So, Just Bought A House

ShadyStump

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<insert girlish shrieks of excitement here>
And check out this beauty in the backyard. Previous owner said it was the oldest oak in town that he planted from an acorn in 1979. Not so sure, but definitely the biggest! I promised my kids they'd each get their own tire swing.
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And oh, look, pots.
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Oh, cool, real pots.
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Oh, an actual bonsai pot.
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Hey, more pots!
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Eh, more pots.
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HOLY WOODEN POT BIN, BATMAN!!!! MOOOOOORE POTS!
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So, they're all crap pots, but like my favorite beer, my favorite pots- and trees for that matter- are the ones I didn't have to pay for.
Apparently the previous owner of the property was a landscape architect, and trying to run a tree nursery in his retirement. (foreshadowing a tree ID thread here) But I don't ever have to fight with my wife over pots again!
 

Forsoothe!

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You have chosen wisely! Those black plastic pots can be cut down to whatever height you like so they will be super useful to you for years and years. Keep them out of the sun and your grandchildren can use them, too.
 

ShadyStump

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No you did NOT buy a house.
You got yourself a nursery!

Congrats!

Looks like shade netting in your future..

Well, all the best stuff was taken when he left, but, yeah, I can totally see me filling every single one of those pots, and my wife would be pissed that I took over the yard with them. LOL She hates the giant trees growing all around the house, and the insurance people are calling for the heads of more than a few, but she's letting me keep the oak at least. If we have to chop so many, I'm thinking keep the wood for lumber to build a little gazebo with big shelves for my hideous bonsai. *added to long list of pipe dreams
 

amcoffeegirl

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First thing I did was hire a tree company to come in and remove some giant limbs hanging over the back of the house- cost me $2k but I am happy that I did the work.
When those limbs were hitting the ground it shook my whole house. Glad they didn’t land on top. Congratulations on your new home!
 

Carol 83

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First thing I did was hire a tree company to come in and remove some giant limbs hanging over the back of the house- cost me $2k but I am happy that I did the work.
When those limbs were hitting the ground it shook my whole house. Glad they didn’t land on top. Congratulations on your new home!
Our neighbor had a very large, very dead tree that was hanging over our roof. We agreed to pay half if they would take it down. The tree trimming company told the homeowners insurance company the tree had been struck by lightening, so insurance paid for it. :)
 

amcoffeegirl

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Our neighbor had a very large, very dead tree that was hanging over our roof. We agreed to pay half if they would take it down. The tree trimming company told the homeowners insurance company the tree had been struck by lightening, so insurance paid for it. :)
I had a roofer come by and wanted to tell insurance that my roof had hail damage from before I bought the house or from a different storm.
I didn’t want to get into Insurance trouble. I always feel like it will come back and bite me later.
 

ShadyStump

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So, finally got around to getting some pics of some of the trees around the property that I found interesting but couldn't identify, if you folks don't mind lending a hand.

Some sort of ornamental mulberry maybe?
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This one I would love to see about air layering in the spring, but I have no clue at all.
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And then some sort of maple. Not a huge fan of them, but the relatively small leaf size seems like it'd be a shew-in for bonsai lovers.
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I've stumbled across a couple others that didn't catch my eye the first dozen times I saw them, but no pics yet anyways. Too much work to do hauling out the almost two tons of debris the guy left in the back, and redoing all the floors because the 50 year old green shag carpet was completely worn through. There's also what I believe is a twin trunk stone pine at the front steps. Only exciting because I do so love pines. I don't know why.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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If those "mulberries" are hard and woody, those are the fruit of an Alder. The genus is Alnus. Peruse through the Wikipedia site to sort out which is possible. There are several good candidates, since the previous owner was a nurseryman, it could be any of the many species world wide.

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ShadyStump

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Most likely Aspen, the species of aspen Colorado is famous for.

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No, that's the same tree you were saying might be an alder. Just trying to get a shot of the bark and trunk structure. There is quite an aspen tree in the yard, though. Thick trunk, callused bark, the sort that species rarely gets. I'll have to get a pic. It's impressive.

The one you want to air layer looks like an olive.

I had thought that too, but I've not seen any sort of fruit or flower on it at all, so thought it unlikely. Can't for the life of me come up with any other ideas, though.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Ah, Then forget aspen, because Alders do have bark that will remind most people of aspen. You definitely have an alder. The woody fruits are the proof.

As to the "olive looking thing" there are native ecological equivalents of Privet, many in the olive family. Look into genus Forestia, esp Forestria pubescens and genus Ligustrum, the privets.
 

Colorado

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The “olive” may be a variety of Mountain Mahogany - cercocarpus. The leaves and twigs look about right and they are very common in the nursery industry here. There is also a native variety or varieties in Colorado, depending on your specific location.

Congrats on the house! We just moved into a new-to-is house in January. It’s a fun adventure to get everything fixed up and made home.
 

ShadyStump

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The “olive” may be a variety of Mountain Mahogany - cercocarpus. The leaves and twigs look about right and they are very common in the nursery industry here. There is also a native variety or varieties in Colorado, depending on your specific location.

Congrats on the house! We just moved into a new-to-is house in January. It’s a fun adventure to get everything fixed up and made home.

I stumbled upon a forest service page of common trees in Colorado, and was starting to think narrow leaf cottonwood, but yours might be closer. Either way, I have a couple places to start now! I'm already smarter on elms than anyone else I've met in town after grossly misidentifying one for the Native Tree Challenge (probably means I need to get out more). The maple may well be a native too. I'll have to dig into it more.

And yeah, adventure, that's what we'll call it. LOL. I haven't taken a day off for real in almost two months! Worth it, if I survive.
 
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