I noticed an interesting comment by Jessie Moniz in the October/November rg magazine, it read ' It's bad that Bermudians try to classify trees as good and bad' and continued with rationalising the comment.

It is a shame that a tree is maligned for no real reason except 'it is a dirty tree', would this be simply because it drops leaves, needles or sets lots of fruit and seed and the latter germinates.

If one checks the telephone directory there are a host of landscape companies offering services, it is the extent of these services which in my opinion is part of the problem and not the solution.

A weed is simply a plant growing in the wrong place, and when it is growing in the wrong place it should be removed, a simple exercise one would think!

There is an old garden adage, 'if you weed when no weeds are present you will not have any weeds', in other words if you work the soil regularly the soil surface is disturbed and any small germinating 'plant' is uprooted and dies naturally.

When 'weeds' become large they are invariably removed with the assistance of a hoe, however this action does not remove all of the root and many plants thereafter reproduce from remains of a broken root or stem.

Removal of the total root will ensure no regrowth, but the same exercise — i.e. digging — exposes many weed seeds that have 'embedded' themselves in the soil over time, and once exposed to 'preferable conditions' will germinate.

In tandem with newly fallen seed the old and new seed continue to require good cultural maintenance to stop germination.

Dispersion of seed occurs in several ways; from wind blowing seed wide and far contingent on the type of seed, birds passing seed through the gut and seed adhering to the coats of animals and falling off.

Imagine a group of Mexican peppers inter-planted with Fiddlewood and the distribution of seed each and every year, add to that the germination rate of each and it does not take long to understand the need for controlling seedlings when they are young.

The best examples of such proliferation from seed are perhaps Schinus terebinthifolius — Mexican pepper; Cithraxylem spinosum — Fiddlewood; Pimenta dioica — Allspice; Casuarina equisetifolia — Whistling Pine; Melia azederach — Pride of India; Eugenia uniflora — Surinam cherry; Eriobotrya japonica — Loquat; Leucaena leucocephala — Jumbi bean.

Of these at least two stand out as being unworthy of consideration in any property, viz, the Jumbi Bean and perhaps Fiddlewood though the latter does have give a display of 'autumn' colour or leaf change.

Mexican Pepper is looked upon as invasive, but when maintained is an attractive tree especially in winter; Casuarina also has its place in the landscape though perhaps in limited locations.

I have no real problem with the rest in general if maintained correctly and with proper land maintenance.

Land management is generally overlooked as a process of good governance be it homeowners, landowners, commercial properties or government, whereas if given the priority it deserves many properties would be better maintained.

The unfortunate part of 'maintenance' is simply what is being maintained is not always required at that point in time and tasks that should be carried out are simply left untouched.

There is an old saying, 'one year's seeding gives seven years weeding' which exactly is the case with poor land management.

Examples can be seen at Morgans Point, Devonshire Marsh along Vesey Street and areas of the Arboretum.

The oft used comment that a tree is 'dirty' simply because it sheds leaves, flowers etc is really a testimony to the lack of understanding of 'Mother Nature'.

It is a natural condition for such things to happen to most plants that in essence is why we hire companies to maintain our properties and yes, clean up the fallen debris, it is I believe part of the exercise of maintenance!

Poor placement and location are also reasons why trees can be tagged 'bad' for the area, they are not necessarily bad for the area but perhaps the actual placement and location are questionable.

Plants need room to grow both top-growth and root systems require room to expand, it is usually a case of 'what the eye does not see the heart will not grieve over', hence root systems continue to do their thing until there is a problem, usually structural.

Selecting the right plant for a specific location is integral to its future success, creating a good balanced canopy of branches supported by an extensive but deep root system.

One palm is particularly prolific in its seed production, the best method to stop seed formation of Livistonia chinensis — Chinese Fan Palms and other palms, is simply to remove the flower spike as soon as it shows; this unfortunately is not the case with trees so seed should be raked up once it has fallen.

Good old fashioned maintenance is simply the answer in keeping on top of germinating seedlings, when seen they should be immediately removed.

Remember the advert for Smith Barney which stated, 'they made money the old fashioned way they earned it', landscaping companies should take note!

Malcolm Griffiths welcomes your questions on gardening and landscaping. E-mail him at griffm(at)northrock.bm.