Shade tree beside deck (long, sorry)

16 years ago

Good morning,

I currently have two twenty-five foot apple trees flanking my deck. One of them (for now) is about to come out and I am looking for a replacement. I have narrowed it down to either a river birch, shademaster honey locust, or a red maple. I have been scouring the web for pros and cons of each, and I think that any of the three would be fine. I do not have any birches or locusts in my landscape at the moment but I do have a few maples, so that would shy me away from another maple.

I have no experience with the shademaster variant of the locust, but I had a regular locust in my yard growing up and it did was it was supposed to. Birches are probably my favorite tree, so I would lean toward that tree. My wife likes the locust, so we are trying to decide between the two.

So I guess are there any cons about placing either of these next to a deck? I can snap a photo or two and post it up if it would help visualize what I am trying to do.

Thanks for the time, and have a good week.

Dave

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Vicki

16 years ago

I've been contemplating locust and birch as well for shade. The positives to locust are there are no leaves to rake in fall, dappled shade allows more growth underneath. The birch in a clump of 3 would nicely match the other twin and would be more inclined to stop at 30-40ft. I think the birch would look better if you plan on keeping the other apple tree. River birch are very common in our zone and they can manage drought once established. After a couple years, average watering of the lawn to keep it green will be enough for the tree as well. The Yellow and Sweet Birches aren't found here, I don't know about Indiana. It sounds to me like they are farther east and northerly. For myself, I decided to put in both in my yard, River Birch and Sunburst Honey Locust. One in the front, one in the back.

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Comments (8)

Iris GW
16 years ago
I think it would help to know where you live (generally).

Sounds like you've done some good research and I agree that it would be nice to choose something besides another maple. Is mature height a consideration in this?
alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama
16 years ago
Have you considered Sweet Birch or Yellow Birch? They are more suited to northern climates than River birch, and they also have that pleasant wintergreen fragrance.

River Birch is naturally a more southern river tree which loves plenty of water. They are beginning to be overused in landscapes IMHO.
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sturgeda
Original Author
16 years ago
Zone 5a, north central Indiana. Mature height is not really a factor, but if the tree stopped at 30-40 feet or so that would be ok.

I hadn't considered the other birch that were mentioned, but I will take a look into them as well.
sturgeda
Original Author
16 years ago
I thought an image of the yard might help, it is attached.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:410662}}
Iris GW
16 years ago
The picture does help. I like the twin look of those trees and I do think that if you picked two of something new (rather than two new trees that are different) it would look nice and cohesive.

But I have to say that I am not familiar with the Indiana climate. And I don't know any thing about honey locust (good or bad!). I do like to recommend native plants and found the following link about native trees of Indiana. You might get some other ideas as you look through the list they have. Although some trees are very common, I think there are always underused ones to explore.

I hope other people will have some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Native trees of Indiana
conifers
16 years ago
sturgeda,

Two that come to mind and aren't messy are Dawn Redwood (Deciduous Conifer with very little clean-up needles), plus it will grow very rapidly.

Another is Thornless Golden Honey Locust if you prefer a more rounded crown.

The Dawn Redwoods (a pair would be excellent) would give you what you with for an in a very short period of time. They are beautiful trees.

One more: Taxodium distichum 'Shawnee Brave'. Incredible. Again, very skinny deciduous needles with little to no clean-up. And since it is a named cultivar, you will have identical trees. In afterthought, I would recommend to you two of these 'Shawnee Brave's'. Actually, two Dawn Redwoods seem excellent as well however they will become much wider than the 'Shawnee Brave' Cultivar and your home would correlate well with the shape of these Taxodiums.

Do a web-search for these. I think you'll be extremely impressed. Plus bark, fall color - you get the whole deal.

Dax
bdude4
16 years ago
i would not plant any of the birches... although they are stately, they need to be sheltered from wind, even when they are mature. They are also naturally short-lived, due to their roles in ecosystems. For fast, sturdy shade, i would suggest a pair of tulip poplars. they are especially beautiful in the late spring/early summer when they are covered in large, tulip-shaped yellow flowers.

Shade tree beside deck (long, sorry)

Vicki

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Iris GW

alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama

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Shade tree beside deck (long, sorry)

Vicki

Comments (8)

Iris GW

alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama

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