Comments on: Cedar Trees: Friend or Foe? http://www.timespub.tc/2010/02/cedar-trees-friend-or-foe/ Sampling the Soul of the Turks & Caicos Islands Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:51:07 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: Jimmy L. Shirley http://www.timespub.tc/2010/02/cedar-trees-friend-or-foe/comment-page-1/#comment-421 Jimmy L. Shirley Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:28:32 +0000 http://www.timespub.tc/?p=1517#comment-421 The Australian Pine is a beautiful tree. Gives a fantastic shade and a beautiful sound when the wind blows. It does not keep grass from growing under it. You should see my front yard, I have a large one that is about 40 or 50 years old and very large and beautiful. The grass is just as thick under this tree as it is anywhere in my yard. Compared to the Palm Tree there is no comparison. The Palm Tree gives no shade and the long stems and leaves are constantly dropping in your yard. (I have 14 of them along with my Australian Pine) There are so many false stories about this tree that it is not funny. My wife and I went on a nature boat ride and we stopped at a small island in the inland waterway and got out with the naturalist who was conducting the trip. There were a number of Australian pines on the island along with mangroves. She was talking about the Mangroves and we started walking back and we passed a fairly large Australian Pine and she said "See that tree, it's an Australian Pine, they are a terrible tree and they have been outlawed in the state of Florida. "The problem with these Pines is that they send down a tap root and when the tap root reaches salt water it withers up and dies. After it does that the first strong wind that comes along just blows the tree right over. I felt like grabbing her and throwing her off the island. The county we are in "Manatee" just loves to plant palm trees, they constantly need to be trimmed to keep the branches from falling on the ground and if you are going out on a picnic and you sit in the shade of a 30 foot palm tree (only about 25 feet of shade on ground) before you know it the sun has moved enough that you will have to move your picnic table to a new location. The Australian Pine has no maintenance. Thanks for listening to me, It's a shame that the people in Tallahassee (Our Capitol) have been brainwashed by some so called expert. Your Friend: Jim Shirley The Australian Pine is a beautiful tree. Gives a fantastic shade and a beautiful sound when the wind blows. It does not keep grass from growing under it. You should see my front yard, I have a large one that is about 40 or 50 years old and very large and beautiful. The grass is just as thick under this tree as it is anywhere in my yard. Compared to the Palm Tree there is no comparison. The Palm Tree gives no shade and the long stems and leaves are constantly dropping in your yard. (I have 14 of them along with my Australian Pine) There are so many false stories about this tree that it is not funny. My wife and I went on a nature boat ride and we stopped at a small island in the inland waterway and got out with the naturalist who was conducting the trip. There were a number of Australian pines on the island along with mangroves. She was talking about the Mangroves and we started walking back and we passed a fairly large Australian Pine and she said “See that tree, it’s an Australian Pine, they are a terrible tree and they have been outlawed in the state of Florida. “The problem with these Pines is that they send down a tap root and when the tap root reaches salt water it withers up and dies. After it does that the first strong wind that comes along just blows the tree right over. I felt like grabbing her and throwing her off the island.
The county we are in “Manatee” just loves to plant palm trees, they constantly need to be trimmed to keep the branches from falling on the ground and if you are going out on a picnic and you sit in the shade of a 30 foot palm tree (only about 25 feet of shade on ground) before you know it the sun has moved enough that you will have to move your picnic table to a new location.
The Australian Pine has no maintenance.

Thanks for listening to me, It’s a shame that the people in Tallahassee (Our Capitol) have been brainwashed by some so called expert.
Your Friend: Jim Shirley

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