I am in the process of building a house outside of Amarillo and need advice on a place to purchase trees. Mainly, I'm looking at red oaks, cedar elms, and pines. Is Love and Sons a reputable business? Also, what type of pine is my best bet for this area?

Red Oaks are really slow growers in that area. I had a partner that planted several of them in Memphis for much dollar. After 20 years they were not much bigger.

I am not sure about pines. I now live in the Sam Houston National Forest, and I do not remember seeing anything simular to what I see everyday here.

But do not let me discourage you from planting trees! They are really needed.

Drive through the old areas of Amarillo and identify big trees, then you may decide what will do well up there.

Good luck with whatever you do.

Best place for good tree advice is Coulter Gardens. They are unbelievably knowledgeable. I am not sure how they stack up price wise versus Love and Sons, but I think they really know there stuff.

If you are planting a lot of trees and cost is a factor, check with the soil and water conservation district. They have small trees for sale at different times. Leon Church is the Potter County extension agent and he is associated with the garden club. He is a good source of advice on which ones are good.

Love and Sons has a wider selection. Most of the larger trees costed around $400, plus another $100 to $200 for delivery and planting.

The types of trees you'll see in this area are Siberian Elms (stay away from these... too many already), Cedar Elms, Honey Locusts (do very well here), and you will see an occassional Red Oak. You also see Live Oak... lots of those along Coulter near the newer homes. You might also see Globe Willows.

I planted a Globe Willow this spring and it's done great. I also planted a Loblolly Pine. It's not the most ideal location for a Loblolly Pine, but we are within its hardiness zone and with a little vigilence and TLC, it'll grow nicely. Of course, that's the case with any Pine Tree in this area... I see too many people plant pines for windbreakers and half of them die within the first 2 or 3 years because the person planting them expected the tree to tend to itself.


Loblolly Pine:




You might keep Bradford Pears in mind as well. Those seem to be very popular.

If you want to see the older trees, I suggest you drive down Paramount... there are some very impressive trees in that neighborhood.


[This message has been edited by raider aficionado (edited 8/16/2006 11:35p).]

I'd avoid the loblollys if planting that far west and north. Take a look at Eldrica pine, also called afganistan pine. Very drought hardy, and its on most of the lists of trees endorsed by the xeriscape folks

Thanks. I grew up with Afghan pines in west Texas and they were very fast growers. I've settled on those for my pines. Do you have any suggestions on places to buy Afghans? I haven't seen any at Love & Son's.

I've planted 30 trees on my place, bought everyone of them at Lowes