The huge, creamy flowers of Magnolia grandiflora are a thing of beauty, but the towering mature tree is not a great choice for boundary planting.Photo / File
The huge, creamy flowers of Magnolia grandiflora are a thing of beauty, but the towering mature tree is not a great choice for boundary planting.Photo / File
By Margi Keys
There was once a beautiful, exotic tree that had been planted in the wrong place about 25 years before.
The Magnolia grandiflora stood on a suburban section between two dwellings; it provided shade for both houses at different times of the day.
The evergreen tree grew and grew. The people on the western side of the tree grew angry and sad; the tall tree shaded the extension that had been built to the boundary fence, thanks to the signature of the kind neighbour to the east in 2007.
For years, the people on the western side of the tree suffered because of the shade cast on their house in the morning.
At least once, the tree was topped and thinned to allow more light and sunshine into the house to the west. This weakened the tree, but it bounced back.
One day the property with the magnolia tree on it was sold.
The new owner formed a relationship with the magnificent magnolia, which provided mulch for the garden, foliage for floral arrangements and kindling for the wood burner.
This person enjoyed the beautiful glossy leaves, huge creamy flowers, the tauhou and other native birds that built their nests up in the tree, feeding on the insects that lived there.
Visitors would marvel at the tree's symmetry. They talked about the tree's gifts of oxygen, and its ability to cleanse the air by removing carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other toxic particulates. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year.
"Trees are so important to us," they said. "We would die without them."
Margi Keys (aka Jann of the Jungle)
One day in 2017, a letter containing comma splices arrived from a lawyer. It included two quotes: one, for $600, to fell the tree; the other, incorrectly spelled (and therefore lacking credibility), indicated it would cost $3000 to remedy the "damage" to the paved area in the pergola. The tree roots had spread and lifted some pavers.
The Property Law Act (2007) indicates that if a tree is damaging another property, the "owner" of the tree is liable.
The tree lover decided to be a kind neighbour, so the tree was felled one sunny morning for $400. Noise from the chainsaw and hired mulcher assailed the neighbourhood for two days. The birds flew away, now homeless.
Sadness came upon the tree lover who understood the importance of trees to planet Earth. The tree lover knew trillions of big trees had been lost; greenhouse gases were accumulating and climate change was happening. Grieving for the birds, and for the loss of the gifts the tree would have kept offering, the tree lover stockpiled the mulch for spreading around other trees on the property. The 27 rings on the stump were noted.
Happiness was restored to the people who had suffered every morning for at least two winters; the sunlight was enjoyed by all who lived within for two months. Then they sold their house.
Beware of the Property Laws Act; your tree's roots may cause damage to your neighbour's property.
Beware of giving consent so your neighbours can build right up to the boundary near your big tree. If you sign the form without a proviso that the tree stays, your consent may come back to bite you or the people who move in after you.
Beware of planting a tree that has the potential to grow well above the roof of your house. Kia tupato!
Magnolia grandiflora is native to the US. Potentially reaching 27m, it is a striking park tree with dark green leaves up to 20cm long and 12cm wide, and white fragrant flowers up to 30cm in diameter.
Margi Keys, the co-ordinator of Conservation Comment, has lived in Whanganui since June 2015. She is a member of Sustainable Whanganui, Bushy Park Trust, Tongariro Natural History Society, Forest & Bird and the Green Party.
