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Arizona Gardening FAQ

Description of Trees for smaller yards and some for larger yards

birdlady_in_mesa

13 years ago

Some trees for smaller yards and some for larger yards-

Thanks to AZTreelvr for the excellent suggestions and descriptions!

Cascalote (Caesalpinia cacalaco)
15 x15 feet at maturity
Full sun
Young trees are very thorny
Stunning yellow winter flowers followed by colorful red seedpods
Low litter

Feather Tree (Lysiloma microphylla v. thornberi)
15x15 feet at maturity
Full sun/Partial sun
No thorns
Sensitive to the cold
Beneficial to native wildlife
Small white puffball flowers from May to June (flat seedpods follow bloom)

Mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus)
15 x 20 feet at maturity
Full Sun
No thorns
Evergreen tree with stiff, dark green leaves turn red in the fall.
Low litter

Sweet Acacia (Acacia farnesiana)
20 x 20 feet at maturity
Full sun
Thorny
Sweet-scented flowers lend nice winter color
Beneficial to native wildlife

Texas Ebony (Pithecellobium flexicaule)
20 x 15 feet at maturity
Full sun, accepts some shade
Dark green leaf color all year
Thorny
Beneficial to native wildlife

Vitex (Vitex Agnus-castus)
20 x 20 at maturity
Full sun
Dark green leaves spring to fall (deciduous in winter)
No thorns
Spikes of purple (or white, pink) flowers all summer, attracts butterflies

Trees that are fairly fast growing and would stay green most of the year and will have a nice full canopy- some litter.

Sonoran Emerald hybrid palo verde
30 x 30 at maturity
Fast growing
Full sun
No thorns
Dense canopy with dark green, lush foliage
Bright yellow flowers in spring, few seed pods
Low litter

Evergreen Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
30 x 30 at maturity
Fast growing
Full Sun
Semi-evergreen
Attractive bark

Chitalpa (Chitalpa taskentensis)
20 - 30' tall and wide at maturity
Leaves are 1/2" wide and 5-6" long
Full sun
No thorns
Showy clusters of pink or white flowers during warm months
No seeds
Deciduous in winter

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Related Discussions
small tree for small yard?
Q
Comments (13)
Tsuga - our Serviceberry is planted in an east facing location, with only morning sun. Wondering if yours has a more open habit? That's what I expect with mine in these conditions. How are the spring blooms and fall color for you? By any chance do you have any pictures you can share? I'd love to see a mature one in the landscape. We just planted ours earlier this year. I'd love to see pics of your Satomi as well. Milwaukeean, when I think of crabapples I think of a messy tree with lots of maintenance, maybe I'm wrong. I also think of a low branching tree, not ideal for the placement. Gardener, I'm on my second year with the heptacodium, can't wait for it to mature. My narrowed choices, though I'm leaning more towards the latter two: 1. Fringe tree - lacks four season interest, late to wake up in spring 2. Serviceberry Autumn Brilliance - seasonal interest, I have this already in my front yard 3. Kousa Dogwood - other than the flower color, what are the primary differences between white flowered and Satomi? I'm planting this next to a purple leaf sandcherry, which of these do you think would compliment it more? Kousa Dogwood - are the berries messy? I read they prefer shade, my placement would be full sun, how will it fare in this condition?
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Depending on where you are in Tampa you might have luck with Mango, Lychee, Sapodilla, or Sugar Apple. There are dwarf or "condo" versions of these trees that are ideal for smaller back yards and might allow you to plant more than one. Mango and lychee in particular are evergreen and add a great tropical look to the landscape. None of these are readily available in the supermarket (the fibrous things at the grocery called "mangos" are weak) so you'd be growing something that is unique and hard to find otherwise. Citrus is popular as well- you can get grafted trees now that have multiple types of fruit on one tree. Good luck!
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Ah, I see you're in Alabama; didn't catch that before. You must be at the southern edge of their range. In November we visited our daughter and son-in-law who had moved to Alabama in July, just south of Birmingham and I think I've seen enough crepe myrtle now to last the rest of my life. Nikko-O - Sherry is right about not trying to do it all at once. It's good to have an overall scheme in mind, and add according to that general scheme, knowing that you may have to make adjustments along the way. There are a couple of books you might look for in your local library: Native Plants of the Northeast by Donald Leopold (assuming you are in the northeast), The Layered Garden by David Culp, and The Living Landscape by Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke. Any of these, or even some photos from them that might show up in an online review, might prove very inspirational for you. One of the things I love about gardening is the opportunity to be creative and resourceful. Enjoy the process!
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The "before" picture showing shrubs lining both sides of the walkway should be enough to permanently scare you away from reverting to that scheme. As Bio says, it will make the walk look narrower. It will look less inviting and feel it, too. You definitely need to extend the walk to the curb as it has the look of an abandoned, unfinished project. Try to find the best match to the stone as possible. You'll be forgiven that there will be a "shadow" where the new meets the old. Over time, it will lessen. You could widen the walk a little (8" each side) by bordering it with brick laid sailor course. Or by using a plain concrete band if that's your preference. If you're going to include a bed around a tree, don't make a little bed around a large tree as the proportions will be way off. Tree beds are not good for annuals (which must be changed out periodically. They are better for permanent groundcovers or perennials that serve as groundcovers. When you have a lot of grade change, shrubs below windows do not need to be matched kind. What's important is that they have the same relationship where they meet the window. What everyone said about deepening the bed ... for sure. Instead of 2, 3, or 4,' it should be 6' at the shallowest and flare to meet any deeper bed configuration. The house could use another tree off of it's right corner to balance the picture. Color is always nice by the entrance. Colorful perennials wrapping the corners is another way to interject some seasonal color. It would be good to someday replace the lamp post with a taller one.
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