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Mop Tops
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Posted by Lee_WA WA (My Page) on Thu, Jan 22, 04 at 1:46
hi everyone
i would like some advice on mop tops and would appreciate it if anyone that has one or some could help me.
i had decided to plant 2 on our verge out the front of our house to give us a bit more privacy.
a friend of mine told me that they send up suckers everywhere. I wont have any garden under them, they will be planted in the lawn.
thanx
lee |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Mop Tops
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hi lee well we have a mop top it was in a pot when it was given to us and the label said it could be planted out as a feature tree/shrub whatever ,its been in the ground about 18 months now and no sign of any suckers , just growing happily along, easy to look after and am thinking of getting another soon, it takes a lot of battering with the wind we get here, but nothing seems to faze it all
hope this is a bit of help to you
regards lorraine |
RE: Mop Tops
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| thanx lorraine im wondering if you only get suckers if you dig around the roots. any thoughts? lee |
RE: Mop Tops
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hi lee well I havent got suckers as yet and I have been digging around the base as I have put a small garden bed in and it just keeps getting wider as I keep adding to it( the garden bed not the mop top)maybe it depends on soil or something but honestly we havent had any problems at all so far good luck
regards lorraine |
RE: Mop Tops
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| They (Robinia) can sucker very badly if disturbed. Later on once the roots have spread, they will sucker everytime they are disturbed or hit a rock or any other object in the ground. Some of my jobs are REALLY bad. Will take some pics next week (Mon or Tue arvo)to show how bad they can be. The suckers grow unbelievably fast, and have big thorns on them. |
RE: Mop Tops
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thanx for your replies
i had thought that maybe when the roots were disturbed there may be a problem. bryan i still have the photos that you sent me of some of your formal gardens, when i posted a question in the rose forum a while back. but i havent done anything with the front of our new house as yet. the first thing i was going to do was plant the mop tops. maybe you could recommend something else that would be suitable. thanx
lee |
RE: Mop Tops
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Oh, I remember that thread. Formal vs non Formal?
Is it just a small tree that you are after for privacy? Some of the flowering cherries might be suitable (Prunus) You can get some species with the dark purple leaves, then the stems are covered in flowers in Winter. Very nice small trees. |
RE: Mop Tops
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hi lee here is a link to mop tops that may help
www.hellohello.com.au/moptops.html
good luck |
RE: Mop Tops
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| hi yes bryan that was the thread. i actually saved it so i could read it again. i have thought about some of the flowering plums or peaches and still may use them. i kind of had my heart set on the mop tops though. are they really that bad???/ lorraine thanx for that link that was the most information i have been able to find on them anywhere. although i havent much patience when it comes to surfing. i guess i have to decide wether the trees are worth the suckers. thanx again
lee |
RE: Mop Tops
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| Sorry Lee, Landscapers finally came in and removed the suckers before I could take some pics. The job I'm working at has just been re-landscaped, and where they dug the ground to plant the new plants near some Robinias (2 older trees), had about 30 suckers coming through.
They can be really bad in Sydney. Dont know if they will be the same in WA. I saw some coming up through a lawn during the week!
You could have a look in the area where you live and look for some Robinias to see if they are suckering. If you really like them, then plant them if you are prepared to pull the suckers out. They are a nice tree, just a shame they sucker. They may not sucker until they are established or disturbed.
I'll keep an eye out for more photo opportunites! B |
RE: Mop Tops
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- Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on
Fri, Feb 13, 04 at 3:27
| I think they are no different here, they DO sucker. I have another suggestion Lee. You might consider chinese tallow, they colour in autumn and have a very regular shape, nearly formal if you shape them when young. |
RE: Mop Tops
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robinias sucker but so do lots of other trees, i wouldn't let the suckering deter you , the robinia mops are a pretty tree, i have used some catalpa mop tops in my garden as an alternative, theres also other mops in maples, liquidambers ash etc
?The chinese tallow, sapium won't give the same effect but a beautiful tree in its own right |
RE: Mop Tops
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| hi again megs i have been looking at the chinese tallow and had actually decided i might get one until a friend told me her father in law had one that shaded his whole yard. i thought they were only supposed to get to about 10 meters. does anyone know? crayfish, i havent seen any other trees as moptops or standards. do you know where i might be able to find some pictures of them and maybe buy some? thanx for you replies
lee |
RE: Mop Tops
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- Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on
Sat, Feb 14, 04 at 23:36
| Lee, according to Aus Women's Weekly Garden Guides 'Colour in your garden" : Sapium sebiferum. If you are looking for a small tree because your garden cannot accomodate large trees ... this is a clourful autumn gem. Growing to no more than 10m ... it is also an adaptable tree as it can thrive in a variety of drainage conditions. I think this is where the problem is in stating how big some trees get, if you give them better living conditions, they will grow bigger, another thing, how big is your friend's, father in law's backyard? I know a tree in the neighbourhood that is a mere 4m tall and "I got to know it 19 years ago, :-)". I do not think it gets any aditional water apart from that provided by nature. |
RE: Mop Tops
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| a good place to look at alternative mop top trees is... www.flemings.com.au Have a look at their 'Designer' range, these trees can also be purchased at many nurseries not under the (expensive) flemings name, let me know if you're after something in particular and i'll point you in the right direction.. |
RE: Mop Tops
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- Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on
Sun, Feb 22, 04 at 4:06
| Just a word of caution, if Lee lives and gardens on alkaline soils many of the flemings trees would not grow well due to chlorosis (alkalinity locks manganese and iron and makes it inaccessible to plants). |
RE: Mop Tops
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| I was only suggesting the flemings site so she could visually see pictures of alternatives to the Robinia mops |
RE: Mop Tops
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| Arent mop top robinias grafted. The trunks are actually a birch or such. Robinias do sucker, but I dont think the mop tops do. I have a number of friends with them, all who have put annual beds around the bottom of them without any suckers to be seen. |
RE: Mop Tops
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| Nope, Andrea, not birch it has to be another robinia to take a graft and they DO sucker. I have to see one yet that has not suckered. Your friends will get them (suckers) eventually, sorry. |
RE: Mop Tops
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| I have a Robinia mop top in it's third summer, and following the heavier than normal rain earlier, the tree has now lost it's leaves and looks quite unhealthy. Won't be replacing with anothe mop top. looking for an alternative. |
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