Tree recommendations

[Patrick]

Hi guys.

I recently lost a Jacaranda due to underground root problems but that's beside the point.

I'm looking for a new tree to put in it's place but I've got a few specific requirements which may narrow down my choices quite dramatically.

The tree I need is going to be near a pond where fish live, I was frustrated before with the Jacaranda because it dropped all those teeny tiny leaves each year and made maintenance on the pond tiresome- so the first requirement for the tree is that it's not too messy.

The second requirement is that it can take the dirt I've got- it's pretty clay-ey but I'm amending things slowly.

Next is that the neighbors overwater the entire area. The tree has to be okay with a lot of water at times.

I don't want the tree to get too big- maybe 20 feet tall and as wide. I would prefer an umbrella canopy to shelter the pond.

That's all I've got. Any suggestions? Thanks for any help in advance.

Patrick

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Michalea Champaca Alba...Euc Deglupta...Tupidantus(variegated if you can)

[MattyB]

Look into Inga Edulis (Ice Cream Bean Tree).  This tree rocks!  I think it's evergreen so it won't be dropping leaves into your pond.  Ask Matt in SD about it.

[iwan]

A nice big red Abysinian banana or grouping.  Unfortunately, the leaves will burn off in winter, but otherwise impressive.

[BigFrond]

Michalia Champaca is nice but it will shed leaves throughout the year.  However, the leaves are big and there are not many of them.  This is a nice tree for the pond but the branching is not ver great.

Hong Kong Orchid tree (not orchid tree) is very nice.  It has nice flowers and branches.  This tree will lose leaves just like the Michalia throughout the year.  However, the leaves are big and not too many of them.

Sausage tree is very nice for the area.  This tree doesn't have too many leaves but it has very nice branches.

[LJG]

Like Steve mentioned, Tupidanthus calyptratus makes a great choice and this would be my first selection. They are easy to control and very tropical.

Want something that grows large? Can you grow Carrotwood (Cupaniopsis anacardioides)? I put one in over our Koi Pond. They are tropical looking, ever green and easy to shape. I know our Florida members will hate them, but in CA they make nice trees.

Also, what about Camphor Tree (Cinnamomum camphora). These are rather slow growing and can be shaped nicely too. Roots can be an issue, but I do not find the tree messy.

[bahia]

I don't think that some of these recommended trees will work in your Oakley location, which will tend to freeze both Tupidanthus and Michelia.  You might want to consider some large leafed evergreen/small canopy trees such as Eriobotrya deflexa or E. japonica, or Raphiolepis 'Majestic Beauty'.  Even though they will still drop some foliage year round, it is easier to fish large leaves out of the pond than small ones...  All of these may also appreciate being planted up on a slight mound if the soil is staying to wet from neighbor's overwatering.

[Fouquieria]

What about Tabebuia impetiginosa or Tabebuia chrysotricha?  

They lose their leaves briefly in the Spring but aren't what I would consider messy trees.  They don't have invasive roots and they don't get big.  One has rasberry/purple flowers and the other has bright yellow flowers.  The impetiginosa takes a number of years before it gets to blooming size, the chrysotricha blooms young.

Neither however, has an umbrella/canopy shape.

-Ron-

[bahia]

Both these species of Tabebuia have done pretty well at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, and do bloom here, but the flowers are not so ideal if they aren't somewhat windsheltered, as they are so fragile, and bloom relatively early in the spring,(March/April), that high winds and rains can ruin the flowers here in northern California.  They probably bloom more profusely in Walnut Creek than they do here by the bayshore, as they prefer some late winter/early spring heat to bloom their best.

[DoomsDave]

I think, based on what you said, that a tupidanthus, or something like it would work best for this use.

Michelias as lovely as they are, drop flowers and fruit.  I'd try to find a home for one -- they're used to make Chanel No. 5 and Joy perfumes -- but away from your pond.

Big leaves are much much easier to deal with, definitely.  Tupies will give you that tropical look, if that's what you want and I sense you do.

Tabubeias tend to get trashed in March rainstorms, but if not, they're truly glorious, but they'll also make a mess in your pond.  Flowers are much much harder to deal with than leaves, since they're so filmy and flimsy.

Let us know what you do go with.

dave

[DoomsDave]

(bahia @ Dec. 30 2006,16:14)

QUOTE

Both these species of Tabebuia have done pretty well at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, and do bloom here, but the flowers are not so ideal if they aren't somewhat windsheltered, as they are so fragile, and bloom relatively early in the spring,(March/April), that high winds and rains can ruin the flowers here in northern California.  They probably bloom more profusely in Walnut Creek than they do here by the bayshore, as they prefer some late winter/early spring heat to bloom their best.

bahia:

Nice to meet you!

Hmm.  I see you live in Berserkely.  Went up there in the spring of 2000 and was blown away.  All the rhododendrons, and that warm air off the bay.

HOpe you post some pics of the place!

ANd, happy new year!

dave

[bahia]

Dave in La Habra,

I don't mean to hijack this thread on canopy trees for Oakley, but I really don't think Tupidanthus calyptratus/Schefflera pueckleri will be fully hardy out in the open this far inland.  I had mine frozen back to the ground at 25F in the December 1989 freeze, and again when it was older and had more substantial trunks, in December of 1998, 3 inch diameter trunks survived, less diameter trunks were killed.  As Oakley can be expected to get this cold every few winters, neither Jacaranda or Tupidanthus are good candidates for permanent trees there.

Thanks for the welcome, and I do live in Berkeley, going on 17 years now.  It must have been some unusual weather we had for you to describe breezes off the bay as being warm and balmy!  I prefer the offshore breezes myself, it is usually warmer then, and heat is something we hardly ever get around here.

As to photos, I am not digital yet, nor do I have a slide scanner, so I can't really post any, but I can give you a link to a garden I designed and installed in nearby Albany, that was published in the November 2006 issue of Sunset Magazine.  I wish they had taken more pictures of some of the more tropical looking parts of the garden, like the Heliconias, the Tibouchina organensis, and the Delostoma rosea which is still blooming here,(just a little), in early January.  The link for this is :

www.sunset.com

Go to the November 2006 issue, and the article was labeled as "Vibrant Retreat" starting on page 51.

Also, if you get Fine Gardening magazine, i have an article in their January/February 2007 issue on less commonly grown subtropicals for northern California, page 70, under "Regional Reports: Plants I didn't think I could grow/ California".  That title is a bit of a misnomer, it would be more realistic to say, "I wasn't sure if I could get them to *bloom* here.  It was abit difficult to winnow this down to 4 plants only, and as I look at the photos, I must have been in a red/purple/rose pink mood!

I probably grow more bromeliads and succulents in my gardens than palms and true subtropicals, but am starting to use more palms as well.  This last garden featured in Sunset has several 24" box  Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Howea forsteriana, smaller Chamaerops humilis v. ceracifera, and Chamaedorea tepejilote, and some Trachycarpus wagnerianus, all sourced locally here from Gary Gragg at Golden Gate Palms in Richmond.

Let's hope we don't have a whole lot more freezes this winter!

David/Bahia

[John Case]

(Patrick @ Dec. 24 2006,18:12)

QUOTE

Hi guys.

I recently lost a Jacaranda due to underground root problems but that's beside the point.

I'm looking for a new tree to put in it's place but I've got a few specific requirements which may narrow down my choices quite dramatically.

The tree I need is going to be near a pond where fish live, I was frustrated before with the Jacaranda because it dropped all those teeny tiny leaves each year and made maintenance on the pond tiresome- so the first requirement for the tree is that it's not too messy.

The second requirement is that it can take the dirt I've got- it's pretty clay-ey but I'm amending things slowly.

Next is that the neighbors overwater the entire area. The tree has to be okay with a lot of water at times.

I don't want the tree to get too big- maybe 20 feet tall and as wide. I would prefer an umbrella canopy to shelter the pond.

That's all I've got. Any suggestions? Thanks for any help in advance.

Patrick

Patrick,

Have you considered a clumping bamboo? There are a ton of these that are really atractive, handle the water, and have the 'tropical' look.

A little care in planting with a border around the bed that is deep enough to limit the clump would give you a nice look, IMHO.

Good luck!

John Case