Thank you everyone! I think we will try the Burr Oak as I believe it tends to have more of a deep tap root than many lateral/surface roots I've read (state tree of my home state of Iowa too!). The City has recently planted them now in our parks & they seem to look good & don't think those curious acorns would be too much of a mess when they fall (our pecan dropped the nuts & the darn dogs learned to chew off the husk & eat the nutmeat & leave the sharp hulls on the lawn for me to walk on (barefoot)! We have a ?50 yr. old staghorn sumac that I love the shape, medium height, fall leaf colors... but, it sends out runners underground that I have to pull up when they come up & invade the lawn, flower beds, etc. It seems to be more of a decorative tree than a shade tree too. The pistache I've seen planted here locally are still young so don't know if I'd like them as they got bigger... but the fall colors are pretty! I do see that the redbuds of the neighbor's drop seeds that seem to germinate all too well ... not a 'plus'! So, given our altitude, cold, heat, arid climate ... I think you've helped us make the decision ... a burr oak!

For some trees in their first year in the ground always look bad but comes back looking much better next year (small size trees). Also, planting time does make a huge difference during the first year. Planting in fall/winter will give you much better looking tree compared to spring planting. Sometimes the tap water does funky stuff to the leaves when watered so if you use sprinkler system for the lawn, it's probably why. If you're worried about watering too much, look at the year of 2007 when Texas got a lot of rainfall. That happened to be such awesome year for tree growth. Must be something in the rainwater, eh? As far as getting rid of grass, I use round up to kill them then mulch over dead grass. I occasionally us RU whenever grass pops through the mulch. Annoying but that's Bermuda grass for you. It'd take nuclear weapon to get rid of it entirely. Throw in Montezuma Cypress... Pretty cool tree to have that will turn rustic red in the middle of the winter. Mine grew 4-5 ft in their first year. Shantung Maple 'Skinny Dragon' looks like it grew about 5 ft? Blaine's Dragon about 3-4 ft. Super Dragon got burned off unfortunately. I guess full brunt of afternoon sun was too much for lime green color leaves to handle... Or too much water since all the container trees were around it that needed daily watering in the summer. Who knows?

Hi All, Thanks for all the suggestions, and so quickly too! you guys are great! Q. marcocarpa - Thanks for the Oaks list, I'll be looking them up this weekend. Scotjute - you're right about rainfall and elevation. Town is not far away but also nearly 500' lower. I see alot more variety in the trees planted there, and the specimens look healthier, but that could be due to watering habits. I'm pretty good at sight-ID'ing eastern species but here I have to do my homework - ! On the property we do have what I think are Jerusalem Pines, scraggly fruitless Mulberry, and Pomegranete ... and they are surviving with watering, but nothing looks more than fair (desert's in a drought). The natives - the Josh's, Yucca's and ect. - and this green squash-vine thing are doing great (weeds always look great, think I'll keep it). I'd readily choose a native for the front if it would grow high enough to provide shade for the house. There is not much variety in what is locally planted, but I keep looking. They have the same pines I have, same dried-up looking oleanders, some nice Italian Cypress and shrub roses. Several neighbors grow stout, handsome Cottonwoods with great success - but I don't think I want those in my yard. *Sigh* (or are these the 'Mohave hybrid'? Something to look into...) At 25 ft. they are the tallest of the neighborhood trees. I think I have a Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) in the back yard too, maybe 15 ft. tall? There's a tiny picture of it in flower in one of my books, but I can't be sure if that's it. The place came with a nice assortment of trees and shrubs and we want to eventually relandscape in a way to favor native, or arid-loving selections. That's why I'm looking for an accent/shade tree first. Dibbit - Thanks for suggesting the listings at the Denver Gardens and High Country Gardens, I'll defineatly be looking them up. Too bad about the Pistache; my books fail to mention the invasiveness. Perhaps it depends on the variety? - S.

I'm not that concerned about the sidewalk and road, to be honest. As I mentioned, I would try to mitigate some of the damage with root barriers and deep watering, but if the sidewalk heaves in 25 years when the trees are 40 feet tall, I won't lose any sleep. I looked around the neighborhood to see what others are doing with this strip and it seems this house is the only one with a curb and gutter. In general, there are sidewalks, an unpaved area, then the asphalt street. Dan - in downtown Sacramento (aka City of Trees), the city routinely spreads DG around the base of new and established street trees. I'll probably do something like wood chips in the drip line and DG further out, assuming the trees are spaced 20' or so apart. For all the crape myrtle fans, sorry, but I'm not fond of those trees . The pink ones are on my list of most-hated plants. The flowers fall everywhere and blow around, then the seeds (which stain pavement). I'll admit they have a nice shape and the bark is attractive in the winter.