Hi Kelly. I have had a camphor tree in a 22" pot for about 3 years and it has done extremely well. I left it outside this last winter (the pot was way too big to move), which was a harsh winter for us here in Houston, TX and it survived just fine. I can't remember if the leaves fell off, I don't think they did, but it seems to be happy in the large pot I have it in. I also have a sassafrass tree in a pot and it has done well and I even got my very first ever spicebush swallowtails (10 of them!) on it this year. I have been using the leaves from the camphor tree along with the sassafrass and the cats seem happy enough with their menu. Mechelle

I strongly suggest you get rid of the tree. There are two camphor trees by my house. One is by the sidewalk up front of my home and the other is between my home and my neighbor's in the backyard. The tree in the back is mostly in my neighbor's property, but has grown onto my side by growing through the fence. Although these trees are beautiful, provide nice shade and have a nice scent, they are very messy with the dropping of leaves and seeds which sprout all over the place. The tree out front grows right into the power lines and is trimmed by the City (not often enough). Some branches grow towards my home and I have to cut them back because they can damage my roof. The tree in the back is near my pool and the seeds and leaves always end up in the pool. I try to trim those branches I can reach, but it just grows back too quickly. Both trees are huge so know that yours will not stay at 10 feet, and the three feet away you moved it to will not be far enough from your pool!

My suggestions: *Any fast or rapid growing, clumping bamboo *Paulownia Elongata, as for the rapid growth, large canopy, beautiful flowers, and ease of propagation by cuttings *Gumbo limbo, as for it's nativeness to Florida, fast growth, large trunk, large canopy, and ease of propagation by cuttings *Carrotwood for its medium-fast growth, large canopy, and ease of propagation by seed To propagate gumbo limbo trees, all you need is a 3 foot branch and stick it in the ground, water it every 1-2 days, and watch it grow! To propagate Paulownia Elongata, all you need is a cutting between buds where new leaves are about to appear, and stick it in a pot w/ potting soil inside, and watch it grow! This can also be done with large root cuttings. To propagate bamboo, split at the rhizome(s).

@grizzlysean_z9b There wasn't any heavy construction or anything like that. There was some painting and tile work where paint/mortar buckets were rinsed near the tree, but that's it. @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 I'm in Northern California in the Sacramento area. The winter here was very dry, as you may have heard, since we're in the midst of a drought. The summers here are notoriously hot, usually with plenty of days in the 90s/100s. Looking at pictures of this house from google street view though, this tree seems to have been somewhat thin for a while (or at least whenever the pictures were taken).