Getting rid of fruit trees in Sun City

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by Emily Litella, Oct 11, 2017.

  1. Emily Litella

    Emily Litella Well-Known Member

    Deleted.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2022
  2. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I would keep the lemon and one orange unless you don't like oranges. You can always remove later. I had a big grapefruit tree removed because it died when my landscape system failed in hot weather and I didn't know it. It had huge (I mean huge) deep roots and not easy to remove. I wouldn't recommend the people who removed mine though. Just giving my 2 cents about the citrus

    I loved that old tree and it provided great shade, didn't care as much about the fruit. Citrus smells so amazing when it flowers...few flowers smell that good. Citrus also attracts a beautiful yellow butterfly, the giant swallowtail, because it it's the host plant. It's the largest butterfly in the US. I worry about them in SC as people remove citrus because I'm as much a butterfly as I am bird lover. Such a beautiful big yellow butterfly. I've seen them in SC.

    giant_swallowtail_2_cr_0.jpg
     
  3. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    We have one simple philosophy...if it grows, it goes.
     
  4. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I've heard that ridiculous quote before. If everyone thought that way we'd all die. Then you keep all the CO2 that trees absorb and make the air healthy. And don't ever look at a bird. Imagine Sun City with zero trees. Even the desert has trees. There's nothing simple about your philosophy.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
  5. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Nope, only ridiculous in your world of evergreen. And that goodness, i don't belittle you for it. Though i am sick of picking, sweeping and blowing all those damn bougainvillea flowers out of my driveway and backyard.

    Oh well, too each their own. Dang, i thought liberals were more tolerant.
     
  6. Mullet

    Mullet Member

    If you've got any Arizona sweet oranges, keep a tree. Best orange juice I've ever had. Our condo association got rid of ours. I'm bummed. For the record, we've gone to a desert landscape in our front courtyard. Nothing in our front or rear courtyards needs irrigation.
     
  7. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I never said you can’t remove some, especially if they produce excessive litter. But to remove all trees and plants destroys the homes of beneficial insects, birds, and the oxygen CO2 exchange. Trees are not just for beauty. All the concrete we lay in cities increases the heat. We have to do these things to live but we need to help balance it with trees and plants. Not just for beauty.

    I don't live life as a liberal. i look at each thing and make a decision. But I do find it odd you can't take a rant BP. You do your share of ranting too.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
  8. BruceW

    BruceW Active Member

    OK, play nice kids. ;)
    There is a lot to be said for a landscape of native plants.
    IMHO growing citrus in a a desert isn't logical, takes a lot of water I imagine.
    Who am I to talk though, I would love to have a mandarin in my back yard.

    Bill can remove all his growing things, the rest of us will make up for it. :lemo:
     
  9. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    Growing any food in the desert might not sound logical, but we eat. Native plants are best for general purposes. An orchard no, but having one or two citrus is a good thing if you eat them. And they don't drop many leaves so not messy either.

    If you do decide to keep one orange tree, Emily, I suggest waiting until the fruit matures and tasting it first before you remove them. Some taste better than others.
     
  10. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Hey Mick, great to see you back among the living. I love rants C, it's what keeps us going, don't ya think? Anyway, we have what i would argue the largest saguaro cactus in all of Sun City in our back yard. Maybe 30 feet tall and 40 arms with another 20 that have fallen or been cut off (to stop the lean). In the front we have a barrel cactus and beautiful Mediterranean Palm tree that are indigenous to the desert with no water drips. Oh yeah, we have some metal plants that are water free as well.

    Here's the point, this is the desert and water is at a premium...and boy are we about to find out. If the law suit by SCHOA is lost on the consolidation of cap water, the consolidation of ground water will be crushing. It's already in the works and from some paperwork from the last SCHOA board meeting the consolidation shows the impact on the 11 districts...Sun City is a 115.6% increase. Yikes.

    Any attached condo association in Sun City that hasn't switched to desert landscaping at the very least need begin talking about it. Those that have bubblers or drip systems, make sure they are working right and as you consider adding greenery, think about the amount of water they will need.

    By the way, many of the cactus in the area have spectacular flowers on them a couple of times a year.
     
  11. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    Well the cactus grow so why don't they go?
     
  12. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    I do, but if it falls, it's leaning away from the house.

    Simple answer on the cactus and palm trees...no water needed.
     
  13. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I have 3 palms and 2 fruit trees that need water. Since I don't live there I can tell what it costs me. I pay $10 a month for water for them. Even if it does double it’s worth $20 a month for me.

    Sorry, I have to laugh a bit though BP. Your complaint is the cost of water and yet you say you’re putting in a pool.*
     
  14. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    We have kept only a tangelo tree which is our favorite. There are so many friends/neighbors that have trees that we're never lacking in offers of citrus. I do have a variety of flowering plants/hibiscus in pots which are easy to care for on the patio.

    We did have a HUGE saguaro cactus that started a lean toward the house and had it removed. The removal company paid us and it is now replanted along the new section of the 303 south of Grand Avenue.
     
  15. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    There is good money to be paid for some of these palms and cactus. We had some folks come out from one of the casino's and they loved it but were worried because it was too big.
     
  16. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Again, the beauty of Sun City is you can have almost unlimited green stuff in your yards. Some communities limit the number and type of trees, shrubs, but we are way more flexible.
     
  17. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    Are you are talking about the Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis)? I have one too. They are the favorite tree for Rosey-Faced Love Birds and Sun City does have a flock..I've seen a few in my tree and flying. They might find you, especially if you are not quick to remove the seeds because they love those seeds. I don't think the style of trim is rat prevention, it's because they look pretty that way with the pineapple base. Those fronds get very heavy so you do need to remove them and they make the tree look so ugly when they are brown.

    I'm curious how else they would trim them? From the top down or something else? I can't see anything else working because the fronds grow downwards. Please post a photo of yours. I want to see one that doesn't look like anyone else. I've seen so many hundreds of these trees and I don't know what you are talking about.
     
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2017
  18. pegmih

    pegmih Well-Known Member

    Attached Files:

  19. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    We removed a pineapple palm that we trimmed like that. The bugs loved the thing before we trimmed it back. Problem was it grows really fast and obscured the stop sign. Always afraid people would run the corner and there would be an ugly accident on Boswell and Desert Rock.
     
  20. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    One of the cool things about the Meeker Mountain area is they have lots of green plants, trees and cactus and they used to have them marked.
     

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