Artificial tree maybe would work for that application

Paper or plastic? Those are your choices.

Arktrees

Yes, there is no tree that drops nothing. And evergreen trees drop spent parts for long periods. But see the table of suggested garden and patio trees in the plant selection guide portion of the Sunset Western Garden Book.

I asked for a tree that won't drop "too much stuff". I did not ask for a tree that drops "nothing".

Your request is a very common one and the silly remarks were made because there really isn't such a tree. All trees produce flowers and fruit of some kind...and even evergreens shed their leaves.

To avoid fruit, you may want to research dioecious (plants that are EITHER male OR female) trees, and make sure to avoid the female specimens. Even at that, you'll have the male flowers to deal with.

I second bboy's suggestion that you take a look at the Sunset book.

Well let's try to get useful here. I haven't looked at that section of the Sunset book, but here is a bit from my experience with trees dropping stuff.

Ideally you want a deciduous tree, because it will drop its leaves ONCE and then you clean up and it's done. If you get an evergreen, it will drop leaves over a longer period (broadleaf or conifer).

Ideally you want a tree with big leaves. If it has small parts (leaves, leaflets, flowers) then it will be dropping them and they will mulch down quickly, leaving much rather than easily sweepable leaves.

Also watch the flower parts. The smaller and more profuse, the messier. And if the wood is brittle, you'll have branchlets too.

Some trees I have lived with, random comments to give you a feel for how to make the decision for your site:

Albizia, drops leaflets all summer if it is a dry one, as well as flowers. Makes my back stairs dangerous as leaflets rot down. But on dirt (small gravel actually), they rot down fast and almost disappear.

Heptacodium: flowers are the problem since it drops small florets all late summer and as the fall rains start, they make my front stairs and patio slippery (unless I sweep, which I do). Again, on dirt, no problem.

Large conifer: drops needles constantly. Unbelievable volume. Always tracks into house.

Pterostyrax: flower parts did not make a noticeable mess, large leaves stay on tree late and then are gone quickly. Not over hardscape in my yard, but not a problem as far as I can tell.

Willow: don't get me started. Just get the chainsaw already :-)

Ornamental cherry street tree: there is a mess from cherries, but the leaves are big tough things. This is good if you can sweep them up, but they NEVER seem to rot down if they are on dirt. Same with Hamamelis, leaves DO NOT rot down. Flower petals (red on my tree) are kind of fun as they fall, and don't really pose a problem even if they are plentiful.

Norway Maple: maple keys that seed into every nook and cranny. Keys hard to sweep or otherwise gather up. Definitely chainsaw material, but it's the neighbour's tree :-)

In short, I think it's not about how much it drops, because they all drop all their stuff, but what it drops, over what period, and what that stuff will do on the surface that you have.

Karin L