The olive should work well but any evergreen oak will get far too large and the crape myrtle is not evergreen :-) You could try a citrus if in a suitable area or Podocarpus is another climate-suitable evergreen that can be easily pruned to limit size. And is often used for screening purposes.

Spent olive fruit crop can be obnoxious. With citrus you will also have to be willing to deal with a fruit crop and associated factors.

If there is an arboretum, botanic garden or other labeled display of some size in the area you might want to walk around there and look for candidates. Of course, not everything seen in such collections will be present at outlets. But they will also be featuring trees that are on the market.

any reason not share a pic of the area...???

i really dont understand what you mean.. when you say: As of right now I have a 26 foot area that I'm looking to fill with a tree.

finally .. trees really dont stop growing ... so your limitations.. can become a problem in the long run ...

ken

There are fruitless olives on the market and few citrus are so productive in their fruit development that anything like dropping fruit becomes a big concern. And both are relatively compact trees, seldom exceeding the described space.

And while trees may not stop growing entirely, there are many trees that will remain within the proper scale of the site indefinitely. Not every tree will exceed 30' no matter how long they may live :-)

Of 5 kinds offered by this major supplier there is 1 fruitless option.

http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/search/?query=olea

So, yes, if O.P. was to deliberately look for and choose one of these that would prevent the fallen spent olives mess.

I've seen orange trees in California with their big fruits all over the ground beneath them, just like with apple trees etc. here.

I second gardengals recommendation for a fruitless olive. They're beautiful ... and no mess! Low water. Fits your size requirements. Goes with your theme. Slow growing so won't overpower the area. Even looks great in a pot.

Photo taken from: http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/1890/majestic-beauty-fruitless-olive/

Thanks for the suggestions. Attached you will find a pic (hopefully.) The area in question isto the right of the pic where the yard narrows. The landscaping is a work in progress.

I agree a fruitless olive may be the way to go. gonna have to save up for that. I think a 48" box is like $4k here.

Crape myrtle isn't evergreen, but how much time are they bare? One or two might work for that area.

I have also considered that variety of smaller magnolia but I'm thinking that may look odd.

The issue isn't raking up leaves or fruit, the issue is stuff going into my pool. the yard isn't an issue for me.

At 15 feet they are cable lines, at 30 they are electric

I wasn't really thinking about the pool or your situation specifically, more in general terms about people who moan about trees behaving naturally.

In the original, post you said 25 feet from the pool but in the picture it looks closer. Is 25 correct? The wires might be a problem but overhead cables are unfamiliar to me so I hope someone else will comment on those.

The electric writes are a problem but the other are not. It was those electric lines that started this project

There actually were 3 very large trees in that area when I bought the house but were drought stressed and butchered by the electric company so i removed them and am starting over

In that picture it doesn't look it, but yes it's 25 feet from that fence to the water.

Many people are not prepared to deal with fruit crops in non orchard situations even when a swimming pool is not present. And fallen olives are said to be particularly nasty.

Apple trees are prevalent in my area and the dominant scenario is an unattended crop ripening and falling to produce a garbage layer beneath and around the trees. In fact the City of Seattle used to prohibit the planting of orchard fruits on city streets - and I suspect probably still does.

Even before the fruits drop they are an attraction for wharf rats (these are also drawn to figs here), which I have seen on more than one occasion sitting in the trees during broad daylight.

As well as birds, of course, although except for starlings these are probably not generally considered as obnoxious as rats.

Although anywhere there is a number of birds being attracted to a tree there can be a lot of poop all over everything underneath.

Since this is effectively a poolside planting what needs to be chosen is large parted plants that do not drop material that can get sucked into pool filter intakes. The Sunset Western Garden Book has a table of suitable kinds in its Guide to Plant Selection chapter.

Floral just to chime in with embothrium... I don't think it's the leaves that most people are referring to when they refer to "mess." It's the falling fruit if you don't use it, the sticky bird poop mixed in with falling fruit (which in the case of olives, turns into a disgusting type of olive-bird poo-gum-like substance), and of course nasty rats.

Olives and sticky bird poop make an awful, disgusting, gummy mess... like rubber cement. It's not fun. Plums do too.

Leaves and magnolia petals on the ground are a pretty mess. No big deal there... unless of course you're dealing with a pool.

And you don't like fruitless olives? I do. I think the whispy, silvery look is quite nice.

Thekanezzi in my area (NorCal) crepe myrtles are kinda bare about now through February. I believe they bloom on new wood so you can keep cutting them back every year if they get too big for those cables and they will most likely be fine.

Also... as another option, Fireglow Japanese maples are unique in that they like sun and heat more than other types. It adds colorful interest all year. Right now mine is red. It's new so it's small, but I have it in full sun and it's been very happy. And it gets HOT HOT HOT and DRY DRY DRY where I live.

It will stay pretty small too. I got mine this year on sale for just $100 at a local nursery. That may be a good option!

Here's some info on it... http://www.pacificcoastmaples.com/japanese-maples/fireglow-japanese-maple-trees.html

There are a number of fruitless olives. Plain old O. e. 'Wilsonii' is not a bad choice - I have several huge ones that are only 15 years in the ground from 24" boxes I gave the a lot of water the first 5 years). Incredibly interesting multiple twisting trunks. 'Skylark' and others are even better choices as they don't flower. I get virtually no mess from fruit, but the pollen is sulfur-yellow and copious, although it doesn't stain. Another plus for an olive is that it can be pruned to stay below your power lines without ruining its shape or growth pattern. In fact, they take extremely amenably to pruning of all sorts so have more flexibility than many other trees. I don't know where you are but there is a wholesaler near me who has large trees for much less than $4k.

Crape myrtle in my 9b (Sonoma County) is bare from Nov-Apr/May. The only real knock on it, although some have lovely bark. If you want screening, this is probably not a good choice.

Nothing with small parts is going to be desirable if any of this litter would be getting into the pool on a regular basis.

Metrosideros 'Springfire' gets about 20' here, evergreen. Very attractive small tree. Good for privacy screening as the foliage is quite dense.

Arbutus unedo is old California classic, it does drop fruit (edible but not tasty) so you'd have to keep it away from the pavement. Evergreen. 'Marina' is often sold but that gets quite large though it takes decades.

The Bronze Loquat, Eriobotrya deflexa (not the fruit-producing E. japonica) is a good privacy screener also, evergreen. 15-25' but larger eventually with age, but takes pruning without a problem. Evergreen.

Wow! Thanks for the suggestions. Lots to ponder. FYI , I'm located in bakersfield, ca. for those in the know, it's very hot here and very dry. I think we average 2" of rain a year here.

I shopped some large olive trees, with fruit mind you, and average is 36" for 2k, 48" for 3k and a 60" for 4k. It's odd to me ouright prices are so high buy such is life I suppose.

The crape myrtle should have leaves for more time here since its hotter, correct?

Thanks

No the leafing out and dropping is dictated mostly by photoperiod (length of night in the case of plants) so pretty much the same anywhere. Large olives are popular with landscapers and the prices of trees escalate pretty quickly with that kind of size as they become much more difficult to dig, pot, move, etc. If you started with 24"s and watered them well for the first few years, you would get very quick growth, could shape and prune the way you wanted and then can cut the water way back. And yes, I know hot hot and dry you are there! And at 25', leaf drop won't be a significant problem.

Another good tree for you would be Parkinsonia 'Desert Museum' but it isn't going to screen anything - it's very open - but is super drought tolerant and blooms for months and is decorative in winter with its green trunks and branches. Also take a look at Chilopsis linearis. They could perhaps be planted in front of your screen.

There are many Acacia that might work - look at A. pravissima, A. covenyi, A. riceana. They are short-lived but that's in tree time, not human time. Some have really lovely sea-green foliage. They get a bad rap for allergy-inducing pollen but I've had people tell me that their pollen is actually relatively heavy so not airborne for long.

I suspect that palms are not in your thoughts and you may not care for them, but Brahea armata is a gorgeous blue-toned palm native to Mexico. It has very large fronds and is about as drought-tolerant as it gets. I've found that when I really want to use less water I have to shake myself from the England-Northeastern US aesthetic and start playing by new rules.

I'm interested to see what you choose as we're all in a new world with water and heat and it's a big experiment. As natives struggle, we are even moving away from the mantra that natives are logical choices.

The electric writes are a problem but the other are not.

==>>> interesting comment ... i never thought that only one utility clears lines .... i dont know.. just never thought of it this way ...

ken

Sara- great info. you are correct, palms are not my thing! I agree that using minimal water is important, I am just finishing up my front yard. In the front yard I removed 4000sf of grass and went completely turf free. 180 plants later and I'm happy. I am intrigued by your suggestion of chilopsis. Looks great but I wish it was evergreen. The same is true for the Palo Verde.

Is it pretty much universal for deciduous trees to have coverage for 8ish months?

How fast can I expect a 24" olive to hit 15ft? I was under the impression it would take like 10 years?

Ken

I was told that pge has to work the electric lines for safety. In fact, they will enter your yard freely to trim your trees and to say the least they aren't kind to the plants. The cable lines can be trimmed around by me so different story there.

My olives hit 15' in way less than that. Maybe five years or so. They did not develop significant trunks until maybe 8-10 years. I planted mine to block the view of the neighbor's house and I was not disappointed.

My most successful screenings have involved several layers - a lattice-type fence that allows light to penetrate and doesn't look so unfriendly, then groupings of plants planted right in front of the fence then move out 15-20' with another layer. The 'front' layer could be the non-evergreens. By layering you get depth, texture and less of a hostile barrier.

Good to know. I'm thinking I should shop smaller fruitless olives and see what I come up with.

I will report back

Thanks!

Here's one of my olives - this was taken in January 2016. The tree was planted in summer of 2001 as a 24" box. You can't see the top of the crown and I had the crown trimmed back last summer, which took 3-4' off. The second photo was taken in 2001, shortly after planting.

"Best trees to plant near swimming pools"

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A86.J7vUD0dYXUUAr5cPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTBzdHZpaXZrBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNyZWw-?p=best+trees+to+plant+near+swimming+pools&type=osf01s1&hspart=avast&hsimp=yhs-brwsr001&ei=UTF-8&fr2=rs-top&fr=yhs-avast-brwsr001

10 Messy Plants You Don't Want Near The Pool

When it's time for the acacia to release its flower clusters, they spread—all over your yard and into your pool.

If you must have an acacia, plant it in the front yard and hope a mighty wind doesn't blow around the time of pod and flower drop.

"The little tiny flowers [of Crape Myrtle] fill the pool surface with brightly colored debris.

It clogs the skimmers and when it sinks it's so small a pressure-side cleaner won't pick it up most of the time," says Brian Alan Shirley, owner of Abracadabra Pool Technologies in the Decatur, Georgia, region

http://poolandpatio.about.com/od/patiolandsaping/ss/10-Messy-Plants-You-Dont-Want-Near-the-Pool.htm

Have you considered Spanish Cork Oak? Fairly good drought tolerance and has remarkable looking bark, it's where cork comes from.

Acacia blooms in January, when it's about 45 degrees in Bakersfield. The pool is probably covered! Not sure what's going on in Georgia, but it's not relevant to So CA. If you Google 'Acacia tree pool' you get about 25 sites that are all in the US SW and list Acacia as one of the best trees for poolside. I've grown many Acacia for years and the litter is insignificant.

Good point. California is very different from the rest of the US. So, you might want to look into some West Cooast species.

Strict Weeper Alaska Cypress? Fernleaf Catalina Ironwood?

Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber? Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber? Desert Willow Chilopsis ?

The guy in Georgia was talking about Crape Myrtle. Not that it matters where a swimming pool that has trees dropping small parts in it is located geographically. Same kind of tree, same headache.

When it's time for the acacia to release its flower clusters, they spread—all over your yard and into your pool.

If you must have an acacia, plant it in the front yard and hope a mighty wind doesn't blow around the time of pod and flower drop.

That's part of the quote that you provided.

Notice that the part where the guy from Georgia starts talking about the Crape Myrtle is differentiated by being presented within double quotes.

And clicking on the associated link, progressing through 10 Messy Plants you would have seen that the remarks about the Acacia and the Crape Myrtle were on the separate pages devoted to each tree.

If genus Acacia holds promise, I shouldn't doubt Cassia does too. But I'm no Cali expert....not even a beginner really.

Sarah- Love your landscaping. That 24" box sure has grown. I need to go see what is offered here locally. I'm skeptical that a 24" box will do it for me since I'm anxious to fill that area. This is my first pool so I'm still learning, but I actually don't cover it in winter.

Embrothrium- Good info. The mess plus being deciduous probably kills the crape myrtle for me.

Parker- I like that tree but I'm thinking oak is a no no due to the pool.

Wisconsin Tom - cassia looks great. It seems lIke there is an evergreen and deciduous variety? Tolerant to 20 for is borderline here. Also appears to be fast growing. I need to look for one when next I find myself in a nursery.

Well after looking and looking I've purchased another arbutus. My others are singles and this one is a multi with a nice shape. It looks great and I'm very happy. Thanks for the help everyone!