Good Shade Trees Near Pool and Decking?

13 years ago

Hi. I'm looking for suggestions for trees to provide shade and privacy that are clean and without invasive roots to plant near a swimming pool. We live in the Fresno area. Thanks in advance!

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Comments (2)

hosenemesis
13 years ago
How much shade and privacy? And how close to the decking? If you just need a little dappled shade then you have some options, but if you want a lot of shade I don't think they make a tree that fits your specs.

Sunset Western Garden Book lists the following for trees around swimming pools:
Eriobotrya defexa Bronze Loquat
Cordia boissieri Texas Olive
Geijera parviflora Australian Willow
Palms (Queen palms are messy)
Firmiana simplex Chinese Parasol Tree
Fig edible
Ficus Auriculata
Bauhinia blakeana Hong Kong Orchid Tree

You may also want to consider a pergola and a hedge.
Good luck!
Renee
bahia
13 years ago
Definitely the Sunset list is a good starting point, and the trees and palms they list mostly have in common leaves that are larger or held for a long period of time, and not constantly shedding. The root issue also needs to be addressed, and this is as much a function of space and depth of soil and whether you irrigate to encourage deep rooting as it is upon the choice of tree. Palms are generally recommended because they don't drop foliage all year round, but the flowers and fruits can be messy at times.

It would also help to know whether you have an open pool or a pool cover. Definitely avoid trees with smaller leaves that are constantly dropping year round such as Mayten trees, because the pool skimmer has a hard time keeping up with these.
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Welcome to gardening! I'll be a bit blunt here, and maybe others will disagree, but I don't think either of those trees are good choices for your situation. Here's why. When you say 7-8' away from the pool, do you mean the trunk will be that close or the edge of the tree canopy will be that close to the pool? That is not far enough away if you mean the trunk. You may be able to find citrus trees on true dwarf root stock that would be okay, but the canopy of a fully grown citrus tree is wider than fourteen feet, and they drop leaves. Can you plant the tree farther away? The olive tree gets far too large to consider it as a possibility. The trunks rise and would impact your decking, and it would be a disaster for your filtration system. They drop a lot of tiny white flowers and yellow pollen. If you got a fruiting olive you would have a purple-stained deck and pool and be bobbing for olives every time you took a swim. They also require a great deal of pruning. The Sunset Western Garden book has a section on trees suitable for planting around pools. You might want to take a look at it to see if anything strikes your fancy. It sounds like you are interested in a Mediterranean theme for your back yard, which will be lovely. Good luck with your project. Renee
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hit the link.. for bunches of pix as to the potential .... if you flip back in google to the web side..and added the words 'annual growth rate' to the plant name .. to the search... you will find out how much per year it will grow ... for ever ... as to how it can be placed and fit into a poolside landscape.. i cant figure it all out on your words alone .. perhaps a pic after the pool is in.. might help define it all ... as for staking... this type of plant does NOT need permanent staking...it is staked.. or TRAINED.. to a given height ... and then left to weep down from there... if you buy the plant at the height you want.. and plant it properly .. at most.. it would only need to be staked for a year or two.. until it grows enough roots to hold itself up ... which may be a function of your soil .... and proper planting methods ... good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: link
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Good Shade Trees Near Pool and Decking?

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hosenemesis

bahia

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