot has 10 gallon Japanese Maples for 99.00 and 5 gallon Redbud trees for 20.00 which I really like. Does anyone know if either tree will cause a problem root wise with the liner?

Fm3

No idea about the tree roots. Should be ok as long as they aren't too close I would think.

Tia in cowboy boots! Now if we could just get her in a pair of cut-off jeans we could call her Daisy! ;)

I only got bad marks in school in subjects I actually had to study for! Things that I could B.S. my way in (anything that required essays basically) I usually did quite well in. It's hard though to BS your way through chemistry!! LOL :D

Derrick

A hundred bucks! Youch! Mine came with the house so I am very lucky. How big is the tree? Next time I'm at Home Depot I'll have a look. Twenty bucks compared to 100 is attractive. Can't answer the question about the roots but I bet WW would.

Tia

I've never had a Japanese maple but they are often used by ponds due to their small size.

We have a 30-year-old redbud tree about 10 feet from my 1800 gallon pond. Aside from the leaves in the fall and spent flowers in the spring, no problems. Redbuds are great trees but the branches break easily. You should plant it at least 5 feet from the pond.

Well I could not decide which type to tree to buy so bought them all. Redbud, Dogwood,and Japanese maple. The maple doesn't look anything like yours Tia ! ;)

Fm3

[QUOTE=tlc,Apr 4 2008, 11:04 AM]

Fm3 [/QUOTE]
Can't answer the question about the roots but I bet WW would.

Tia [/QUOTE]
I guess I missed this thread when my computer was down.

The roots of the japanese maple aren't overly evasive like willow or ceder. Just remember the basic rule that the root system of most trees are as large and covers the same area as the head or crown of the tree.

T, is that your tree. It is the most beautiful jm I have ever seen. Stunning when the leaves come out.
Fertilizing with a acid fertilizer tends to make the foliage even more red. But this one may not need any help.

I saw one half that size at the nursery last year with a $1400.00 tag on it.
Thanks for posting.

There are lots of different types of Japanese maple.

I'm reminded that when they put in my 1800 gallon pond in May of 1997, the builder saw this tree next to the pond. He said, if he could dig it up and take it, that would cover the construction labor costs (around $5000)! It was maybe 15 feet tall at the time (at least twice that now). We said no. It's some kind of rare red beech. My parents didn't pay a lot for it when they got it (late 1970's).

Thanks WW. I am glad someone had a good eye unlike R3D3 and FM3 (kidding guys).
I have never put any fertilizer on it. So they are acid loving like a rhododendron?
I would like to see it with more red as that is my favorite color.
I will post a pic when it's in it's glory.
Thanks WW.

Now what is a Redbud tree?

Redbud is Cercis canadensis

Nice, low-grower with beautiful reddish flowers in the spring. Pretty ornamental.

Don

Ok, here is a pic of the tree with all it's leaves.

That looks a lot better now!

Beautiful leaf color.

Still looks like a bush. :rolleyes: Give that thing a hair cut. ;)

Very nice. Nice contrast with the rhododendron behind it.