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Suggest a front lawn tree

12 years ago

Hello all,

New to the forum and looking for some help. I am looking for a tree for the front of my house, South/SouthWest corner. I have approximately 7' wide, by 20' (length of one car driveway). in the middle of that rectangle is a drainage pipe. I have compacted soil, but it drains quickly.

I need a unique specimen tree that will send roots deep and not disturb the driveway or sidewalks. I have thought possibly Gingko Princeton Sentry, but have had a hell of a time finding one.

I also have solar panels on my house, so I wouldn't want the tree to grow to a mature height of more than 25'.

I am at a loss for this space, and it looks so bare. Please help me out! I have thought Princeton Sentry, Trident Maple, Japanese Umbrella Pine, but have not pulled the trigger on anything as of yet.

Thank you!

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
where are you?? z5 is so diverse ...

a picture would be worth 1K words ...

no tree really stops at some magical height.. its all about its annual growth rate.. how fast it gets to a height.. and how fast it grows right past it ...

if you cant find a plant locally.. there is mail order ...

i am thinking more along the lines of some slow growing conifer.. rather than a tree ... why are you focused on a tree????

ken
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
12 years ago
Dan, Ken has a point. Also if you do get a conifer that in 30 years outgrows the spot removing a 25 foot tree isnt that big a deal.

Only thing in my yard which comes to mind is the humble Redbud. Flowers in the spring, neat seedpods, neat leaves. Forest Pansy is the "odd" cultivar of choice if you decide to go artistic.

I am just not in the maple mood right now, my Acer gresium had a rough summer lol.
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Thank you for the all the advice, I really appreciate it! The city really gives no helpful information at all, just the list. I will have a look at some more pictures of the suggested trees. I was surprised when the city said they were planting a tree, as the "patch of green" is quite small. I was originally thinking of planting something smaller but so much for that idea. @ken_adrian LOL I'll have a look at the Kentucky Coffee Tree, might be nice to have a bit of the south here in the winter! @SC77, we have to choose from the list and the city plants the tree @smivees thanks for narrowing down the list for me! I don't know many of the trees so I will have a look/read on them. I do love the fall foliage of the black gum. @longtee81 my first thought was a gingko, so I'm glad you suggested that. I have to confess that I started thinking about the other trees because I prefer trees that turn red in the fall. What do you think of the Katsura? I am not too sure of the quality of the soil as we just moved in and there is mostly grass. I haven't done any gardening yet. If it is like our old home in the neighbourhood, I actually found it a bit sandy. There seems to be ok drainage, though there is a driveway and a sidewalk surrounding the planting site. I will take a picture tomorrow of the front yard. It's east facing. Thanks again!
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Thank you tussy mussy for the reference. As I have none of the problems referred to in the leaf drop comments, I think it must be a cultural problem. My soil is about 6.5 PH and my tree is in the lawn next to my patio. Blooming starts about memorial day the end of May and continues non stop until the fall leaf drop, which is my ONLY leaf drop. My tree is not too large but I do prune it back fairly hard every year because my electric service to the house is directly over the tree. Originally I had another Chitalpa planted in in the garden but I removed it because it shaded an area needing more sun. My current tree is started from a cutting of that tree. Al
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Hmmmm I have looked at this a couple times. I have a couple of thoughts. First how big is this front lawn. Have you considered getting rid of all the lawn and putting it in all cottage garden? Secondly....for me I would be planting, Delphs, rudbeckia, coneflowers, coreopsis, shastas, peonies and other perennials that grow in your zone. I believe you need different heights with your plants...and would want to build up a bit of privacy on the varanda and soften the edges. You have listed some annuals......the annuals would be great for the front of the border...and for filling in the first year or two while waiting for the perennials to mature. I like soft edges on a garden, so I highly recomend plants that spill over into each other and over the edge of the garden. Also if you want plants like cannas and callas....or other bulbs that have to be dug in your zone....its best not to plant them to close to permanent perennials......the perennials won't want their roots disturbed every year. Also how much sun/shade does this area by the house get. If it gets a lot of shade.....you would have to change the plants to shade plants....like hostas, astible, Begonias and impatiens, fuchsias and others. Happy Gardening, Sierra
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I planted a Dave Wilson 4 in 1 pluot tree at my parents house this spring(late March). They live 15 mins from me. And although there was no fruit this year( I picked off all the flowers this first year) all four grafts have grown at least 4 foot in length with multiple shoots. And once I pruned it in the middle of June multiple side shoots have shot out. So I'm very enthusiastic about them thriving here. I received them in December and kept them in the shed so they felt the cold here. The only problem I've had here and at my parents house is Japanese beetles but since there was no fruit a sprayed them with Sevin and they haven't return. I'm in Missouri not Minnesota. But still we've had a very unusual wet and very humid start to our summer here.
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arktrees
12 years ago
Shantung Maple Acer truncatum perhaps? Ultimately taller than 25', but it's not as common, is a nice tree, can handle some compaction, has nice fall color, and is tough. To me compaction is the biggest issue. Another possibility is one of the variegated Ginkgo's. IIRC Jade Butterfly is not delicate, but grows slowing/densely and would certainly be different. BTW, don't know how much you are looking to spend, but Princeton Sentry, and many others can be easily found mail order.

toronado,
Sorry to hear your Acer gresium didn't handle the summer well. Actually surprises me as ours is in full sun and has been fine during the drought and many days over 100, including 110 (equaling an all time record) one day. I also water the area weekly during the drought, but it hasn't required any more care than that to resist the excessive heat.

Arktrees

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