Hey, with all our collective knowledge, perhaps one of us knows a bit on trees?
I'd like something that grows about 20-30 ft, and is hardy and stable in wind storms. I take that to mean slow growing and deep rooted. Apple maybe? Area is Norfolk, Virginia for growing specs.
BTW, woke up this morning to find my flowering pear (about 35-40ft) laying across the front of the house. Appears to have only damaged a gutter. Tree service enroute. Big windstorm sheered it in half. They'll have to take the rest out I am sure due to the way the trunk is split to the core about 1 foot up from the ground. Pretty thing but wasn't a wise choice for this area.
You're probably too used to them to appreciate their beauty, but this NY'er was stationed at Yorktown in 1971-2 & I can still smell and see the Dogwoods along the highway between Norfolk & Yorktown. [I-70?]
Too cold up here to grow them.
The Dogwoods do their flowering thing in the spring, but give you shade the rest of the year.
If you want something more, Almonds give a nice pink burst in the spring and nuts in fall.
Your local co-operative extension ought to have more ideas. Give the Norfolk Botanical garden a cal [and a walk through], too.
Most oaks, sugar, red & silver maple, ash, hickory, sycamore, long leaf pine. All too big for you; OTOH, they grow slowly. Red cedar is wind resistant, size OK? Dogwood and holly too. Redbud would work.
Just don't plant the tree close enough to your house to be a hazard. Even slow-growing trees can develop diseases or rot that will make them more likely to fall.
Down there you have a lot of choices. If you're looking for an ornamental, besides the old standards of dogwood or redbud already mentioned, there many choices in flowering plums/cherries/et al.
I'd suggest contacting a good nursery (not just what the Borg has on the lot from the mass growers) and get some recommendations and see what they have that you're not familiar with.
A semi-dwarf fruit tree could be a choice; to produce fruit you'll need to choose something that is self-pollinating, of course, if you stick w/ only one specimen.
Hi skeeter! Sorry, didn't give much info there did I?
Zone 7 (although I'm on the line to a warmer set). Looking specifically for a well rooted sort (fast growing generally not recommended), prefer deep roots as opposed to spreading lateral ones. The yards here are small, general city sized plots that we measure by the number of yards, not acres ;-)
I have been eyeballing apple tree types in google as the tree fellow said they were unlikely to cause problems here (but have to plant in pairs to get fruit). I also asked about dogwood but they have to be planted in shade and the spot we have open between sewer lines and such isn't in shade.
I have a 50ft if that, run of grass between house and street and overhead power/utility lines along the street and across the other side of the yard.
I do not mind if it takes a long time to hit 25 feet. I'd prefer one that has more canopy and less lower branches. I'd love it if self pollinating and gave back nuts or fruit. Yeah, I want it all ;-) I have time to decide and ask for advice.
Holly no problem. We've tried to kill that thing several times. You can not kill them. They are the engerizer bunny of 'short bushes' here. We have it trimmed to 5ft tall.
Yeah, we have all the maple, ash, hickory, oak, and pine here. It's kinda like a forrest. The oak tree is technically my neighbors (6 inches on his side) and shades my garage and car. Hickory behind me in neighbors yard shades the back of my house.
It was U.S. 60, and the tunnel felt mighty good on a motorcycle in summer clothes in January.
Yorktown was a milestone in Marine Corps history. In 1781 the entire British Army unwittingly ambushed Anthony Wayne's 800 men at Green Spring. The spears carried by him and his officers should have alerted Cornwallis that these were the Americans the British had been trying to avoid for the last four years. Wayne attacked with bayonets, and the British fled by sea to Yorktown.
Wayne was brought back in 1791, after a defeat three times worse than the Little Bighorn virtually wiped out the U.S. Army. He trained a highly professional army that easily defeated the Indians and the British. The he died of poisoning and politicians ruined his army.
In the Revolution, Marines had been recruited with the promise of lemonade. They weren't issued uniforms. They were disbanded in 1783. A new Marine Corps was started in 1798. Some of Wayne's troops saw this as a chance to bring back Wayne's traditions. They even got the dress blue uniforms designed by Wayne. Regimental landing teams are organized like Wayne's legions. The Marine Corps was soon legendary.
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Nineteen species on the Cornell Campus, several of them native.
I have two. The 20-year-old is 15 feet high. The 80-year-old is 30 feet high. The shaded areas are small and last about 6 months.
I love redbuds - not as large, I believe, as what you seek. Also in the small growth - perhaps too small - is rose of sharon. My son has one, full sun, and there are hummingbirds on it all the time. They can be white or pink. A very popular small tree here in Florida is crape myrtle, which can be white, light pink, deep lilac pink. Pretty trouble/care free, as far as I know.
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I love cherry trees, but my son's cherry tree is cleaned out yearly by a colony of racoons....fun to watch them sneaking in, along with the deer that much on the raspberries right next to it.
Another source of information is your local agricultural extension service office. They are not just for farmers - they generally have expertise on all things plants. -- H
Apple is a good choice, although they can be messy and sucker like crazy. Bradford pears are about the worse tree for branches breaking, to blooms stink, yet they are very popular.
What kind of soil? Acid or alkaline? Hours of light? Moisture? From these facts, select the tree or bush that likes those conditions and your tree will be a healthy one without much fuss. Avoid those that might grow into your plumbing or produce surface roots. Make a $100 hole for a $20 tree. Now is a good time of year to plant.
I'd go for the Dogwood. I believe they put down a strong tap root and have never seen one blown over. They do need sun and appear to be more insect and fungus resistant than other flowering type trees (cherry and plum) that I've tried. Also leaves are small and there is not much to clean up in the fall. They are an edge type tree and too much shade will kill them.
There a lovely one too! I'm the northern edge of them but I see plenty about. I already have a rose of sharon in the far corner. Not very big yet, more like a bush but a pretty one.
I like the apple tree looks. It's growing on us here. I could easily grow a maple BTW. The sprout all over the place and we are constantly taking them out. I've got a 12 inch or so one that took over a planter (used to have catnip). Been just watching it this past summer.
Getting lots of good ideas here to look over!
Yup, this weekend, we are going to one of the better 'plant places' (not a big-box, a regular place that does only plants) and select one. It should for this area, be planted in the next 3 weeks for best effect.
Hours of light, as long as the sun is up. Naturally reasonably watered. The reason the flowering pear fell over, was it's about a perfect growing spot so even for a fast growth tree, this one got too big for it's britches. The tree guy who took it out said i'd easily grow a lovely maple (and several other sorts) of 100ft there. He said oak, cedar, elm, chestnut, hawthorn, maple, etc would glomer all over that spot. Dogwood was about the only thing he said wouldnt be optimal (sob!) as it's got too much sun and they like partial shade.
I am tossing back and forth ideas now. Looking at dual semi-dwarf apple trees (so they cross-pollenate) or a redbud. I don't want 'big' and the worries of it falling in a hurricane. Nor do I want a 'bush' (though it will take time to get big). I like the idea of one that gives off potential edibles.
I have a Cleveland Select Flowering Pear. Years ago the city put in the Bradford Pear for street trees. The Cleveland is a superior tree for ice/snow & wind, compared to the Bradford. You can see the difference in my tree & what the city put in. The Bradford's should really be taken down, they keep breaking. I "assume" you had a Bradford?
Also have 3 Crimson King Maples, these are a very slow growing tree, and I love the color of them. However, the Crimson doesn't have the vibrant colors in the fall, like other maples. In fact, they are pretty ugly in the fall. The Autumn Blaze Maple is a nice looking tree in the fall, but has a much faster growth than the Crimson. The Sunset Maple is another maple worth looking at, with fantastic fall color, but may be too large for you. I have a Silver Maple, which I must take down. These are a very quick growing tree, but split very easily in high winds and just about under all conditions. I would not plant another one of these.
I have an American Redbud, which is really nice when in bloom. It's a choice worth looking at.
Also have a Purple Leaf Plum (none fruit bearing), which I keep pruned back. These produce a nice colorful bloom in the spring. But, the Japanese Beetles love the sweet purple leaf. This replaced a Kousa Dogwood, which died off.
My apple tree...I'm not crazy about, but the deer sure love it. I just took out a Weeping Cherry (none fruit bearing), which produces a nice colorful bloom in the spring. It would be a great tree to have, if you can grow it in a corner or flowerbed. Mowing around it became a real pain. I had it in my front yard, and always got compliments on it, neighbors thought I was crazy for cutting it down. But, they didn't have to deal with it.
All my trees were from a 2" to 2-1/2" caliber when planted, except the Silver Maple which was planted from a seed.
Yup. Lovely thing. Come spring, people would stop cars just to glance at it as they drove by.
Humm! Another to check and thanks!
Not a good deal here. Silver maple are a good bit of the saplings we find weeding out of our container garden and other spots. Cedar too. Found 3 cedars in the lettuce container garden box. Oh, if I want a dogwood, I just have to plant it partly under the oak tree.
This or tandem apples is where we seem to be centering.
Too much sun for the dogwood? Out in nature in Virginia, they grow wild all over, but always under the canopy of a larger hardwood.
Issues were suckers I gather?
Snicker, seedling maples, oaks, cedar and hawthorn I can snag from my own yard. In fact, I'll probably have to weed them away from the open dirt where the flowering (Bradford) pear was come spring.
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