None of them would be good choices if you live near the artic circle, or at the equator. Without knowing something about where you might fall between those extremes, it's hard to offer much useful comment.
i live in Northern VA (zone 7-8 i believe). i'm a bit worried about the size (height) and if the roots are particularly invasive as they'll be near some concrete pavers that we'll be putting down.
LA's tend to think in terms of how the yard will look tomorrow, not in ten years (those with lesser skills, at least). They put potentially big trees where they will not fit when mature, squeeze three plants in where one mature one will be crowded, and sometimes choose plants that are more pretty than sustainable (due to soil issues, weather, or whatever). Perhaps it's not always a bad way to go--you can always thin out two plants later--but if you plant a big tree within 4' of your house you'll just be planting a lifetime's worth of headaches for yourself or any future residents.
On a related note, the quality of the installation is questionable for many tree transplants. Trees that are planted too deep, or with the burlap/wire basket intact, or with codominant leaders, or with girdling roots are nothing but income for removal companies and replacement plantings a few years down the road.
To improve your odds, learn a bit about choosing a good specimen and planting it correctly, and do it yourself or supervise those you hire (a year guarantee won't cut it when you're talking trees most of the time). Further, a sapling will be less prone to many of the common problems and will establish in the native soil quickly, and will overtake the larger, slower-to-establish trees within a few years, so save your money and get young trees.
See consumer info brochures on these and other tree topics at
it seems the birches are definitely too large for the area. can someone point me to the single trunk variety of the crape myrtle? i believe this is the species that is used around our town hall building and something that would fit the bill.
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Fallen leaves would be a reason I'd never have birch or holly near a pool. A single birch has literally millions of very small leaves, catkins and seeds, that's a lot of pool-vaccuuming and potential filter-blocking (compared with, say, a large-leafed magnolia). Holly leaf prickles are very painful for bare skin and feet, and don't fall into the mistake of thinking they don't shed leaves.
There must be pool-specialists who provide lists of recommended poolside plants, surely?
hi david, what would you recommend as an alternative to the laceleaf? this tree will be at the far end of our pool and considered sort of the "showcase" tree. i agree, something on the exotic side would be preferred here.
yep, got a few of those in the plan for the yard further out as they're quite large fully grown. was looking for something a bit smaller (20-30ft or so?). too bad citrus trees don't grow well here. a nice lemon or orange would be cool.
so my research has put me at replacing the 3 birches with
2 tibetan cherry (love that bark)
1 japanese snowbell
still haven't found a replacement for the jap maple at the far end of the pool. what variety of maple do people like here? i looked at the harry lauder walking stick but the foliage wasn't particularly attractive to me.
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