From sapling to firewood in 10-12 years

Last week we had to remove two trees from our property.  One came down for natural reasons -- the maple in the backyard was infected with Verticillium wilt.  Rather than watch it die a slow death and spread the infection to the rest of the yard, we had it taken down.  As it turns out, the subdevelopement master plan called for planting a tree along the pathway behind our house so the landscapers positioned it about 8 feet from our maple.  These two trees would have been trying to occupy the same space long before they reached maturity anyway.

The other tree, a Purple Robe Locust, died for reasons that could have been avoided.  We picked this tree off a list of 5-6 at the same time we picked the bathroom tile.  10 years later we learned the hard way that this tree shouldn't have even been on a list in a high-desert neighborhood that requires lawns.  Purple Robe Locust is  drought tolerant. Plant it in a Kentucky Bluegrass lawn (also came with the house), a cool weather grass that requires a lot of water to stay green in 90-110 degree temperatures, and it's a recipe for tree-death.  The tree grew too quickly, lost three major branches in our frequent high-winds, and this year gave up the ghost.  Down it came.  We're looking around for a different tree, but the HOA will have to approve our choice.  More later!