I agree with that suggestion for london plane or sycamore or california sycamore because I think deep down you want some fast growing tree to replace the elms but lets take a closer look at what your requirements are. *Something that will (relatively) quickly get to a similar, large size. Sycamores are amongst the fastest growing trees you can get. It is likely the most desirable of the rapid-growers that you can support in your climate. It combines the long life, ornamental appeal (bark) and stronger wood than other rapid growers. * Something that can (after a few years) support one side of a hammock (our hammock currently hangs between the two trees). You're not going to find a lot of support to hang hammocks from trees here but the bottom line is say you're able to find a 2" caliper tree and in 3 years, it's 4". That's still not really strong enough to support a hammock. Lets say you start out with a 4" tree. Well in 3 years, that tree will finaly be getting re0established. Look into a hammock stand. Then you can have your cake and eat it too. * Doesn't drop sap, slime flux (like our elms), seed pods, or other things that are unpleasant to have on the ground. Sycamores and planetrees ARE MESSY TREES. They are very beautiful and IMO very desirable in the right spot but they leaves of the sycamore are the size of a dinnerplate and they do drop some throughtout the season. You also want to make sure you are not allergic to th fine hairs that are present on the leaves. Once they get to about 4" in size, the bark starts peeling off which is the tree's signature feature and very beautiful. As the trees get larger, this will mean more and more bark stripping throught the season. Again, you will have to weigh the benefits against the clean-up. I myself have opted for the cleanup. I have 2 sycamores and 1 london plane at my home. * Ability to take a good amount of moisture: This will live in our lawn. Sycamores tolerate moist soil and prefer it. However it is best, not only to encourage drought tolerant trees, but to not waste water, that you adjust your irrigation so that you water your lawn to no more than 1" per week, only when it needs it. I can't imagine anything needing irrigation in your area but maybe it does. * Preferably something that loses its leaves in the Fall (in California), so that sunlight will come through unabated in the Winter. Sycamore will do this. OOoohhh, it will do this! * Good amount of shade in the Summer (for the hammock). Sycamore is more of a filtered shade. While the leaves are huge, they are not the most densely foliated trees. So this may not meet your req. On the other hand, it means you can grow a lawn underneath it. * Preferably something climbable for kids (who are now ~2 years old). There are not too many temperate trees I can think of that are truly good climbing trees. When I think of good climbing trees, I think of southern live oak and banyan trees and ficus like we had in florida when I was a kid. In maturity, sycamore will have a magnificent structure there but you may need a very large ladder or bucket truck to get your kids to those branches. I really am not sure about what good climbing trees your climate can support but you may look at some of the tropicals for this and those tend to be evergreen. Gingko Biloba CAN BE excellent climbing trees in maturity but those are slow growers and very slow to establish. Maybe in time for your kids 102nd birthday

I will add: Camphor Tree, if you have enough space, the roots can be expansive. The leaves smell aromatic. This can be a big tree and should not be planted too close to the house or sidewalks. Pepper Tree Spanish Cork Oak, they are drought tolerant and don't get too big, and have amazing squishy bark, this is where cork stoppers on wine bottles come from. Pomegranate grows exceptionally well in this climate. Even if you don't like eating them the fruits can be very decorative hanging from the tree, and the tree also produces pretty fiery orange blossoms. Pomegranate usually grows more like a giant bush-tree though, not really the best for shade. A lot of people have never tried a truly fresh pomegranate right off the tree, they taste much much better when really fresh. And a lot of people do not know the proper technique for cutting open a pomegranate and removing the arils, so they wrongly think eating pomegranate is too much work and too messy. When it comes to Mulberry trees, Persian Black is by far the best tasting variety. However, if you're in climate zone 10 Pakistan Mulberry will grow better and is also a good tasting variety, with larger fruit size too. If you go with a fruitless male Mulberry (as some people do to avoid all the messy berries falling), there could be pollen allergy issues (if not you, someone else in the neighborhood). The Black varieties are the best tasting, but the black berries can make a mess on the ground and stain the sidewalk, or get tracked indoors on your shoes on the carpet, so that's something that should be considered. Another little fact, mulberry leaves are not poisonous and can be fed to pigs or goats, a favorite food of silkworms too. Mulberry trees have beautiful shade foliage. If you're looking for some more exotic choices you might also see this thread: Sacred trees in India

Deciduous choices: 1. A small native tree, cercis occidentalis (Western redbud). Gets to about 15 feet. Usually grows as a multi-trunk. Usually blooms better inland where it gets colder. Attracts hummingbirds. Doesn't bloom heavily near the coast where I live. Rounded shape and leaves. Well-behaved rootwise. Mine is 5 feet from our pool. 2. Chaste tree (vitex agnus-castus). Great, reliable summer bloomer, even near the coast. Attracts hummers and butterflies. Roots well behaved--ours is also 5 feet from the pool like our cercis occidentalis. To about 15 feet. We've grown ours as a multi-trunk. Some people like to keep the tree trimmed as a large shrub. (You can see a small portion of the Western redbud in the foreground to the left.) 3. Forest pansy redbud (cercis canadensis). This one blooms better (at least in my location) than my native redbud.

My fig tree is in 4th year and growing well. This year it went from 4 feet to 8 feet and produced many figs in late Oct. I have covered it in past years. Should I do the same each year? If so what can I use to cover such a large plant? It is in the south east corner of my home in a boxed out alcove, protected on 2 sides, with two 3' other plants in front of it. What do you think. Thank you.