Down there a pear tree on a street is likely to be Pyrus kawakamii.

Geographical location?

Prunus of some sort?

Any flowers ever?

Pyrus kawakamii? Where is it growing?

ETA: Sorry, now I see this was cross-posted in CA gardening, so I assume CA.

Wow 16 hours. This thread took forever for the comments to post.

Same user name has posted multiple different questions about planted trees encountered in southern CA.

Thank you...I think that those of you who responded are right--It must be Pyrus kawakamii (evergreen pear). Embothrium--Thank you for your help. Just so that you know, we recently moved into a home with a big yard that is mostly dirt. I've seen many people who choose a small tree at a nursery and plant it only to realize that they made a big mistake--It's too big, it produces lots of litter, it has invasive roots, it's deciduous when it was planted for privacy, etc. etc. And unfortunately, the folks who work at the nurseries don't always know all of the information about a particular tree and sometimes the tags on the plants aren't even correct! I'm going to be planting a lot of trees over the next year or two and I don't want to waste time and money and so I'm trying to learn as much as I can so that I don't have to rely on the staff at the nurseries. I like to look at street trees because they are typically mature which gives me a good idea of how they fare in the local climate. There are a number of trees that aren't supposed to do well here and are not recommended for our zone but they do beautifully! I didn't think anyone really wanted to hear the explanation of why I'm asking for a lot of help with tree identification but since Embothrium seemed to take issue--I figured I'd throw it out there!

Embothrium seemed to take issue

What I remember is suggesting a couple times that you tour local arboreta and botanic gardens etc. to see what particular trees have done in these situations. And what ones you have seen elsewhere in the area might be, because unlike elsewhere such places often have signs and labeling. Or have offices where it can be asked what specific planted trees are.

As far as specimens you have shown here being mature actually all the ones I recall being shown have been comparatively young and small examples, not demonstrating full size potential - you are much more likely to see well developed ones in maintained and protected collections, that date back long periods of time. Than in commercial and residential developments of much more recent vintage, where trees may often also be subject to mal-pruning - the pear shown here for instance has clearly been subjected to arbitrary lopping back, resulting in an untidy pile of wandering branches. One that is actually quite a bit smaller than the tree's crown would have been otherwise. Lopping that probably occurred because of the tree's close proximity to pavement and parking. (Also there are a lot of people who think all decorative trees should be small lollipops - if not absent from the inhabited landscape entirely).

I think you might be underestimating the quality of information you are receiving at the nursery :-) Independent retail nurseries and garden centers - not the box stores or Costco, etc. - tend to have quite knowledgeble permanent staffs. Ask to speak with the tree buyer or horticulturist, not a seasonal employee that is just watering the plants. I also find chain locations - like Armstrong's - tend to be somewhat lacking in skill levels of their staff.

btw, CalPoly has a SelecTree data base that is excellent. Just put in your requirements and it will spit out various options, all well suited for your locale.

When I responded no other comments were showing.

Same as me. I saw the post after it had been up for 10 hours and I thought it was pretty clearly a Pyrus, but since no one had responded, I wanted to hedge my bets... what was I missing that everyone else saw.? A Houzz glitch.

Embothrium--I did actually take your advice and I went to the UCI Arboretum. Unfortunately, they have almost all native California and South African plants...And while I can appreciate these, it is not what I am looking for.

Re: SelecTree database...I have learned a lot using that! And most of the time, I am able to figure out which tree is which. But from time to time, I am stumped. And if I really like the look of a tree I want to see if I can find it and if it's appropriate for my garden. Some of the challenge in using Selectree is that easiest characteristics to identify to narrow down the search often lead me to the wrong tree. For example, the tree shape. That is something that is largely dependent on pruning. I might see an umbrella shaped tree and then search for umbrella shaped trees but not find it. Well, it might be that it was pruned in that shape and doesn't grow that way naturally! Likewise, many of the other characteristics are hard to specify or are quite subjective. Like the bark---is it rough or fissured? Dark brown or gray-brown? Very hard to tell!

Re: the local nursery employees. I don't buy things from Home Depot or Costco. And while I do buy from Armstrongs, I agree with gardengal's assessment of the staff. Village Nursery in Orange has some of the most knowledgeable staff I've found. But they aren't that close to my house and so I can't go running over there every time I can't identify a tree. So I have been very grateful for the advice I've received and I've been able to rule out and rule in many trees in this process.

All of this being said, I certainly didn't mean to bother people with my tree identification requests. My assumption was that if people enjoyed sharing their knowledge of trees and plants that they would respond, and if they didn't---well, then they just wouldn't respond.

I haven't seen anyone say they were bothered, that I rememeber. As for the one collection being all native species, the solution to that is to go to other collections in the area - natives only is not a universal approach among arboreta and botanic gardens at all, both in California and elsewhere.

Where are you? Plant Depot in SJC just off the 5 and Green Thumb in Lake Forest just off the 405 have skilled people that give pretty accurate advice. Village can be hit-and-miss. Sometimes they are so busy they can be abrupt. There's one in Fountain Valley, besides the one in Orange.

I’m in South OC. Green Thumb is a great nursery but imo the staff is hit or miss. I’ve been wanting to try the plant depot... I’m curious... do they sell big trees? Like really big ones over 15 feet?

You are better off planting a smaller tree as it will recover far more quickly than a large tree.

There are a number of trees that aren't supposed to do well here and are not recommended for our zone but they do beautifully!

katymayphd, could you elaborate on this? I live in south OC, and I'm curious which tree species you are referring to under this comment. Sometimes the zone problems listed for trees is not what might be expected--it is not always a cold hardiness issue.

For example, I am growing a weeping river birch ('Summer Cascade') "outside of zone". It is supposed to not be able to take the summer heat in good spirits, but it is placed beside a tiny lawn area and thrives. The problem we have though, is the temps don't drop low enough for it to drop leaves, and this tree is located at a major focal point. So every fall, after the leaves brown, we have to manually strip the tree of it's leaves. It is currently 8' tall and 9' wide and as much as we love it, that task is getting to be a bit much.

I agree with carol that a smaller-sized tree is often a better choice, and it will often overtake in size a planting that was larger in container. The growth characteristics for the particular species matters for this though; with some you are better off getting the smaller size, and with others it pays in time to go with the larger.

It's been awhile since I've been there but the Plant Depot is about the best retail nursery I've seen in OC. They typically carry trees in a range of sizes, depending on species. But as noted, larger to begin with is not always better :-)

And if you do not have a Sunset Western Garden book, you need to get one. That will provide much better detailed locational info than most websites or plant tags.

For boxed trees, you will likely find a much larger selection at Moon Valley Nurseries in Irvine. I cannot recommend that nursery for information or stock quality though, as I have yet to follow through on making a visit. But they have a larger amount of real estate and tout their boxed tree selection.

At the Plant Depot, be sure to check the area beyond the exit driveway. There is a section with many trees that is down the slope, and not really visible from the main part of the nursery. It is easy to miss.

information about tree size when planting :

https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/ct-sun-0709-garden-morton-20170705-story.html

gyr_falcon...re: the trees that seem to be growing here outside of their "zone"....I admit that I don't know much about the difference between the USDA zone and the Sunset zone, but I do know that from time to time I will be searching for a tree that I see down the street and and the online search engines and nurseries will show my zone as being "too hot" for the tree. Just a few examples...tulip trees, redbuds (of any variety) and several pine trees. I have even found certain types of pine trees being sold at Armstrongs that (if you look them up) shouldn't be planted in my zone. Not sure why they are selling them here but it makes things so confusing! For all of these reasons, it is difficult for a novice like me to just go to a nursery and buy a tree!

Love Moon Valley nursery but they are expensive. There's one tree that we are buying for privacy that we will buy from Moon Valley because it needs to be big. And I hear you...it's better to plant smaller trees. But we really need a big tree between us and some neighbors ASAP and so we are going to have to risk buying big. For the rest of the trees, size isn't such a big issue. Looking forward to checking out plant depot!

It is not a positive for a nursery to offered stock that is limited to just what grows well in the immediate vicinity. Many people living in the more rural areas drive hours to reach a decently stocked nursery. If you think about the climate zones within a few hours of the coast, the variety makes more sense.

If you don't want to disclose the species you have already decided upon, or are considering, that is fine. But providing information about the plusses and pitfalls of various trees can only be offered within the span of information you are willing to share.

katymay, I am not sure what you are looking at that is telling you that certain trees cannot be grown in your location. I am thinking that what you are seeing is just the USDA hardiness zone information, which is the standard way of rating plant hardiness......but ONLY winter cold hardiness! One often sees the USDA zones presented in a range for a given plant (eg. zones 5-8) which is a meaningless and confusing designation. If a plant will tolerate winter cold in zone 5, of course it will tolerate the mulch milder winter temps of any higher zones!! So feel free to pay NO attention to the upper USDA range "limit" as it has absolutey no bearing on how the plant will fair outside of winter conditions.

For that you need more localized information and that's why I suggested the Sunset Western Garden Book as the default resource for anyone living on the west coast and especially in CA, with its very wide range of climates. Sunset takes in all manner of other variables including geography, summer heat, drought or rainfall, humidity, winds, length of growing season, etc., that will have a major bearing on how any given plant will perform in your climate.

FWIW, virtually any redbud (Cercis species) will grow in your Sunset zone. As will the vast majority of pines and also tulip trees (both Liriodendron tulipifera - tulip poplar - or magnolias). You just have not been checking the right sources :-)

I’m definitely going to get the sunset book! It’s clear that I need to understand more of the basics and I actually didn’t know that about the USDA zones! I thought that if it wasn’t in my zone, that my zone was too hot for it!
Btw, I’m fine with disclosing the trees but I’m still thinking about it and there’s a bit of backstory...

We have a big yard that’s mostly dirt and a large number of dwarf fruit trees. While I love the fruit trees... there’s so many of them and they are inviting rodents into the garden. My plan is to remove some of the fruit trees and have them only in one section of the garden. Preferably far from the house!

But even before I do that, we have a different issue that is the priority. We are on a slope and we currently have little privacy from our uphill neighbors. So I want to plant a small-ish tree that can be kept under 30 feet. The tree must be evergreen, have very dense leaves, not be poisonous (we have dogs) and preferably something with an umbrella or round shape (either through trimming or naturally). The umbrella shape would provide maximum privacy from the neighbors but I’m not finding any trees that I love that meet all of the criteria and are umbrella shaped.

I’ve asked about a bunch of trees on this forum and I’ve ruled out many of them when I’ve gotten more information.
The ones I am still considering are: Bay Laurel (Saratoga because it grows wider), Carrot wood, and Cinnamomum camphor. These are the ones that meet most of the criteria and that I can get in a large size (over 15’) that would immediately fix the neighbor issue. I’m leaning toward the bay laurel because the other 2 are such common parking lot trees in SoCal and I suppose I want it to be somewhat unique.

But I’m still thinking about it and if anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate that!

This tree actually grows well in my zone but I am actually looking for a tree that has less conspicuous flowers. In the end, I chose the Bay Laurel "Saratoga". Its being planted today!