Pick a Tree

I want to plant 2 trees in my median, it's about 5' depth or better between curb and sidewalk. Someone told me you can enter in criteria on the National Arbor Day Foundation site to find a tree that suites you and the area but I was unable to find such a link for that so I am appealing to your expertise! Please help!

Tree needs to:
*not have aggressive root system as it will be in the median by a sidewalk
*be tall and lean, not short and wide like a magnolia
*not have a lot to drop (berries, fruit, bits like the sweetgum tree dropping pokey balls, etc)
*have small-average sized leaves (not huge hard leaves like the magnolia which drops year round here)

I don't care if it's fast growing or slow growing---prefer something that has a longer life span though if there is a such a tree to fit this narrow criteria.

What location?

Tir -

I would think Texas Kidneywood, Redbud, Yupon Holly, and Evergreen Sumac.. all are natives for us and all would love that little spot.

Crape myrtles are planted in almost all of the medians here.

Resin, I suppose I should have mentioned that! It has a western exposure.

Mitch, I like those options but would like something tall I think.

Escam, yep, have some myrtals up front to. A big Texan favorite down here.

Sorry, I meant what part of the world! I deduce from subsequent posts, somewhere in Texas? . . . still a big area with very different growing conditions between El Paso, Amarillo, Brownsville and Dallas!

Resin

have you thought about honey locust? A great dry native....

umm... let me think

AH that was suggested Mitch! But when I looked it up:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/74376/
The pictures seem to show seed pod things and I'm wondering if that would litter the street/sidewalk to much???

Resin, Ah, sorry, I am in Houston.

Not to bad, and the pods look great on the tree in the summer.. at least I have one and I love it.

Would acorns count against planting an oak? If not, then Shumard Oak Quercus shumardii is nice.

Another TX native worth thinking about is Cedar Elm Ulmus crassifolia.

Resin

Cedar Elm are nice but the amount of seedlings will make everyone on your block hate the tree...

just speaking from experience

LOL mitch!

Someone told me you can get the honey locust with no pods. True?

You can - nice tree IMPO...

I've never seen them for sale at HD or Lowe's.

DID see the ornamental plum....granted be shorter but my goodness it was gorgeous! Dark trunk and dark plum colored leaves. An option?

yes an option - but very short, it will never get tall... and I have seen them be very short lived.

You might have to go to a "good" plant store and place an order for the tree... if you want to go that route. At least that way you can get the plant you know you want for sure.

ohhhh don't want anything to short lived. thanks for the tip!

ginko?

I could not find a ginko tree in plant scout?

ginko biloba maidenhair tree --big dipper farms

Len,

Oh that is a BEAUTIFUL tree! All the reviews seem to point in the direction I was hoping...small leaves, not much mess, holds leaves longer so it's an eye catcher, etc! But the first review:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/337/
says it takes up to 100 years to become a tall tree?

This is definately a nice option. THANK YOU for pointing it out! Can you specify gender when ordering? Has anyone ordered a tree by mail? I typically love to pick them out in person because I like to pick ones with perfectly formed trunks.

My girlfriend in So Cal used Carrotwood trees a lot in her landscaping. I know she put one by a swimming pool so they can't be too messy and I know that are deep rooted and drought tolerant.

Oh yes, I wonder how the roots are on the ginko?

Carrotwood. I've never heard of them! I'll look that up to.

anyone heard of these---foot wide leaves!

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/EmpressTreeT2.htm

Ginko are good but the trees you will get tend to be slow growing unless you can find a local tall tree.

Carrotwood is new to me too.

fast growing bad tree... Empress Trees will drop limbs, leaves,and major hunks at all times... they are short lived too.. 20 years if best here in TX.

Good tip on that Empress. What about Summer Red Maple, Eucalyptus or Tulip Poplar?

Carrotwood http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=carrotwood&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search from the plant files. It is an invasive in So. Florida but commonly used as a lanscape tree in So. Cal.

Ginkgo's can have smell nuts that drop all over the sidewalk - maybe it's just the females but how do you sex a baby tree?

Eucalyptus - good but loss of some limbs in below 32 degree weather.

Carrotree - scary when you read the negatives in the plant files...

Tulip Poplar - I like them, but they do reseed a lot but are easy to pull.

Can I give you a thought? This is where I buy my trees when I order them online, they come big and ready to go -
http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/home.home/index.htm you can call them up and tell them what you need and they will give you just what you are looking for. They have everything in stock and getting a 4-5 foot tree is really easy with them...

Just a thought that I have done before when I cannot get what I need here. They also have a great back up to all their trees, they stand by them.

Carrotwood is ONLY a problem in Florida. It's great in So Cal and a pretty tree that doesn't drop leaves!

Yankee Cat - It is a problem tree there, and Texas is more like FL then CA. There is nothing at all showing that this is a problem here in Texas yet, but reading several pages online this is something that should really be looked at before planting it here. It would be a tree to look at and watch to see if it was spreading.

Is it not so heard of because it's not native to the US? I'd certainly not want to contribute in the slightest to any pest tree problems. And something that reseeds as another that was mentioned, no thank-you, I have enough small treelings the squirrels keep leaving me to pull up. LOL!!!!

So possibly a ginkgo then....

Right, it is not a matter of pest tree here or not right now - just a risk you might not want to take.

Ginkgo - get a male tree.

yep!!!! leaning towards that one.

They are good trees, never had one myself but I have had the joy to work with some.

tir na nog, my 'local' nursery 65 mi away had a sale going on last fall, basically they planted for free. i was looking for one that i could handle but of course no one sells them that small, but with the sale and free planting, i bought 4 trees. 1 gingko and 3 sugar maples. plus they're bigger. the other nursery across st. has only gingko's planted in small islands in their large parking lot. they are the fullest nicest gold color in the fall.
Nice green now. doesn't overshade. legacy tree and yes i think the male and females are
cultivar named, but i doubt if a nursery would sell the 'stinkers' anyway cause who would want them. and supposedly the roots are well behaved, they'd have to be to be planted in little islands in a nursery pkg. lot.

len, oh good details on that. so I needn't worry about roots uprooting (lol) the sidewalk! I think my median span is more like 6' than 5' I'd said but I've not measured it.

I love maples! I was interested in the summer red maple I saw on a company's website but the details of it on Dave's are lacking and no pictures. Wondering if I have room for a maple there?

But I think it's between the ginkgo and a maple.

I'm waiting for HOA approval and then of course some cooler fall weather to plant. :)

I am also looking at planting a red maple potentially in a median area of my front sidewalk. We love gingkos though, too.

The red maple I already have growing. The ginkgo we would have to purchase.

Opinions? Preferences??

Thanks in advance!!

In doing a bit of research the red oak seems like a good choice. Recommended for this type of location by the Arbor Foundation:

http://www.arborday.org/trees/treeGuide/TreeDetail.cfm?ID=20&CFID=21766157&CFTOKEN=74455930