Large, domed tree recommendations for front yard

[Bob Jase]

We are looking for recommendations for a tree to plant in our front yard (see attached picture). We are in the Northeastern US (Region #6).

We live at a corner and we are looking to put a tree in the yard on the left (from the perspective of the camera) side of the walk. The house is set back roughly 40' from the sidewalk and there are roughly 50' on each side of the walkway. The tree can be centered in that plot or closer to the house or corner as needed.

If I had my druthers, the tree would meet all of the following criteria (I'm certain I won't get them all):

1. Pretty foliage in fall (probably nothing evergreen)
2. A "domed" shape (like this or this or this)
3. Thick trunk (this excludes things like a Sugar Maple)
4. Long lived
5. Attractive while its growing, but also as fast growing as possible (I'd like to enjoy it in my lifetime)
6. Flowers in the spring/summer (this is the lowest priority)

The tree will live in full sun and we have a well so we're happy to water the tree as much as it will drink.

Any and all recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[JTM]

Maple

 

[ATH]

What does this mean:
"Thick trunk (this excludes things like a Sugar Maple)"

What do you mean by "thick trunk" and why does maple not have that?

Really need to know more about the soil. There is an Oak....white oak, or red oak give best fall color and have that shape. Pin oak can tolerate wet or heavy clay, but isn't the round shape you are looking for. Bur oak fits that form perfectly, but isn't much for color compared to the others.

Some of my other picks for fall color. While not all have the perfect globe shape, most trees when grown in the open will tend that way:

Beech has a beautiful bronze fall color, but not really bright.

Sweet gum is great for color...if you can tolerate the balls they drop (not many are willing to tolerate them)

Black gum...cannot tolerate alkaline soil, but otherwise a good tree.

Tulip-poplar

Sassafras

 

[BC WetCoast]

If you like flowers, magnolia.

Katsura

Horse chestnut

A copper beech will give a nice purple colour all through the year.

 

[derwoodii]

Chinese elm - Ulmus parvifolia apart from no flower a great tree fore-filling your other listed needs well




An additional idea, consider a grove of crepe myrtle -Lagerstroemia




both of these are low input trees neat tidy fast growing with attractive features

 

[661Joe]

Crimson king x 2 the shape has everything to do with proper prunning.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Nice car

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Someone once told me - The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. The next best time is right now.

I was going to suggest a maple too, but you want a fat trunk....

Something that this computer age offers is the ability to play "what if" in a virtual world. If you can push pixels, take a picture of that spot from a couple of different angles and PhotoShop in properly scaled pictures of different trees during spring, summer, and fall (unless it's an evergreen, they all look the same in winter). Scale the trees in a couple of different sizes so you get an idea of what it would look like as it grows.

When you take the pictures of the yard, have something of known height for reference in the spot where you want the tree (a 4 foot high 2x4 for example). This will help you scale things correctly and place your test trees in the same place so you have as equal a comparison as possible.

 

[Del_]

Plant dozens of trees and make it a woods. No single worth having will form a large tree in your lifetime. I'll add oxydendrun. 24 of them.

 

[Riles32807]

Panicled Golden Rain Tree would look great there, though probably not as big as what your looking for.

The fat trunks in the pics you posted is a product of age. Those trees are 100+ years old. I've seen plenty of sugar maples with trunks every bit as thick as the ones you posted.

 

[BC WetCoast]

If you want something big fast and are willing to handle the maintenance, - pawlownia

 

[PJM]

Copper beech, with it's purple leaves, might look nice against the backdrop of your beautiful home.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

Find one of your neighbor's trees you like and transplant it or plant that species. Looks like you have many options. Beautiful home and area, just too many neighbor's.