Remember when everyone used to plant those big cottonwoods in their yards?

I was driving through my old neighborhood in the North Valley the other day and saw a crew taking down another huge, cracked cottonwood. It got me thinking about how common that was 20 years ago. People loved them for the fast shade, but I've seen so many of those trees wreck sewer lines and foundations as they got older. Our own house had a $5,000 plumbing bill from roots about a decade back. Now, I see folks at the garden center still picking them out for new builds, not knowing the long-term headache. It's a specific Albuquerque thing because our soil and water table make those roots go wild. Has anyone switched to a slower-growing native tree like a desert willow or honey mesquite and been happy with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

markm272mo ago

But what about the classic look they give a neighborhood? Those huge old cottonwoods feel like Albuquerque to me, and the shade is unbeatable. You just have to plant them smart, away from pipes.

paul1172mo ago

Plant them smart" is what you say before the city makes you pay for the sidewalk they wreck.