And according to This Link it's only good for 35 years. :(

It is fully hardy in zones 5-8. Daniel is in zone 6a. I am referring to zelkova serrata if it makes any difference. It should last much longer than 35 years.

If the area is damp, you may consider swamp white or nuttall oak as alternatives to rubra. Nuttall you'd have to mail order, but fall coloring and growth rate may be worth it. Hickory is another option, but you'd have to start small.

Honeylocust have sparse canopies, so not great for shade. They are common street trees, so you know usually don't damage the sidewalk much. Redbud is small and the commercial cultivars are iffy in Zone 5.

Dan, How about American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)? Just researching this tonight. Large tree, fast growing, Maple like leaves, known not to have surface roots like maples do, grows in your area. Information here:

I think american sycamore may be a bit messy for this area.

Ok I looked up the last couple suggestions. Nuttal Oak looks like it has some really good characteristics. Isn't hickory a dreadfully slow grower. Even the shag bark which is common around here is slower growing that pecan from what I was finding.

Regarding the American Sycamore. I've looked at this several times. They seems like a pretty nice fast growing tree but I've read in several places that while the roots aren't on the surface like Maple they are still very damaging. Although the article posted above showed a number of large Sycamore's very close to the road with no apparent damage. Yeah so not real sure about that.

I would go with zekova. Maybe 'green vase'.

'Regarding the American Sycamore.' They slough off bark and drop seed pods, from what I understand. Probably what Logan is talking about being messy. Other than that, I'm the wrong guy to ask as they don't grow around here.

The Zelkova serrata is popular as a replacement for the American Elm. As you probably know Amer.Elm has been devastated by Dutch Elm Disease.

I do know that A.e. was a very messy tree, dumping piles of little round seeds every year. They'd pile up in the street gutters and everywhere else. I don't know if Zelkova has the same attributes.

Hickory is a medium rate grower after getting established. So if speed is really the biggest factor, probably not a fit. American sycamore is not an ideal driveway tree. Tons of early lead drop from bacteria and whatnot. Best suited away from structures. We do have London planetrees as street trees in this area. Those are probably a little neater and have better cultivar options, but again, arguably messy and huge for a driveway planting. I do like them though.

I think most of the commercial zelkova cultivars are sterile. Yes, this is what I mean by american sycamore being messy, it is more suitable away from structures and driveways.

Oaks= acorns. Eventually. A white pine will also give you shade as the lower limbs will die off.

White pine? That's all you've got? LOL.

What about copper beech or metasequoia if you don't like the zelkova?

Wait, so I didn't think metasequoia had a very spreading form. All the stuff I've looked up on that say 20ft wide by ridiculously tall.

Yes, but they cast a large shadow. I don't think you would want anything too wide for that space. What about acer platanoides 'royal red' if you don't like any of those?

Royal Red, that's similar to the Crimson Maple and slow grower isn't it. Those purple/red all the time trees are pretty cool. I've always thought it'd be fun to have one of those. Oh so many options.

I think the trick is going to be figuring out the balance of the key attributes I want:

Spreading canopy (to cover drive from north side)

Non-destructive roots (for as close to drive planting as possible)

Reasonably fast growth

Plus balancing the factors of being in a rather wet spot, except during the dry summers when it's a very dry spot, a very windy spot, and in a clay loom soil.

There are several trees that have come up here that I really like. Tulip has always been a favorite of mine. Dawn Red is just cool cause it's a red wood (and a deciduous conifer), I've always liked oaks and this new Zelkova is very interesting as well. Too bad I don't have enough property an cash to plant them all.

The maple isn't a slow grower at all. The slow growing one you are thinking of is acer palmatum 'bloodgood'. I still think zelkova is the best option.

Yeah it really does seem like a really good balance of the three primary goals in this planting. Any idea what the spacing from drive should be for that. Looks like in city plantings is like 3ft. I assume my asphalt drive would prefer a little more space than that.

I personally, would go 6-7ft, but to be safe I wouldn't go any less than 4ft. They don't have invasive roots because they are one of the more common street trees and parking lot trees around my area.

If you peruse municipality guidelines on the web for large tree plantings near driveways (not sidewalks), you will typically find around 10' recommended, but 7 or 8' acceptable. These trees you are talking about are >50', so cheating to get a foot or two closer to the driveway will not make a significant impact on shade.

Municipality "guidelines" do not matter, because if they were to attempt to remove the tree, they would be on the losing end of the legal tug-of-war. I still say 6-7ft.

The guidelines I am referring to are recommended practices published by municipal parks departments (Seattle, Denver, etc.). Has nothing to do with legal battles. Just their opinions on proper planting distances from structures. You don't have to be defensive about your opinion. It is just a reference point for the original poster.

Ok, I took it the wrong way. No harm meant. :)

Multiple kinds hashed over here are quite large growing in suitable environments. Liriodendron for instance is pretty much the largest growing eastern North American native deciduous tree at this time, Pinus strobus effectively the largest conifer - with both of these producing towering landmark specimens that teams of enthusiasts visit and climb around in. Eventually one of these (or any of the other large growing trees mentioned) planted only a few feet from asphalt is gong to look like it was already there when the pavement was laid.

Yeah, tulip is definitely one of my favorites. I was really hoping I could work it in somewhere. I was going to put it in another spot where there's 70 ft between a silver maple and a Rock Chestnut Oak. but after looking at the mature sizes of these 3 trees I concluded it's just not enough space. I was hoping maybe I could work it in here but I've been reading that it's really not a good choice for a driveway tree.

Zelkova, Zelkova, Zelkova

Daniel, another possibility might be Yellowwood. My big one is now gone. It was planted as a seedling 1980-85 timeframe. Was 45-50' tall when taken down this summer due to storm damage. That damage was due to bad branch crotches and those may have been the result of the tree being somewhat hemmed in by mature trees all its life. Still, it was a great shade tree along our drive. In 1998, we changed our drive from blacktop to concrete and the section near the Yellowwood was moved a couple of feet closer to the tree. I'll have to look at the stump tomorrow, but I think the tree was only about 6' from the new drive and we didn't have any problems with the roots affecting the drive. The area around that Yellowwood floods 1-2 times per year for a
couple of hours and doesn't have natural soil. The area had a
couple of inches of soil underlain by a few inches of gravel and then
several inches of larger (#4?) crushed limestone under the gravel. Digging planting holes is a problem!!!! I suspect
the stone and gravel was placed there in the '50s and was related to
either drainage or the old septic system that was nearby. In any case, that limestone may have been helpful since the trees grow on limestone in southern Indiana. You site doesn't compare and I don't
know how a Yellowwood might do in your situation.

I've planted a newer Yellowwood that will have more room to spread out and is farther from the drive. The "soil" conditions are similar to the location of the other Yellowwood, but I dug a 4' diameter planting hole deep enough to get down to actual soil for this one. The gravel and stone was replaced with soil. It took a few hours over two days! That compacted crushed stone is nasty. This newer tree is growing about 18" per year, but has only been in the ground 5 years.
Also, if you're familiar with Holliday Park in Indy, I read earlier this fall that they refurbished the "ruins" and re-landscaped that area with several Yellowwood trees. I haven't seen the changes yet. You might want to check that out and maybe contact the Indy Parks Dept staff to see if they can tell you how they decided that the Yellowwood was a good choice for that site. And you could ask where they found their trees.

Hope this helps!

Yellow wood are pretty, but they develop poor branch crotches.

Yellow wood = poor branch crotches

poor branch crotches + vehicles = vehicles crushed by large branches

Does anyone have any insight into how well these Japanese Zelkova trees do in sorta wet soil. From what I was reading they like it moist soil but don't like it super wet. It's hard to describe how wet a soil is but this particular tree will into a bit of a low spot. I was out there tonight and it's still pretty soggy. It seems like in the spring and fall this spot can stay wet for over a week after a rain. Now it's not standing water for that long but the ground does go squish squish when I walk over it. In the summer it seems to dry out within a few days so maybe it's not too bad. Any idea on whether or not that will be an issue for the Zelkova. I'm pretty sure many of the other trees we've mentioned will not have any issue with that, tulip, river birch, red oak, sycamore, honey locust all are either wet soil tolerant or even prefer it.
The Zelkova seems like a good choice for this planning due to it's rapid development of a nice shade producing vase shape and non-destructive roots. I just want to be sure I don't plant something that will be mad about the soil conditions.

If it is like a dip in the yard, you could add a bit of the native soil to level it out. I don't think you will have any serious issues. They are planted commonly around here, in heavy clay that stays soaked for a while.

I would be thinking some about what the tree might deposit on your cars as it gets larger if you care at all about the vehicles' appearance. I've lived with white pines over the driveway and they drop pitch on a regular basis leaving big sticky globs that leave a footprint in the finish when removed. Oaks with large acorns falling from a good height can leave dents in the same way hailstones can. I don't think you'd need to worry about the little acorns from pin oaks, but the larger red and white acorns around here can get a fair amount of force behind them.

This is why I suggested zelkova. Commonly used in parking lots.

Yeah, I also read that the Tulip Tree has a tendency to drop goo on everything under it. I don't know if that's actually true or not. But if it is that might not be desirable. By the way can anyone confirm or deny the Tulip Tree's goo everything under them claim?

Liriodendron Tulipfera does drop some sticky stuff (not sure of the proper term) so I wouldn't recommend it for a driveway.

Spreading canopy (to cover drive from north side)

Non-destructive roots (for as close to drive planting as possible)

Reasonably fast growth

Plus balancing the factors of being in a rather wet spot, except
during the dry summers when it's a very dry spot, a very windy spot, and
in a clay loom soil.

Yes to all of the above, we have a sycamore tree and other than the wind blowing the leaves in the winter (shedding) time it is one of the most beautiful trees. Granted it is not by our driveway but I see nothing messy about it. We have it on the north side and by our bayou and can be pretty wet at times. Love hearing the wind blow and also it is the only tree that we have in the spring it starts out as a tiny little bud and grow into the humongous leaves!

Sycamore drop seeds and bark.

How about an Oriental Raisin Tree or male American Persimmon?

ugh, just don't do an oak...soooo many acorns!

Tilia Americana

Has quite a few of the desired qualities that are on the OP's wish list.

True Logan, but I haven't been bothered since we have had it. Not like a Popcorn tree for sure, they like an oak like to leave plenty of messes. The only thing I deal with is the BIG leaves and they are easy to deal with.

The Japanese Zelkova is a beautiful tree as well.

I don't know if it is true of the OP' s area but Tilia are prone to aphid infestations over here. Consequently they drop honeydew and aren't a great choice if there will be vehicles below.

I don't care for lindens at all. Nothing about them interests me, dull like silver maple. litasart, I agree that american sycamore is a nice tree (I may plant one next year) but I don't think the driveway is an appropriate place for one. I used to have a large q. alba growing beside my driveway (probably around 80 years old) and it dropped acorns all in the driveway. I ended up having it removed. After I get rid of the silver maple on the other side of the driveway, I am going to line it with 'Forest Pansy' redbuds and magnolia soulagnea.

Logan - have you ever smelled a Linden in full bloom? Or seen a mile long avenue of 200 hundred year old specimens? Or seen the leaves of a silver leafed lime fluttering in a breeze? Or walked out on a frosty morning and experienced a low sun shining on the new red buds in early spring? Not to mention the attributes of the wood for carvers and turners down the centuries.

Nobody plants them in my area. I have only seen them while traveling, and they never strike me as interesting.

Well perhaps it would be more helpful to questioners here if you pontificated a little less on plants that are beyond your experience until you have travelled a little further - in all senses.

We have Tilia Americana abundantly as a landscape tree. Many I see around here that are placed next to a driveway. Not the most beautiful fall color tree by any means. Is there any species of tree that won't have some sort of draw back over a drive way? You just have to pick your poison and deal with it.

'ever smelled a Linden in full bloom' Oh ya! Wonderful...

I know it's an old thread.. but just in case someone needs more perspective. As an owner of two zelkova trees, I would never recommend them for two main reasons - 1) they are dirty, producing too much little branches and little 'berries', which makes patios dirty and mossy, etc, 2) they lose leaves very very late.. like mid-December, so it is a constant leaf picking after all other trees normally dropped their leaves. They are beautiful trees, but I wouldn't recommend to my friends

As User posted back at the time all trees drop something - no large growing tree planted where it will overhang a paved surface is going to stand there like a cell tower and never shed spent parts all over the involved area.