A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Mystery Plants? Another mystery tree

So we were out to eat on Sunday and there was this really neato tree at the buffet! Our friend got pictures, but hasn't sent them to me yet. Anyways....thought I'd mention it here and see if anyone had an idea. The tree wasn't overly large...maybe 15 feet tall and didn't have a huge spread. The limbs hung down like a willow (I'm sure of it time! ) and it had bright yellow blooms. The blooms reminded me of forsythia blooms. They covered the last 10-12 inches of the branches that hung down. Any ideas? It was a GORGEOUS tree!

Golden Chain Tree

Hey!! Yeah!!! That's it!! Cool! Do you know if the tree makes a mess at all? MIL would like one but doesn't like messy trees. ...think I'd like one too!!

Uhhhhhhh.... define messy? They shed their petals.... the dwarf variety doesn't have as many petals to shed as the standard size.... does that help?

Yup!! That isn't too bad...the petals would get sucked up when we'd mow the lawn. I just don't like super messy trees. :)

Side note....I was going to put a dog wood in the back yard because they don't get too big....but now I really like this tree!! I hate choosing!!

I planted 2 golden chain trees last fall neither on made it

We have to be careful where we put trees in the yard because the cesspool is there and once the fence gets put in, we need to make sure that we can get a vehicle through the fence if we need to. Also, every 5 years the cesspool needs emptied and I am not sure if that involves a truck in our yard or not. I wouldn't have even thought about putting a tree or two in the back, but the dogs will need some kind of shade back there and there will be nothing once we pull down the awning back there.

by cesspool do you mean septic tank???---buy some 'Rid-x' and flush it down your toilet once a month or so---you may not need to have it cleaned out once every 5 years then.

Nope....by cesspool I mean cesspool....it is different than a septic tank. Here is what one website says about them...

In the US, a cesspool is a dry well for the disposal of sewage. Liquids leach out promptly if soil conditions allow. Some solids decay and are leached out after some time. Some solids accumulate, eventually blocking the escape of liquids, causing the familiar cesspool failure or overflow. Cesspools are discouraged, or are banned by local plumbing codes, and instead connections to municipal sewage systems or septic systems are encouraged or required.

Most cesspools that are put in now are large tubes of concrete with holes around the inside of the tube to let out the water and what solids decay. The cesspool that we have is an early one made from block and stone. The town requires each cesspool to be emptied every 5th year.

I'm confused. Our septic is a large concrete container that has one large hole that connects to pipes in a field bed. Everything is completely buried underground.

They had cess pools where I worked at the dairy farm and they were open...is yours covered Jenn?

Never mind, I googled it and got it all figured out

Here a local pump truck does the septic clean out. They drive a heavy truck on the lawn then run a hose into the tank...

You'll probably need a special gate for your fence..you could call to find out what others use.

Also you could ask them what kind of shade tree they'd reccommend so it wouldn't interfere with your cess pool drainage or tank.

Joclyn.....the town doesn't have a system...every single house in town has a cesspool!!! Everyone also has a well. There is no municipal water or sewer. Rumor has it tho that they will be putting in a sewer system and everything in the next few years. We'll see if that happens. I'm kind of afraid of that tho....I don't want them to tear up the front lawn and the cost could be a few thousand dollars! BUT...we would get connected if they put it in.

Also, the top of the access for the cesspool is extremely tight and is 6" wide. We pulled the lid off to see how big the cesspool is and took note that it was very hard for me to get it off. I believe a dangerous width is anything more than 6"...I know that a child get fall into one that is 8" wide.

AND, if you are concerned, you could put a large planter on top of the access. something movable, but large enough the kids couldn't do it or even know to do it.

i have a ficus tree that would be perfect but it wouldn't survive your winters.

The access is raised. It is about a foot high. We did think to put something over it tho....like a bird bath or something that might be hollowish and large enough to go over the access. We're going to worry about that more when Maddie is actually walking and everything.....like later this summer.

could you put a wishing well type thing, and use the top of the well to hold a plant? i've seen that here.

Tanker trucks that empty septic tanks or cesspools usually have quite a long hose. So whether or not it has to tear up a lot of your yard depends on the location of your cesspool and how long the tanker truck's hose is. My septic tank is fairly close to the end of my house and my backyard is fenced but I added a very wide gate at that end for just such a possibility. However, the truck has never had to come into the back yard. The truck backs into the side yard and the hose reaches the tank with no problem.

I have a septic tank and it does, indeed, have to be emptied every several years but there is only one of me here and my washing machine empties into a large ditch. The bacteria additivies help prolong the necessity for emptying but doesn't eliminate it altogher although it may seem to if there aren't many people using "the facilities". So the frequency of emptying it depends on how large it is, how many people in the family, whether or not washing machine water empties into it, etc.

Jiffy, we thought of the wishing well idea. :) ...it is a good idea! When the time comes, we are going to keep that in mind. ...not sure if the dogs will try to eat that tho.

Kolar, the washing machine doesn't empty into the cesspool.....although we are talking about putting a disposal in the sink when we re-do the kitchen. Since the cesspool doesn't act exactly like a septic tank, I think the disposal would be OK. Especially since the cesspool is a larger than average one. We are also talking about putting a dishwasher in when the kitchen is re-done. Right now there will be only 2 people using the bathrooms. Eventually our 2 kids will be potty trained......but that is at least a year a way. I am going to be talking to others who live in the town to see if they have these conveniences and whether or not is messes with the cesspools.

jenn, around here, most of the wishing wells are made from cut and stacked landscape timbers. so they are sturdy enough to hold even your dogs i'll get a picture of one for you soon, promise!