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

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).

I am really leaning toward removing the one in the front yard for sure, but the one in the back yard is so large it would definitely cost a pretty penny to have removed. So it will get a reprieve for now while I attack the Brazilian peppers trying to get a foothold back there. I do have some cardinals I see every year and I love those birds so I will consider planting a red bay should I remove the camphor in the back yard. I have never seen berries on the one in the front yard, maybe it takes a while for them to fruit? So I don't think the cardinals would mind if I removed that one. I kind of have my heart set on some sort of fruit tree for the front yard and I don't have much space anywhere else for a tree. The big camphor shares the back yard with a good sized loquat. I don't think any other tree could get enough sun back there. I guess I could put a red bay in the front and then when I can get the other camphor removed I can put my fruit tree in the back yard. The camphor takes up so much room that I might be able to get two fruit trees back there. I am a tree hugger and the idea of cutting down trees does bother me but I have seen what that darned punk tree has done to this state (and me, they really set off my asthma) and I don't want to contribute to helping another invasive tree. I do actually like the smell of the camphor but I don't think that's enough reason to keep it. Hey, I wonder if I could grow one bonsai size? ; ) Thanks for all the responses, You've given me some more to think about.

@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).