Maples in general handle soil level changes better than other trees. So my first thought is red maple. I don't know what eats the samaras beside chipmunks, but they are food for something.

any chance at a pic of the spot??

ken

My initial thoughts had been black gum, red maple, bald cypress, sweetbay magnolia, or musclewood.

How messy are female black gum? (When I say "messy" I'm not someone who demands a tree that never drops anything...the white pine was a bit messy for a tree overlooking a deck). Would the berries be likely to stain a deck?

I'm trying to lobby for the idea of a Bald Cypress or Black Gum in a different spot, in the midst of the marshy area. If I'm successful, a female black gum could be put there, and the male near the deck...

In some ways it *IS* a perfect spot for a maple. I just tend to regard them as boring trees, and there are a few on the property already. Silver maple wolud do well there, but I'm not sure I want a tree known for dropping branches so near a house...Also would sycamore be too weak wooded for near the house in a snowy area?

This is a spot where a white pine sickened but did not die...it is being removed because people are nervous about dropping branches. So the wet soil and soil level changes can't be too great. (White pine not being noted for tolerating such things).

No chance of a picture...It's not my house and not everyone likes pictures of their property posted online.

This is another question where wisconsitom may have some expertise.

Bald cypress. Long lived native, not wide spreading. Not very messy.

Could go Metasequoia....100 million years ago they lived here

you have too many demands....but i think bald cypress may be your best candidate

I'll try, but I'm not completely sure I can sell the idea of a tree as big as Baldcypress for near a deck. How messy are they? I think the tupelo would be perfect, but once again might have trouble selling a large tree. What does everyone think of the sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) or musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) idea?

Sweetbay smells great in flower but it's a small tree

IME Capinus caroliniana doesn't get all that large. Though it's tree form (sometimes multitrunked) it doesn't get all that large, either in height or trunk diameter.

My SO lives with a sister. I'm trying to sell them on a replacement tree. I'd like to have a couple suggestions. I'll try to sell the Black Gum, but if there is push-back on the size I want trees in other size ranges. The tree it is replacing is 15-30 feet (I'm terrible at eye-balling distances) from a deck. The huge sick white pine caused problems. I think a tree only slightly smaller but less prone to drop branches would work...they may not agree. If the replacement tree is any farther away it will be close to the edge of the embankment.

I'm afraid if I don't offer viable native tree suggestions fast someone else will get to them fast and they'll put in a crepe myrtle or silver maple.

If they choose a crepe myrtle, then you have breathing room to recommend a replacement. In your zone, it will only survive a winter or two.

another is northern catalpa...where i live they grow on river edges

Maybe Swamp White Oak?

Quercus macrocarpa 'Big John' would be an easy solution. It's seedless and fits the site.

G2 Gardens

You'll only need give them a call to see what rootstock it's on. If you can get one on bicolor or a floodplain seed source of macrocarpa or another floodplain species . . . you're in.

G2 also offers: Quercus x deamii 'Champion Seedless' - a large oak.

Again, you'd have find out what rootstock it is on. If G2 cannot give you an answer to rootstock choice - I'll bet Forest Keeling could tell you because, I believe they do all of G2's propagation.

Dax

Just some additional thoughts...

15-30' from the deck is a big range. 15-20', I'd be thinking a patio tree like the sweetbay or hornbeam - both can handle wet feet. Moonglow sweetbays grow >30' tall but stay pretty tight (similar to pears). >25', I'd be leaning towards medium sized shade tree.

Baldcypress IMO is better situated away from structures where it can be viewed from a distance. Also because the shape is so uniform/geometric, a group of two or more tends to look better than a stand-alone. I think you want something you can limb up too.

Tupelo would fit the bill, with the caveat that they can require patience. Mine really grows at a snails pace and does contract black spot most years, even though it is a resistant cultivar.

Maybe a narrower growing oak cultivar with swamp white, shumard, or nuttall lineage would work if you are >25' from the deck. Looking for a cultivar bred for upright/uniform growth or minimal acorns would be advisable in such a prominent location. Swamp whites are studs, but the coarse look is not for everyone.

It does not meet your criteria, but Ginkgo is another one that would work. About the most harmless non-native you can plant and they are just straight up cool.

I'm terrible at eyeballing distances, and am going from memory. I just got the word the tree is finally coming down. I'll try to get mire accurate distance measures this weekend.

I'd long been lobbying for a baldypress or tupelo or the base of the embankment, where there is sometimes standing water. Not sure baldcypress is the best tree for near the deck.

Are there narrow cultivars of tupelo? Does tupelo hybridize with swamp tupelo?

Any swamp tolerant tree suggestions smaller then a baldcypress but bigger then a magnolia? I want a range of sizes to suggest...

Sweetbay Magnolia may be a small tree in more northerly states, but the ones down here can get to be 60' tall, they are also evergreen, but not as strong wooded as M.grandiflora.

You could also check out White Cypress (Chamaecyparis thyoides) to see if it's cold hardy in your area. I have a few here that have grown beautifully, even through droughts.

I honestly wouldn't plant an evergreen Magnolia in MA in the yard of someone who wasn't a total plant nerd. The evergreen leaves can look fairly bad at the end of a more severe winter and the large leaves in a place with at least a couple of wet snows and/or ice storms annually just isn't a good combination since the probability of damage is high.

Is Sweetbay Magnolia evergreen in Zone 6? But I suppose if it even keeps it's leaves late it could be a a branch-falling hazard in an early snowstorm.

M.grandiflora just isn't an option. Not cold hardy enough. Ideally I'd also want something tolerant of wet feet. Sweetbay seems to be the most cold hardy and tolerant of wet feet of North American magnolias.

A pity if magnolia wouldn't work. It was one of my few smaller ideas.

I may have miss estimated the distance. I just spoke with my SO and got an estimate of 10 feet from the house, 6 feet from the deck. (Which I'm pretty sure isn't right...I remember it as farther.)

River birch. I have 3-4 footers if you would like to message me.

Dax

I doubt it would be evergreen in zone 6

Trees I've planted in my wet areas and do well -- baldcypress (downright soggy), dawn redwood, shellbark hickory, swamp white and shumard X nuttall oak, river birch, redbud, pond pine, silver maple, and red-osier dogwood.

Yes, but this spot has three issues...the wet soil, which everyone has fixated on Also being close to a house & deck, and being poised over a deck. I love badcypress and hickory and hope to plant them in the wettest parts of the yard, but they aren't necessarily the best patio trees..

.

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus). The fruit from a female tree could be messy over a deck, but you mentioned food for the birds. I've seen them growing in fairly wet areas, so they must be tolerant. The only downside to them is that they are slow growing.

American Holly is also tolerant of wet soil, has berries for birds, and not too messy.

Fringetree is an interesting choice! Do the berries of fringetree or tupelo stain? I could always plant a male near the deck and a female elsewhere. How easy are they to grow?

I've always been a big fan of American Holly, but hadn't thought of it for this location.

No personal experience with this, though I am sure it's just a matter of time, but fringetree is supposed to be susceptible to emerald ash borer which is present here in NH, so will be in your area some time in the next few years, I imagine.

I finally measured. The tree being replaced is 11 feet from the deck and 23 feet from the house.

Sounds like something smaller like the Carpinus might be a better choice unless there's a cultivar of Nyssa that's fastigate or weeping and hardy enough as well.

Anyone know of a fastigate cultivar of Nyssa?

So, no one thinks sweetbay magnolia is a good idea?

"Tupelo Tower" and "Forum" are the narrow forms I am aware of. Davidsan's Japanese Maples in Illinois carried TT as of last year. Almost bought one. I actually started a Nyssa thread last year (see link below), and there is some good feedback on cultivars.

Nyssa Cultivar Thread

But I think you have crossed the line to the point of overthinking this. Even a species Nyssa probably won't see >20' diameter for at least 50 years - especially if you limb it up. Nyssa are naturally pretty upright and stay narrow for decades. By the time the tree would start to overhang your friend's deck, you and and the deck will be long gone.