What tree to plant

[jillsousa]

I live in Pinole, CA, two blocks from the SF Bay. I have a space in the front of the house I would like to plant a tree in that is approx. 16x10 feet in size. It gets direct sun all day. The weather is warm (70-80) in the summer with mild winters (40-60). There are foggy mornings 8 months of the year. I anticipate adding a sprinkler sysytem to support the garden around the tree.

I would like a tree that has a truck at least 5 feet tall before the canopy starts for security reasons. I would also like some fall foliage colors.

Any advice is appreciated!

PS- I am in Zone 14-15 (according to Sunset Magazine)

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Darrin,

Here's a new forum! Landscape advice.

Jill,
Your criteria are a bit constraining for anyone not in your area. A mature small tree with a first branch ight of 5 ft is going to be hard. You will probibly have to start small and trin it your self.

There are several cultivars of amelanchier that may fit your needs. They even have eddible fruit.

 

[Jay Banks]

Jill,
Your area sounds warm for a service-berry. I would think it would need lower winter time temps for dormancy to set flowers and fruit.

It sounds like your a zone 9. You may want to look at your local nurseries to see what they stock in small tree varieties.

Being on the east coast this would be hard to guess at but see if they have any small types of crapemyrtle.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/

Amelanchier alnifolia, saskatoon occurs naturaly in central CA.

Here it gives hardiness 4-9
http://gardening.about.com/library/weekly/aa030700a.htm?iam=dpile&terms=+amelanchier

Some nurseries list cvs as 2-8 and 3-9.

http://search.dogpile.com/texis/search?q=amelanchier&geo=no&fs=web

I'm just having too much fun!

Too bad I've already said what I look like. You people probibly would have been looking for a pencilneck with taped glasses. <g>

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/

Amelanchier alnifolia, saskatoon occurs naturaly in central CA.

Here it gives hardiness 4-9
http://gardening.about.com/library/weekly/aa030700a.htm?iam=dpile&terms=+amelanchier

Some nurseries list cvs as 2-8 and 3-9.

http://search.dogpile.com/texis/search?q=amelanchier&geo=no&fs=web

I'm just having too much fun!

Too bad I've already said what I look like. You people probibly would have been looking for a pencilneck with taped glasses. <g>

Jay,

Thanks for reminding me to look for an upper limit on zones. We dont have that problem here in MKE, WI!