Recommendations for tree?

[nanava]

You guys have helped me out a couple times before, so I have another request for tree advice. We cut down a large, beautiful sweet gum tree from our front yard last summer because of the prickly balls. We loved the shade, but I couldn't see myself still picking up those darned balls in 20 years!

But we miss the shade. What shall we replace it with? See the attached pictures of our front yard --sorry it doesn't show the complete depth. I think our front yard is about 90'W X 60'D. We have a 20' sugar maple on the other side of the driveway (southeast of the house), but it does not shade our house at all. We found a 1' sugar maple seedling in the garden and transplanted it to the northwest side of the front yard but we figure we will be grandparents before we get any shade from it. In the meantime, we want something we can plant that might provide some shade quickly. We could put in a fast growing "temporary" tree that we cut down when the sugar maple is big enough to do the job. Or should we just forget about the sugar maple seedling and pull it out?

Here are our parameters:

1. We don't want another tree that is going to create lots of mess in my flower garden or the lawn (i.e. prickly balls, whirly thingys, etc.) But we like birds and squirrels so small fruit is ok.

2. In case we grow attached to it and can't cut it down later, we don't want something that is going to drop a big limb on our house during a wind storm.

3. I don't want it to visually block my garden from the street (so not too dense at the bottom).

4. Needs to be fast growing enough to provide shade, fast.

5. We have water lines going down the center of our yard to the street, so nothing that will have invasive roots and damage that.

6. Nice fall color is great, but the sugar maple(s) take care of that, so it's not absolutely necessary.

What's the perfect tree, guys?

 

[DGG]

Nanava-

You have a good looking house and yard. Thanks for the pictures, they help with your questions.

My suggestions as just a dumb old homeowner, not a pro arborist/botanist, would be (1) a Japanese flowering cherry or (2) a flowering dogwood. Each has really great spring/fall colors. The flowering dogwood is probably the faster grower of the two. Neither will get too big or messy. There are many varieties of each kind.

Remember, all trees drop stuff; flowers, leaves, nuts, seeds, needles, pollen, etc. but they are worth the hassle for the enjoyment they provide, IMHO. Birdies will love them too.

If I were you I'd leave your little sugar maple (just about my #1 all-time most favorite tree in the world), it can keep the new tree company and the maple will be around long after the new tree has gone to that big garden in the sky.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_species.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_Dogwood

 

[Elmore]

I was going to suggest a Ginkgo but after looking at your pictures I decided to get serious. Ginkgoes are relatively slow but still perhaps one of the best trees you will ever see. Bald Cypress - Taxodium distichum is an excellent native that can grow moderately fast given the proper cultural needs. The only drawback as far as I am concerned is the formation of "knees". These aerial roots form under moist situations. If you irrigate your lawn they probably will occur. Under dry conditions they don't occur. You could develop a large mulched area beneath the Cypress and once the tree attains some height and is established keep excessive moisture away from the tree itself and you should be fine. Or you could plant a Dawn Redwood - Metasequoia glyptostroboides depending on your USDA zone or perhaps a Japanese Larch - Larix kaempferi or even better a Golden Larch - Pseudolarix amabilis. All are deciduous conifers so you will benefit from shading when in leaf and when dormant your house will receive warming sunshine. All have a excurrent branching habit and the larches tend to have a broader profile than the Bald Cypress or the Dawn Redwood. All can become giants. If you prefer a tree with a deliquescent or decurrent form, I suggest Chinese Lacebark Elm - Ulmus parvifolia. Choose a cultivar with a broad form such as 'Emerald Vase' (Allee) or 'Emerald Isle' (Athena). Be sure that they are compatible with your zone and site. I assume you are in a USDA zone 5 or 6.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Once you narrow your decision to a tree or two, go out and find an existing mature examples of those trees. Talk to the owner, walk around under it, consider how much shade it makes, and that will give you a better idea of what you're getting into.
Keeping your eyes open while you're driving around is another way of finding a species of tree you might like.
It looks like just about any tree could do well in that spot.

 

[Dadatwins]

Nice home, problem with fast growing shade trees is that they are frequently the messiest and are weak limbed, ie: poplar, willow. The slower growers usually offer the better branch structure and not as much maintainence. Not sure about a maple on that hill, they usually will surface root and that could be a problem later on. I might suggest a willow oak or pin oak, similiar shape and branch structure, lot of shade at maturity but slower growers. Like the chinese elm, also little leaf linden would probably do well. Good luck.

 

[beowulf343]

Well, i got a list of trees to not have in a front yard. Silver maple, white pine, boxelder, catalpa, poplar, and willow. I swear 90% of my removals are made up of these six trees.

Have always been partial to sycamore, but that's just me.


Mike, it's good to see you back.

 

[Elmore]

Patience is a Virtue

Although if you had the patience, a Ginkgo such as this would certainly look good in front of your home.

 

[whitenack]

Well, i got a list of trees to not have in a front yard. ... poplar ....

Do you mean a tulip poplar, or real poplars?

 

[nanava]

Thanks so much for all the advice. It is extremely helpful! I'm enjoying going thru the website whitenack suggested.

Thank you for taking the time to share your expertise, everyone!

 

[nytreeman]

Well, i got a list of trees to not have in a front yard. Silver maple, white pine, boxelder, catalpa, poplar, and willow. I swear 90% of my removals are made up of these six trees.

Have always been partial to sycamore, but that's just me.

+1
Sycamores are quite fast growing,and very pretty trees with white exfoliating bark have a good structure too,but then too pin oaks also grow fast and are pretty trees,Ginkgos are gorgeous trees but your going to wait quite awhile for it to reach any size I have a 14 yr old Ginkgo and its finally 15 ft tall,only bad thing with ginkgo's is the females make some smelly fruit

 

[nanava]

We cut down the sweet gum because of the prickly balls we were picking up all year long. What are the fruit on the sycamore like? Are they rake-able? (the sweet gum balls were not.) Not sure we want to get into another messy plant, though otherwise it sounds like it fits the bill.

Anyone have opinions on the Japanese Pagoda?

 

[nytreeman]

http://www.etsu.edu/arboretum/totw.html
heres a link for sycamore they do have small ball like fruits though but not as bad as sweetgums

 

[nytreeman]

almost any tree is going to create some kind of litter from,seeds,flowers,leaves etc.

 

[nanava]

nytreeman wrote: "Almost any tree is going to create some kind of litter from,seeds,flowers,leaves etc."

Agreed, and we've never had any objections to our willow, silver maple, locusts, cherry, or crabapples (in the back yard) but if you've ever been traumatized by owning a large sweet gum you'd understand why I'm cautious. ;-)

 

[nanava]

Ok, I've been reading tree descriptions all morning and I think this is what we are going to do. BTW, we are in central Indiana, in Zone 5. I found a 2' (thornless) honey locust sapling sprouting in our back garden. Unless any of you have any contrary advice about honey locusts, I'm going to transplant it to the front, but plant it about 25' from the house since I read it is susceptible to breakage. But I like several things about the honey locust -- the shade is nice and it is a fast growing tree, but the shade won't be so dense that it will kill the grass, or my flower garden. It will allow my garden (a work in progress) to be seen from the street. The leaves won't clog our gutters. And the branches, though prone to breaking, seem thin enough even on our mature trees that they likely wouldn't do any serious damage even if the tree was eventually large enough to fan out over our house and lose a limb on our roof.

Then I want to put a paperbark maple closer to the house just for interest and beauty. And just for fun, I may put a ginkgo in the back yard.

Again, thanks for all your help!!! You've really helped me immensely.

 

[nytreeman]

Pretty trees esp in the spring,small leaves so the leaf litter isnt a problem.The one bad things about honeylocusts are the seed pods they are big and easy to rake but you can end up with thousands of these pods from a mature locust and they can become weedy,seeds sprouting around foundations and planting beds.Also even "thornless" honey locusts sometimes have thorns
heres a link http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/G/Gleditsia_triacanthos.asp

 

[Elmore]

Sycamore is nice out in the woods somewhere. They are very attractive but they literally stink , are extremely messy, sooty and have a far too aggressive root system for siting them in a typical residential landscape.

 

[ropensaddle]

Sycamore is nice out in the woods somewhere. They are very attractive but they literally stink , are extremely messy, sooty and have a far too aggressive root system for siting them in a typical residential landscape.

+1 they are terrible on the lungs and nostrils
sick some more are not a good yard tree. crape myrtles, are nice
but not great for shade, chestnut oak, wateroak, white ash, sugar maple,
rock maple, linden, the list I want goes on and on!

 

[Dadatwins]

Not sure I would put a locust out in front on that lawn and hill, they tend to surface root a lot and that will give you grief later on. They can also sucker out from the root so you may end up with a locust forest in the front lawn eventually. Good for you for planning which tree to put out there, and all trees will work for the first couple of years, its later on that the problems may start. Good luck.

 

[beowulf343]

Do you mean a tulip poplar, or real poplars?

Real poplars. Tulip trees are cool!