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Arizona Gardening

Non-invasive Shade Tree?

15 years ago

This seems to be a great forum for garden questions. After 3 weeks of combing nurseries, books and the web, I still have not found the right tree for my yard.

Two years ago in Gilbert, the top half of my beautiful 8-year old Ficus Natida froze. I was tempted to trim and let it re-grow but the roots were shallow and headed for the sidewalk, and the side opposite the exposed roots was top-heavy and leaning toward a neighbor's house.

I would like to find a shade tree that can safely be planted within 4-5 feet of a sewer line on one side and almost as close to a sidewalk on the other. The perfect tree would be evergreen or, if deciduous, have large leaves that all drop at once and not produce noticeable pollen or seeds. I prefer dark green leaves and good shade (south side of the house) but hopefully not so much shade that grass won't grow under it. A good size would be 20-30 ft. tall and wide and it should require minimal trimming (the kind I can do myself).

I've learned a bit about how to stake, and when not to, so shouldn't have the leaning problem again. As much as I enjoy the lawn, I can take it out if necessary to get deep rooting on a good tree.

Thank you for any suggestions.

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Comments (5)

kmvanatten
15 years ago
Try an Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia sisso) of Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis) -- both fit your requirements, although the Pistacia might have less invasive roots for your sewer line. You will also enjoy the fall colors of the Pistacia

Whatever you do, do not buy Eucalyptus or Acacia species -- they will tear into and clog your sewer faster than you can call roto-rooter!
sunlite
15 years ago
I don't recommend a Sisso. We had one for over 10 years on the northside of our house. Our neighbors found that the trees roots were causing damage to their walkway. We immediately had the tree removed. They sued us for $1750 in damages. Our insurance company said that we were not liable. We offered them other options but the neighbor would not budge. Not a nice thing to go through. We didn't 'plan' where the roots would grow. They extended at least 30 feet in several directions. This IS a very invasive tree!
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Replacing a deck is expensive! We need to replace two big ones, and even if you do it yourself, the materials cost a lot! We were in shock when we got the price from our contractor. I'd love to see pictures when you get the deck built around the tree. Probably the hole with supports and facia board should be several inches from the trunk to allow it to grow, but the deck would probably need to be replaced again before that fig grows that wide!! We are considering putting a fig tree next to our deck and about as far from the house as yours, and I was worried about root invasion. Then another forum on figs showed so many photos of figs in other countries growing right out of walls and smacked up right next to buildings with assurance that Ficus Carica roots would go deep. Someone in the California forum gave me a better option for a non-messy, non-invasive shade tree: Acer freemanii AUTUMN FANTASY MAPLE, so that will be what we use. I love figs and the fig will go in another place. I think your idea of surrounding the fig with a deck sounds very creative and amazing!
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UPDATE: We had the old messy tree removed a week ago for $850.00. We kept a few logs to use on our hillside for steps in a couple places. Basically small terraces held in by rebar. We bought two large shade trees from Moon Valley Nursery that have non invasive root systems, non-toxic leaves, and are guaranteed to not be messy! One is a Raywood Ash. It turns red in autumn. The other is a MALE ginkgo biloba. It turns yellow in autumn. They both are drought friendly, grow fast and were in 36 gallon crates. We also bought a queen palm to replace one that blew over and a much desired Cape Blue Plumbago shrub. Editing to state that 2 trees in 36 gallon crates, 1 palm in a 20 gallon crate, 1 shrub in a 5 gallon, including delivery and free planting cost us $2,300.00. The shade trees are already about 18' tall, and expected to grow 3-5 feet per year. We got to choose the trees we wanted. They tagged them for delivery. They plant them all for free on Oct 30th. We are hoping the looming El Nino will give them a good start this season.
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I don't think it's a good idea to plant any tree near a fence. The problem is that as it grows, it may end up actually hitting the fence, possibly causing damage to it. Also, you end up with part of the tree on the other side of the fence, so it's difficult to take care of it. And if you're planting fruit trees, your neighbor may not like the mess when it starts dropping fruit in the lawn (although the ability to pick fruit without needing to pay for the tree may mitigate that).
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User
15 years ago
velvet mesquite or honey mesquite...

The chinese pistache mentioned above is an excellent choice and once established can be as drought tolerant as the native mesquites. It's a lot "cleaner" and prettier in the fall, too.
User
15 years ago
Oh, I missed your size requirements.

The mesquites would dominate an area like that too greatly.
motown_gardener
15 years ago
what about a citris tree? most of them flower in the spring but they are medium sized trees and easy to maintain. there are also 2 different trees along the US 60 (on the southside between gilbert and dobson area) that are only a few years old. no idea what kinds though one tree grows upward in a "puffy raincloud" pattern and has lots of small round leaves like a eucalyptus tree or birch tree from the midwest. it doesnt look like a desert tree and it does not bloom, but i'd expect it reaches 40-50 ft at adult so roots could be too big eventually. the other is definately a desert tree and has leaves like a jacoranda tree would (a million tiny leaves make up one bigger leaf) and it grows in an umbrella pattern and provides lots of shade but should support grass too. it blooms yellowish flowers twice a year for 2-3 weeks, and has a much thinner trunk even as adult- umbrella canopy 10-20 ft wide. i suggest these because i just moved into a house (that faces east so lots of sun in morn and afternoon) and i was also looking for small shade trees. these met my needs for shade and size. i plan to start a vineyard so i need to let some sun in:)

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