Would you grow evergreen oaks in "Upstate" Tennessee given the chance?

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by JRR

I lived with live and laurel oaks most of my life in Florida and very much disliked them. When they are large, they do provide a lot of nice shade.

But they drop a ton of leaves. And they are not leaves that you can easily chop up with a lawnmower and they will disintegrate. They are small thick leaves that come down in piles and will last forever and may smother your grass if you leave them. At my last house in leaf season, I would fill up five trash cans every week and that would go on for at least a month.

And then there were the acorns. One tree was near the driveway and it was a constant battle when they started dropping. You could sweep the driveway clean and as you walk back to the house more are dropping on your head. You always knew when someone was coming to visit as you could hear the crunching as they drove up.

And then there were the blossoms which came down in piles. They also had to be raked up and disposed.

And last, but not least, the yellow pollen that covered everything.

If I ever moved back to Florida, I would not consider any house that had the oak trees anywhere near to it

Just like the cork oak that grows out West in Sacramento.

[Bamaman1]

I don't ever see anyone planting oak trees, especially in Memphis. I do see people cutting them down when they get diseased. I had one hit by lightning, and it cost me $1K to get it taken down piece by piece.

It just takes too long to grow such a tree to any size, and our lifespans are just not that long.

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

Originally Posted by Bamaman1

I don't ever see anyone planting oak trees, especially in Memphis. I do see people cutting them down when they get diseased. I had one hit by lightning, and it cost me $1K to get it taken down piece by piece.

It just takes too long to grow such a tree to any size, and our lifespans are just not that long.

I've heard that southeastern U.S. Live Oak species actually grow faster when they're younger and slower when they're older. That's why it's so easy to see ones that are big, yet so hard to see massive ones like the Escarpment Live Oak at The Alamo or Charleston's Angel Oak.

Also, the point you made, although valid for slower-growing trees (which fully deciduous oaks probably are), isn't as much of a problem for younger people (e.g. teens and young adults). Even so, planting slow-growing trees can have another benefit in the long run; afforestation.