# What are they trying to accomplish in their yard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238 "2014-05-12T03:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/1 "2014-05-12T03:19:38Z")
People about 1/2 a mile down the road from where I work have done something in their front yard that has left me baffled. Can anyone speculate what they’re trying to do? They’ve acquired four partial trees, cut down to about 8’ with… what’s the bottom part called that spreads out from the trunk into the ground with the roots? whatever that part is called, intact (can’t say if there _are_ roots attached, though). They’ve been placed in a straight line, a few feet apart. And these trunks have no branches and they’ve been stripped of all their bark. But they’ve also mulched them. The mulch makes me think they are under the impression that these things are going to grow, which is the most confusing part to me. If not for the mulch, I’d think it was step one of building something ugly and artistic. Theories? I’ll be keeping an eye out, to see if they add anything. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/2 "2014-05-12T04:27:32Z")
Photo? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/3 "2014-05-12T04:44:51Z")
Living fence? Bean poles? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/4 "2014-05-12T05:10:20Z")
That sounds absolutely bizarre. How thick are the trunks (roughly)? Are they pretty skinny or stout? The bottom with the roots is called the root ball, by the way. I think it’s absurd to the point of HILARITY that they [killed these trees](http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2007/090807.html) by removing the goddamned bark but made sure to keep the root ball intact!Removing even just a narrow band of bark will kill the tree if it’s completely around the trunk (girdling, or ring barking). From the link: > [@](#): > > Complete girdling (the bark removed from a band completely encircling the tree) will certainly kill the tree. > > The reason for damage due to girdling is that the phloem layer of tissue just below the bark is responsible for carrying food produced in the leaves by photosynthesis to the roots. Without this food, the roots ultimately die and cease sending water and minerals to the leaves. Then the leaves die. As you can see from this process, there is a delay period before the roots and top dies. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/5 "2014-05-12T05:32:31Z")
Carve them into totem poles? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/6 "2014-05-12T06:09:37Z")
The root ball will die and rot away, and then stump will be unstable. You wouldn’t do this to make 8’ tall poles… you’d just get 12’ tall treated uprights and plant 4’ in the ground. The only reason to do this thing with the roots and all, would be if you really wanted the root balls. Eg to make homes for animals in the root ball ? But then… you’d ideally want healthy trees, or else it would be rather temporary. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/7 "2014-05-12T07:06:10Z")
maybe they got totem trees. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/8 "2014-05-12T08:30:41Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > People about 1/2 a mile down the road from where I work have done something in their front yard that has left me baffled. Can anyone speculate what they’re trying to do? > > They’ve acquired four partial trees, cut down to about 8’ with… what’s the bottom part called that spreads out from the trunk into the ground with the roots? whatever that part is called, intact (can’t say if there _are_ roots attached, though). They’ve been placed in a straight line, a few feet apart. And these trunks have no branches and they’ve been stripped of all their bark. But they’ve also mulched them. > > The mulch makes me think they are under the impression that these things are going to grow, which is the most confusing part to me. If not for the mulch, I’d think it was step one of building something ugly and artistic. > > Theories? > > I’ll be keeping an eye out, to see if they add anything. Maybe stop by and say hello? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/9 "2014-05-12T11:14:29Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > That sounds absolutely bizarre. How thick are the trunks (roughly)? Are they pretty skinny or stout? Stout. Probably a couple of feet in circumference. **Little\_Pig** , they’re not home when I drive by. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/10 "2014-05-12T11:29:51Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Stout. Probably a couple of feet in circumference. > > **Little\_Pig** , they’re not home when I drive by. We’ll, I guess your gonna just have to wait and see. May be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/11 "2014-05-12T11:41:07Z")
Still…a call to Homeland Security wouldn’t go amiss. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/12 "2014-05-12T11:47:45Z")
Are they definitely trees? Could they be large grape vines, because that would make sense. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/13 "2014-05-12T11:49:31Z")
Are they [Crape](http://www.walterreeves.com/uploads/JPGs/crapeprune1.JPG) [Myrtles](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0JONQ0v4qrw/TWKxmyVkAuI/AAAAAAAAAE4/-NuZN0xau1o/s1600/crape_myrtle+murder3.jpg), perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/14 "2014-05-12T12:49:00Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Theories? Is their last name Addams? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/15 "2014-05-12T13:15:44Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Are they [Crape](http://www.walterreeves.com/uploads/JPGs/crapeprune1.JPG) [Myrtles](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0JONQ0v4qrw/TWKxmyVkAuI/AAAAAAAAAE4/-NuZN0xau1o/s1600/crape_myrtle+murder3.jpg), perhaps? That was my guess. The have very thin bark, and are often pruned back to nothing. They recover quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/16 "2014-05-12T13:24:02Z")
8’ tall, a couple feet around, standing in a row… I’d guess they’re about to take up chainsaw stump-carving. Or they’re about to film an epic coming-of-age martial arts training sequence, where somebody has to build himself up to the point that he can pound these things to toothpicks with his bare hands. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/17 "2014-05-12T17:19:02Z")
Crape Myrtles should NOT be pruned back to nothing, though. People do it to increase flowering, but the flowers don’t last as long and you cause a lot of damage to the tree (horticulturists have termed it “Crape Murder”, Heh). “Topping” the tree like this damages the structural integrity of the tree and its health, as well as making it more vulnerable to fungus and rot. Basically, the trees _survive_ most instances of topping, but they don’t thrive. They would be better off, health and appearance wise, by avoiding this practice and only lightly and judiciously pruning like you do other trees. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/18 "2014-05-12T23:16:46Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Are they [Crape](http://www.walterreeves.com/uploads/JPGs/crapeprune1.JPG) [Myrtles](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0JONQ0v4qrw/TWKxmyVkAuI/AAAAAAAAAE4/-NuZN0xau1o/s1600/crape_myrtle+murder3.jpg), perhaps? No, definitely not. Whatever trees they used to be were big with nice straight trunks. Oak, maple, a type of pine, something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/19 "2014-05-12T23:30:50Z")
When I was growing up, people used to paint trees white halfway up the trunk. I have no idea why they did this. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238/20 "2014-05-12T23:31:39Z")
And since this is sort of a gardening thread I’m going to move it to Café Society. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-in-their-yard/688238.md?page=2)