fallen marine

[coffeecraver]

What is a good tree to plant in memory of a fallen marine in zone 7 ?

Do the Marines have one that has signifiance ?

Thanks

 

[Elmore]

I'd go with a male grafted Ginkgo cultivar...perhaps 'Magyar', a large tree with upright branching. The cultivar 'Autumn Gold' may be more available and it too has a somewhat upright/narrow form.
Here is a local un-named male specimen tree that I have done some cloning of. It has a very broad form.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/Elmore/Ginkgo/PennyLane68.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"width=550>

 

[Dadatwins]

Thanks elmore I like the shape of that tree.
Talked to the mom of the fallen marine and she requested a bradford pear as that is the tree that her son was fond of and enjoyed the flowers in the spring. Not my personal favorite but going to abide by her wishes. They have a large open area in front surrounded by large oaks so hopefully they will help buffer some of the destructive winds. Anyone know a cultivar that maybe not prone to the typical falling apart of these trees. Thanks for any help.

 

[SmithEC]

I don't know trees, but I can tell you that Bradford pears are what were planted in Jacksonville, NC to memorialize the Marines and sailors killed in Beirut.

 

[Elmore]

I don't know trees, but I can tell you that Bradford pears are what were planted in Jacksonville, NC to memorialize the Marines and sailors killed in Beirut.

I'm sure the thought was there but what a cheap tree to memorialize the Marines. So many better trees to plant. Take a Ginkgo for instance...strong and enduring...like a Marine.

 

[Dadatwins]

I'm sure the thought was there but what a cheap tree to memorialize the Marines. So many better trees to plant. Take a Ginkgo for instance...strong and enduring...like a Marine.

I completely agree Elmore, but I am bound to do what the mom asked me now, my choice was a green ash, there were a lot of them planted in Arlington national cemetary, in honor of WWII vets I even found an Eisenhower cultivar, supposed to have come from several that were grown on his residence.

 

[SmithEC]

Like you say, you are bound by what she asks.

The Bradford pear is a nice looking tree for so very little of each year.

Why were they chosen? Possibly a combination of limited funds and where they were to be planted. They were planted in a fairly narrow median on the state highway that passes the front gates of Camp Johnson and Camp Lejeune. A search tells me that those trees have been transplanted since I was last there.

The tree pictured above is very nice. Something like that would have never worked in that fairly narrow median.

I'm sorry to hear about that mother's loss.

 

[Redbull]

Dada, you can try a Chanticleer(sp?) or Aristocrat pear. They are stronger but share the same spring and fall appeal as a Bradford.

 

[Elmore]

Dada, you can try a Chanticleer(sp?) or Aristocrat pear. They are stronger but share the same spring and fall appeal as a Bradford.

I believe that Chanticleer is synomonous with Cleveland Select, a very narrow pyramidal form. Aristocrat is an open, spreading form. Both are cultivars of the species calleryiana...Pyrus calleryana, Common Name Callery pear. Both of these cultivars are considered superior, in one or more aspect, to 'Bradford'.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/treeselector/index_tree.cfm?id=96

 

[Redbull]

Great response Elmore. Thanks! I did not know the details except that they were superior to the Bradford yet the flowers and leaves were very similar.

 

[Dadatwins]

Thanks for responses and the link, I will start search for 'Cleveland select' in local nursury, appeciate the help.