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Need suggestions on fast-growing shade trees

11 years ago

Need to plant tall shade trees in front yard in Santee area of South Carolina to provide shade during midday sunny summers AND to kill off pesky grass. I'd like to get started and plant trees this fall and will do whatever it takes for them to take off and thrive. I will hire a guy with a backhoe to whack the entire front yard to provide a dirt & sand bed for planting trees. I've been thinking even of a fruit orchard, but I know fruit trees take a long time to grow and need lots of pruning and tend to have insect problems. I don't want to have to spray and I want to keep pruning to a minimum. I want trees that will go to heights of 25-30 ft. Suggestions please!

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Comments (8)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
11 years ago
Fast to 30 feet then stop? Most of the crab apples probably come close to that description. Any small Acer rubrum cultivars?

Gimme three times that height and I will recommend Metasequoia!
Iris GW
11 years ago
You say "tall shade trees" but then you limit the height to 25-30 ft? That height is a low-medium tree at best.

Fast tall shade tree in SC: Liriodendron tulipifera.
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Bur oak is native to your area and an excellent shade tree. It grows at a reasonable pace, particularly when it's young and will give you shade in a reasonable period of time. You might also want to consider some of the native maples. Do NOT plant norway maple. I also advise against our native silver maple in home landscapes -- it's just too big and ungainly for that setting. That being said, red or sugar maple are nice choices and I wouldn't even be opposed to the red/silver hybrids. Sycamore is also nice and fairly fast growing. I would recommend ash, but the emerald ash borer problem really prevents that these days. Hackberry would be a good choice, however, as would Kentucky coffeetree or perhaps even one of the Dutch elm disease resistent elm cultivars.
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First, these are not MY choices - they are recommended by the California extension service for the poster's area. Generally, these bodies take into account problematic species and are not inclined to suggest or recommend known invasives for a specific area. It is always appropriate to remember that invasive characteristics are typically determined by regional and climatic factors and are not universal in their application. As a major agricultural state and with a great deal of public and private undeveloped land, California is very aware of invasive species and rather proactive in their restrictions. And "fast" is a relative term and also carries with it the caveat that a fast growing tree often displays unfortunate charcteristics that have other, less desireable outcomes. Shade is not instantaneous and patience is a huge virtue when it comes to planting and gardening. If instant shade gratification is required, it often makes much better sense to select a more mature, larger sized tree that has a moderate or slower rate of growth than one that will rapidly achieve too great a size or exhibit weak wood or other drawbacks typically associated with rapid growth.
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Our neighbors in town had a row of Arizona cypress. I don't know how they do in the wind out here, but they shot up fast and made a nice wall of shade for their RV. You have room for just about anything you want, so you can be a lot pickier. I have seen some huge sycamores and eucalytus, but I don't know how fast they grow . . . do you want something native? Do you want it blooming?
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Those all sound like very good suggestions; the only thing I would add is Japanese Maple. I've got about three that came with my house (hubby and I have been here 16 years) and they've survived a wide variety of weather conditions. I don't know the variety though. I've also got many seedlings which I will be more than happy to dig up, and usually do for the Spring MAG Swap.
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wisconsitom
11 years ago
I add that if it's pruning you wish to avoid, don't plant fruit trees! At least where maximum fruit production/quality is concerned, there is a considerable amount of pruning involved.

+oM
carolbarrel
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of tulip poplars which I know grow fast as they're on my property in GA. Is it possible to dig up young tulip poplars that grew up from parent trees and transplant them to other sites? What would it require...how big a berth to dig around the root area, how much water to give it after digging up and putting in pot for transport, etc? Or is it crazy to think they'd survive being transplanted "from the wild"?
Iris GW
11 years ago
They can be transplanted from the wild; they all grow from seed, not root suckers. I would not dig up anything bigger than 3 feet - anything bigger and you'll waste time having it get over the shock of transplant.

Water before digging for best results. Put in a 3-5 gallon pot with dirt and water. Transport in the pot. I think doing this in mid Oct to late Nov would be the best time.
carolbarrel
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks so much esh! I will do as you suggest and give the transplants lots of TLC. Thanks for replying again!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
trees are dug up.. when leafless.. when they are dormant ...

but i do not know the proper timing for SC .. its either late fall.. early winter.. or late winter.. lol.. that narrows it down..

also.. will you be there to keep them PROPERLY WATERED???? if not.. the timing is IMPERATIVE ... for best success ...

with this tree .. you could probably have 3 foot bare root whips mailed to the location rather cheap.. and at the proper planting time ... rather than driving hundreds of miles.. digging them.. transporting them.. torturing them.. etc ... what a nightmare for something that can mysteriously appear at your front door ... see link as an e.g.

good luck

ken

ps: do NOT buy poplars .. tulip poplar is not a poplar .. its actually: Liriodendron tulipifera

though fast growing.. poplars ... are fast to disease ... and fast to dropping huge limbs.. and fast to die ... and.. fast in tree terms.. is a decade or two ... but why plant future cost or problems ....

Here is a link that might be useful: not that i am rec'ing this seller .. just size to price example ...
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
11 years ago
One nice fast shade 'tree' that stays around 20-30 feet would be crape myrtle such as 'Biloxi' (light lavender) or Natchez (white). Eventually form a nice upright-spreading form. Prune out lower limbs to maintain 1-3 trunks. Not all crapes grow into large trees though, so selection is important.

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