RE: paulownia trees, etc.

[John Schinnerer <John-Schinnerer@data-dimensions.com>]

Aloha,

Back from Hawai'i...I'll post something about working with my land sometime
soon.  It was fun, that I can say right now!

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Barry & Margarita [mailto:bmn@iglou.com]
>That all depends on one's outlook.  They are EXTREMELY invasive and have
>become serious problems.  Since the #2 threat to native species is
>invasive exotics (second only to habitat destruction in the USA), I am
>not a fan.  Unfortunately, they're being heralded as fantastic trees due
>to quick growth.  They produce ungodly numbers of seeds which are widely
>dispersed.  This is why they're impossible to control.

Sounds like the "prolonged and thoughtful observation" that is supposedly a
fundament of permaculture practice was short-circuited.  I recall much
raving about paulownia in my design course.  I had no way of knowing for
certain if anyone had observed them thoughtfully and prolongedly, but they
were in any case raving about them, promoting them, glorifying them -
including Mr. Mollison, if I recall correctly, in some video we were shown.
Fast growing, good wood, produces lots of green mulch, etc. etc..  Certainly
nobody said anything about invasiveness and large numbers of widely
dispersed seeds, perhaps because nobody knew...yet?  In fact, they were
talking about cloning in order to reproduce them faster.  

And maybe there is more to this story - like they only become invasive if
not tended appropriately, kept from seeding, etc. etc. (like comfrey - needs
certain practices and it's OK; without those practices it's an invasive
pest).

Whenever I hear someone raving about a particular plant or critter, I notice
first and foremost a particular cultural pattern - that of raving about a
particular something.  The raving sometimes seems to have an inverse
relation to the amount of prolonged and thoughtful observation of and
experience with the particular something... ;-)

John Schinnerer