a somehwat low-shedding, low-seed dropping tree

how about a plastic tree???

wait.. welcome.. perhaps you dont know our weird sense of humor around her .... so forgive me ...

but i think we need to more precisely define where you want to go with this.. all trees shed stuff.. if not leaves.. then seeds... [or the species dies] ... or suckers.. or roots ...

why is this so important.. age [retiree] .. upkeep .. etc ... what do you want to accomplish with this tree???

what about other options.. a trellis/arbor and a vine??? how about a shade cloth canopy????

i am just really leery of fulfilling someones expectations.. who already cut down a tree cuz it was dirty ... i figure no matter what i say.. you will track me down in a decade or two.. and tell me i was wrong ...

so lets think outside the box.. before we limit ourselves to trees

again.. welcome ...

ken

All trees shed. It's the only way to get rid of dead leaves/needles.

Yup, it has to be a tree. Home Owners Association requires at least one tree in the front yard. Our neighborhood has somewhat detiorated homeowners landscaping to almost barren or a compilation of palm trees with a yucca cactus Or, a pine tree next to a succulent. (Even cutesy little signs that say, 'these aren't weeds, they're wildflowers.")
But, back to your question(s). We had 2 trees that dropped seeds and leaves almost all year long and, of course, went into the next door neighbors yards. We feel obligated to keep 'our' leaves off of their yards. One neighbor next to us has a tree that leaves fall for months from fall into winter. It looks nice because we get to experience actual autumnal variations (in AZ), even our neighbor admits it's a lot of upkeep weekend after weekend. We'd rather be watching football (and all the commercials :)...) On that thought, yes, we'll never be able to retire and vacation knowing our yard is piling up with tree stuff all over our other gorgeous landscaping and additionally rolling down the street on windy days. (Well, we do have some gorgeous parts.)
Whew! I've been rambling... but, seriously, I must've been rambling for years because we kick ourselves for our options & choices of trees when we purchased our house (14 years ago). We've been grinning & baring it ever since. Now we get to plant whatever tree we want. We've even considered a citrus tree or two but not sure yet if HOA is OK with that. We are waiting for approval.
So, there I have it. Back to what tree to get. We thought a weeping willow, but Treeland put us straight on that, too. Maybe an apple or pear tree? At least we'd get fruit for our labor.
Thanks, Ken, for your sense of humor, honesty, and therapy session. Haha!

azcarmella, are you in Phoenix proper? There is an absolutely beautiful botanical garden in your town.

Are cacti or succulents against the HOA rules? They seem more natural.

Broad-leaved evergreen trees typically drop stuff for months at a time. The alternative is the big dump all at once of a deciduous tree in fall. But these can and often do drop spent parts, such as flowers or fruits at other times as well.

PHX should be landscaped in cacti and yucca and succulents and desert plants. Eliminating water-wasting turf and landscaping isn't deterioration, it is sanity and rational decision-making.

Nonetheless, any tree chosen should be one that can take drought, as water will be priced correctly there soon, and as such people will be taking out turf and cutting back on wasting drinking water on the landscape.

And I agree with Tornado about the botanical garden, I'm looking forward to visiting it in mid-March during my trip to Phx. One could do worse than getting some ideas there, esp looking on the ground under trees such as mastic in the display.

Dan

I'd be hard pressed to come up with a messier tree than the live oak! They shed a huge portion of their leaves in the early spring when the new leaves begin to come out. They shed bushel-fulls of male 'thingies' (catkins), also in the spring. Then, there's the acorns!

Exactly why a trip to a place with these trees is a good idea, rhizo, to get a list actually in the ballpark.

Dan

you could try the desert willow or the austrailian bottlebrush tree. Both are use to dry conditions and can handle drought. In addition they produce large colorful flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Have you thought about conifers? They're usually evergreen and relatively low-maintenance.
Arizona Cypress is native to Arizona and is heat and drought resistant. Their color tends to be gray-green to blue-green depending on the tree. They will have a medium growth rate and should be available.
There are also some native Junipers that would be similar to Ariz. Cypress but slower-growing and more greenish in foliage color. Good luck.

I live in Sacramento CA where Redwood trees are planted all over. I see a few that have a majority of their leaves brown. Do redwoods need irrigation after they have been established for 3-5 years? Thanks for the help.
Zack Fuelling

Not really the appropriate place for that question , Zack, but redwoods need 39" of precip a year. Since Sacto gets 18, you can do the math. You'll also notice that the large ones all start dying there after a certain age. That is because they don't get enough water there.

Dan

Back OT.