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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default South african wedding tree

    It's council green waste collection next week so yesterday I decided to take down a dead South African Wedding Tree in our back yard. This has been on my todo list for about 12 months but I kept justifying not doing it because, well the council aren't collecting yet.

    The tree was about 4m high and consists of a very short (400mm) trunk about 300 mm in diameter and then 4 branches ranging from 150 to 200 mm in diameter near the trunk. I was hoping to get some small pieces millable timber out it, well at least the trunk anyway.

    There's not much space to work in as its hard up against a fence and there were garden plants other small trees around that I did not want damaged, so my plan was to in turn tie back each branch to another branch and then partially chainsaw through the bottom of the tied branch and then lower it to the ground.

    I partially cut through the first branch and then partially loosened the the rope, tugged on the partially cut branch and something snapped at the base of the trunk and the whole tree slowly started to fall over. No big deal I thought were going to lose a few plants but luckily it stopped falling just as the first branches started to touch the small trees, about 1m off he ground. What had happened was a large creeper (up to 1" thick branches ) from the neighbours side had multiply entangled itself in the top of the dead tree. By selectively cutting bits of the creeper I was able to gently lower the tree to the ground and then break it up with the chainsaw.

    Unfortunately the trunk was badly rotted (that's why it had snapped) out so nothing worth saving there but I kept a couple of the branches. I was surprised the wind hadn't blown it over before now.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    SEQ
    Posts
    166

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    South African Wedding Tree
    BobL - Have you got pics of this tree?
    I'm an expat and have not heard of this species before?

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default

    All I have left is the dead remains of the branches stacked up on my front verge.
    I'm not sure about the name, someone once told us that name but I never confirmed what it was.
    It turned up in a pot and we foolishly planted it and it grew and grew despite extensive pruning.
    Its every green but out generated lots of offshoots and dead twigs were constantly falling from it.
    Every year it generated a massive display of white flowers that lasted a few weeks and attracted heaps of bees.
    Then the flowers turned a rust colour and fell off in swathes and made an absolute mess as they also fell of to the roof clogging gutters and the dogs would drag hundreds of them inside.
    It provided some nice shade in the back yard but can't really complain now it's gone.

    Had a quick look on google images and couldn't see anything like it.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    western australia South West
    Posts
    887

    Default

    Would it be the Bridal Broom Genista Retama monosperma ?

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dusteater View Post
    Would it be the Bridal Broom Genista Retama monosperma ?
    It didn't look like any of the photos of that tree on google images.
    Much more conventional broader leaves and fluffier flowers.

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