Veronica's poinciana

Eric Frei

I've been looking after Veronica's poinciana tree for maybe 2 years now. There was some questionable cutting going on before and when I first saw the tree it was not happy.

Anyway, I got to do some work on it, we did some soil treatment, mulched, pruned etc over the last couple of years.

I suppose I visit around 6 month intervals when Veronica rings. Now remember we have just come through 2 years of drought and credit to Veronica she has been bucket watering the tree.

Anyway, we keep the roof clear of the tree but no BS lopping and cuts are target cuts. Check out the pics, this tree is an inspiration to what trees should be like and I couldn't imagine the home without it or how hot it would be.







View looking out from the house.



Close up toward the house



Directional pruning to keep it away from the roof

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Sean Freeman

Ekka, you are justifiably proud of the great work achieved with that Delonix. Brilliant mate.

SF

Eric Frei

In the very centre of the tree where all the main branches originate from is a well of water (after it rains). This is normal and OK. You don't go drilling and draining it, that's just going to cause decay, that's an old fashioned idea now known that bark is a protective layer and water is anaerobic to many fungi. So let it be.



We try to keep the cuts small, under say 4" diameter, now here's some pics of good cuts and how the tree is sealing them over.




And in a few years here's what they'll look like, fully sealed.




And here's a close up of a cut made before my time, it's a big one on a codominant branch, maybe 10" dia. I pulled the loose material from it and broke the old bark off to make sure we had callus wood all the way around ... which it did. It is ribbed all the way around but the centre will decay. So I asked Veronica for the euc oil knowing all good Aussie houses have some and sure she gave it to me and I sprinkled it all around the wound. Mind you there were a lot of bugs living under the old dead bark.



So now Veronica has to spray that area with euc oil frequently to keep the bugs away. Funny though, the bugs we got rid of soon made their way back like homing pidgeons ... when they got within a few inches of the treated wound they took off!

I think Veronica's poinciana is a serious asset and if she ever considered moving we would have to lobby BCC to put it on the significant landscape tree list ... it's a near crime to think that some-one could just buy the house and cut it down. But that's the way it is around here, no blanket vegetation protection laws.

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Bernard Keays

Ekka,

Do you ever get rashes when pruning poincianas?

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Bernie

Eric Frei

No, not with poinciana but ficus ... lookout!

If I get ficus sap on me it's like petrol and burns/stings with a rash that lasts up too 3 weeks and skin flaking off. Itching that'll drive you nuts.

With the sawdust of ficus similar but it tends to get tiny blisters then peel like sunburn. Never used to then one day out of the blue bang ... allergic reaction.

Many people have same with silkyoak, but so far for me just ficus.

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Bernard Keays

I get the same thing with poinciana's. Its seem’s worse in summer when the trees are actively growing. I've got to be careful with poinciana mulch as well particularly when its fresh and starting to compost (generating its own heat). It starts like a chemical burn...skin starts to peel off about three weeks latter.

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Bernie

newguy18

I get the same from privets,and occasionally from white olenander.

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letigre

nice work mate! those long term projects can be really rewarding. speaking of ficus', my old boss and our team had a macrophylla we were taking care of long term. initally it was maybe 50% canopy and looking pretty hagard, then we dead wooded it and removed crossed over branches 6" and under and mulched to the drip-line. i think it took a good 60 cubic metres to mulch the 25m tall(40m spread) beast.

last time i saw it, it had up to 80% foliage, bright greeen and happy and the wounds were already starting to heal, 6 months onwards.

as far as tree reactions go, i hear silky, fig and rous trees are the worst. the only reaction ive ever had was from a fig on a really hot day when i must have ingested some sawdust or sometihng. felt like heatstroke, but i was in the shade all day and was drinking plenty of water.

TrevMcRev

Good work Ekka! That tree is an asset to that property and the whole streetscape.

Youre an asset to veronica and her tree, too easy up there for it to fall into the wrong hands and end up hacked or removed.

newguy18

I'll have to get pics but i think i have a poinciana growing in my backyard.

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old schooler