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tamadah

I have 16 acres of prime isaan dirt to my name and we have pulled all the scrub and scrawny trees up. Unfortunately, the previous owner cut down some of the more substantial trees so it's looking a bit bare and bereft of shady spots.

Are there any recommendations for a relatively fast-growing tree that will eventually provide some degree of shade and seclusion around the corner of the allotment that's being eyeballed for a home construction? I have heard reference to a 'white teak' but don't know if that's it's proper anglicized name or what. Dton Jamphi and Jampha have been mentioned but no clue what these look like. Also 'Asoke' which I think is a tall, narrow tree that's good for a 'wall' effect and wind breaks when planted close together.

I have mango trees in my Pattaya yard that are quite large but I am not sure how long they took to get that big.

If anyone has pictures of their recommendations, that would be a much appreciated bonus.

Many thanks!

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pompeybloke

If you have ownership papers for the land, plant teak saplings for the future. They do need protecting and servicing though so you need to live nearby the land to take care of them.
er....doesn't really solve the shade issue though. Those eucalyptus grow easily and quickly like weeds, but that's what they are; tree sized weeds, and they inhibit the growth of any productive trees.
Also, you might want to consider a fruit tree orchard but the land would need ploughing and feeding with say, chicken shit and plenty of, before sapling planting.

dirtydog

This tree is about 2 years old I think, plenty of water as it is on the bank of the pond, must be about 6 meters tall already, nice looking tree for shade but I have no idea what it is.

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tuktukdriver

Tree bamboo. The stuff grows about a foot a day. It must be cheap in Thailand. You can cut walkways through it and they turn into nice, shady, peaceful places.

dirtydog

Bamboo is really messy though, loads of dead leaves and bits and pieces, snakes and other nasty critters probably like it aswell

somtamslap

These are quite nice. Grow fairly quickly and get very big. No idea what they are called but are very common in the garden centres here.

tuktukdriver

I live in Japan and love the bamboo groves here. You can make a lot of simple things out of it too. Not sure about the snakes in Thailand though.

spliff

Nice, they look like giant buds.

DrAndy

Try planting some Thakop; they have nice red berries that are sweet with lots of tiny seeds

They grow fast, give shade and birds love the berries

Patrick

These are called "Asoke" in Thailand.

Being tall and quite thin they do not offer much shade from an overhead sun however.

They are most often planted as a sort of screen, that said they are not very strong and quite easily blow down in a strong wind so best not to plant them near your house.

Patrick

hillbilly

Excellent advice from Dr. Andy. I planted one of these trees upcountry and it has grown like a weed. I think I originally paid about B10,000 for the tree.

Ed Lee

Have some of the trees the Thai Princess is involved with, HUGE leaves, I mean HUGE.
Grow very fast, mature in 4-5 years, but I forget the name.

DrAndy

come on Ed, try harder

WhiteLotusLane

This one is called 'Ton Hoo Kwang' or 'Deer's Ear Tree'. Indeed it grows like a wildfire. This does look like a young one, they spread out pretty wide as well, covering a lot of ground with shade.

Other than providing shade in a hurry, it's utterly useless; can't use the wood for anything, and it sheds most of its leaves in the dry season, creating a mess. (At least it doesn't shed continuously throughout the year though)

Super easy to grow.. they produce seeds that sprout up all over the place.

Smithson

This is a good suggestions.

Bamboo is good also, but takes a while to get established. Not messy at all, unless your into English style manicured gardens. The leaves make excellent mulch.

You should also try some nitrogen fixing trees, these can take nitrogen from the air and store it. In the rainy season you cut them back, the trimmings just throw on the ground for fertilizer. When cut back a portion of the roots die, adding notrogen to the soil. Many are quick growing, a popular variety is Kratin, you can eat it as well.

JaiYinYin

I think the White Teak you are refering to is called Gmelina although i dont think thats its thai name. I saw it in Africa and was told it was introduced there from Malasia it is very fast growing provides shade and when you cut it down it regrows, i plan on planting this myself in thailand. Google will tell you more.

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Gipsy

One of the fastest growing and most beautiful flowering shade trees I can think of would be Delonix regia.




I planted a few of these in my garden 5 years ago, seedlings in little pots they were, about a meter high with a stem as thick as your thumb. Now I can't put my arms around the trunks anymore... 60 to 70 cm. in diameter. Heights vary from 9 to 12 meter and its 'footprint of shadow' is varying from 15 to 20 meter... they're huge in just 5 years!

Delonix regia is a member of the bean family (Leguminosae) and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful tropical trees in the world. As the trees mature, they develop broad umbrella-shaped crowns, and are often planted for their shade-giving properties. The delicate, fern-like leaves are composed of small individual leaflets, which fold up at the onset of dusk. Lovely small foliage that will 'vibrate' even with a little breeze. This tree produces brown, woody seed pods that reach lengths of up to 60 cm; they turn reddish-brown to almost black when ripe.



Culture
 | Delonix regia is very fast growing, about 5 ft (1.5 m) per year until maturity, and tolerant of a wide range of well drained soils from acidic to alkaline and from loamy to gravelly. It's best to provide protection from strong winds.

Light | Full sun.

Moisture | Delonix regia is drought tolerant, but does best with regular water in the growing season and very little water in its dormant season. 

Propagation | Propagate Delonix regia from semi-ripe tip cuttings taken in summer. Best results come with bottom heat. Seedlings vary in flower characteristics and may take 3 to 4 years to flower.

Usage | Delonix regia is a spectacular shade tree in tropical climates. As a free standing specimen tree, it has no peers. Delonix regia tolerates salty conditions and can be grown near the coast, but not in openly exposed beach conditions. Delonix regia tolerates hard pruning and can be kept at a small size, and even grown in the greenhouse. I've seen bonsai versions as well...

The big bonus, of course, is their flowers, once a year. Almost a bare tree after the 'cold' season here in Thailand, just as the new leave appear, it bursts into an almost solid mass of blossoms that can vary in color from crimson and scarlet to orange and apricot, scarlet being the most common. I'm lucky to also have a few of a rare cultivar; the yellow Delonix regia. My trees started flowering (from seed) after 4 years, some had a few clusters of blossom, others were already what I dreamed they would be. Now, at 5 years old, they are big lumps of color, not to be missed.


Unfortunately for you the seedpods have already opened en dropped their seeds, so seeds cannot be collected right now. But if you can locate some trees, go have a look for seeds that have sprouted under the big ones. I see them here, around Chiang Mai, a lot, about 40 cm. high at the moment, hardly higher than the weeds, but you will recognize the foliage of the parent tree. Very often they are found alongside the small khlongs/canals that provide water for the farmers. Once located, a spade is all it needs to collect a few! Otherwise you will find that flower markets/nurseries will have them, you only need a few to cover a nice big area of shadow.

And......., before anyone asks again…..

Common name(s) |

Carolinian: fáyárbaw, nfayarbaw
Chamorro: arbol del fuego, arbol del fuego, atbot, atbot, atbut
Chuukese: meei flower
English: falsa acacia, flambouyant, flamboyant, flame tree, peacock flower, poinciana, red tree, royal ponciana
Fijian: sekoula
French: flamboyant, pacayer
Hawaiian: ‘ohai ‘ula
I-Kiribati: te kai te tua, te tau, te tua
Indonesian: flamboyan, merak
Maori (Cook Islands): marumaru, pātai, pū pī, puka kai, rākau tāmarumaru
Malay: flamboyan, merak, semarak api, sepanggil
Nauruan: bin
Niuean: pinē
Palauan: nangiosákura, nangyo
Pohnpeian: pilampwoia weitahta
Samoan: elefane, tamaligi
Spanish: árbol del fuego, atbot det fuegu, flamboyán
Tahitian: pakai, puke, ra‘ar marumaru
Thai: (ton mai) hang-nok-yung
Tongan: ‘ohai
Tongarevan: pātai
Tuamotuan: faefae
Tuvaluan: fuatausaga
Ulithian: warapig
Yapese: sakuranirow


More info on the Delonix regia |
Delonix regia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Delonix regia - Royal poinciana (Fabaceae) - Plants of Hawaii - Images by Forest & Kim Starr (lots of details)

And a yellow one |
File:Yellow Delonix Regia.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia