Ashoka India Tree

[FACTOR]

Hello. Apologies for a rather vague question, but sympathetic readers might reply with something useful:

 

Does anyone know much about the Ashoka India tree? I understand there are two types -- the Ashoka tree (Saraca Asoca) and then what is known as the False Ashoka (Polyalthia longifolia). I think what I might actually need is the False Ashoka and I think that is more common in Thailand. Right? 

 

What I'm looking for is a tall slender straight tree with lots of foliage to create a privacy barrier on my property by putting about 15 of them together in a row.

 

Anybody know anything about this?

 

Thank you.

[drtreelove]

On ‎10‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 3:10 AM, FACTOR said:

I think what I might actually need is the False Ashoka and I think that is more common in Thailand. Right? 

 

Right. 

 

I have seen this tree planted in rows for privacy screening as you suggest.  I guess it works, but I don't particularly like the look, or the multi-year wait for size and full canopy merging to develop. Or if you plant them very close together for immediate screening, then in a few years you will have an overcrowded planting and maintenance issues that go along with it.

 

Why not consider banana plants; they are inexpensive (or sometimes offshoots are free from friends or neighbors), they grow fast with good soil and water management (I achieved full screening between properties in Chiang Mai within a few months), they are beautiful with lush green foliage, and you start getting the fruit the first year. They do not get as huge as the eventual size of Asoka trees. They do require some monthly maintenance (or better yet weekly to stay up with it).  I pruned, mulched, fertilized, harvested fruit and flowers myself, so not an out of pocket expense for me.

 

Or consider bamboo.  See Mr Bamboo website from Sydney Australia, for some ideas, the bamboo privacy screening specialists.  http://mrbamboo.com.au/  Contact Mr Bamboo/Greg through the website for Thailand species suggestions, he knows available  bamboos in Thailand

[FACTOR]

Dr Treelove,

Thanks a lot for the information. Regarding banana plants, how long do they live? A long time?

 

Thanks for the link to Mr. Bamboo; yes I do have some bamboo but would like to try something different now.

[drtreelove]

On 11/11/2016 at 10:54 PM, FACTOR said:

Dr Treelove,

Thanks a lot for the information. Regarding banana plants, how long do they live? A long time?

 

Thanks for the link to Mr. Bamboo; yes I do have some bamboo but would like to try something different now.

 

A single culm will die back after producing fruit. But you cut that down, spread the cut foliage and stem fragments around the base as mulch and cultivate the off-shoots that grow up from the base. So the plant and root system, with continual production of new off-shoots will live for many years. You can thin the culms for a more open look, or let them all grow up for maximum density. 

[Pdaz]

 

I have two rows of Asoke India planted in my back yard. They are ideal as a screening tree. They are fairly fast growing and bush out well once the top has been pruned. They are easily available in heights up to around 3m ( sometimes taller ) Prices vary from 300-1000 Baht depending on size. Mine have been in the ground for two years and had almost reached 5m in height before being topped out.

mine were planted 1.3m apart but you could plant them closer to achieve a denser screen.

Another alternative is "Sai Bali" which also grows to 3m+ and can be trimmed into a dense hedge. I also have a section of bamboo but it requires trimming every two or three weeks so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[FACTOR]

Dr. Treelove,

 

I took your advice -- walked over to the neighbor's who I knew had a few banana plants and I asked if I could have some of the offshoots that I saw. They said "sure", so just today I had a whole crew -- old woman, young-buck son, kids --- out there digging up the off shoots for me; I dug the holes and we planted them together. The neighbors took a much larger banana plant from my property (not in the spot I want them) to plant on their land. It is/was about 6 metres tall; the young-buck whacked off the top 3 metres with one swipe of his machete, they dug up the remainder by the roots and transplanted it to their land-- an even swap and all good fun!

[drtreelove]

Very cool, I'm happy to hear that!  Seems to me there are some good benefits; friendly cooperative interaction with your neighbors, a more lush and natural look IMO for screening plants than a row of Ashoka trees, and then you get the fruit. 

 

Be sure to offer one of the first banana bunches from your plants, to your generous neighbor. Plants/fruits discussion and interaction and sharing is an excellent universal starting point for good neighbor relations in my experience.

 

Be sure to water the banana plants adequately (at least once or twice weekly), especially during the first hot-dry season coming up in late February. Bananas like a conservative amount of manure fertilizer and lots of mulch.  When I've grown bananas where an aesthetic aspect is important, I groom them regularly with thinning and cleaning of dead/dying leaves, and when you harvest a bunch of bananas, cut down the remaining plant (or get the young buck over there with his machete) and distribute the cut plant parts around the root zone as mulch.  This helps to retain soil moisture, suppresses weeds, and adds to soil organic matter and nutrient replenishment. The new culms will grow up to rapidly replace the cut stem.

[drtreelove]

Something to consider - One problem that I have seen many times over the years, with Ashoka trees in a row like this, or with any other woody species with columnar form, like Italian cypress that is used for this screening purpose:

when you lose one out of the row, due to root rot or other reason, then you have a big gap in your screening that takes a long time to fill with a replacement. Because sometimes finding a replacement for a mature tree is not possible or affordable. Bananas or bamboo isn't suitable for every screening situation, but at least if a gap is created, it is easier and faster to fill.