Buying a Tree - Need Advice

I hate the sweetgum balls, my neighbor at my old house had a big old sweetgum in her front yard and my gutters and gardens were always filled with those stupid balls. So if you want your neighbors to like you, don't plant one! LOL

too warm for lilacs ?

Some good suggestions .. but I really don't want anything that drops anything other than leaves and flowers .. sweet gum and going barefoot like I do is not a good combination!

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There is a fruitless variety Sweet Gum.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55585/

If you choose a tree on the SC state list, and you meet the soil, light and space conditions for that choice, you are pretty much guaranteed success with no unwanted surprises.

Waaaay too tall .. says it can get up to 100 feet. The reason I want a shorter, less robust tree is because it won't kill the house if it falls over in a hurricane.

The Yoshino Cherry, is probably the tree I'm going to get. Plant files says best to plant in Fall so I'll have all Summer to get rid of the mound/mulch and get some grass growing. It will also give me some time to see if I can find a good size sapling.

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Now that you are nearing a decision, are you familiar with Vitex (identified locally as Chaste Lilac)? It won't reach the height you have chosen, but it will fill a space quickly, and it has great purple spikes for quite awhile. Our city uses them extensively, and people are pleased by them. Perhaps two trees would fill the bill. LOL. It's been interesting to follow this thread. I wish you well.

Vitex are pretty shrubby but can be an attractive tree. They do tend to proliferate seedlings. I had several of them in NM and they were great so far as drought resistance and the like but did require a fair amount of attention.

You should be able to find a fairly large caliper Yoshino for a reasonable price and I would guess that you will be very happy with it. The last one I bought (about 3 years ago) was about a hundred bucks for a four inch caliper delivered. I had to dig the hole and plant it. Make sure it gets fairly even sun exposure or it can show a tendency towards positive photoropism in its growth.

Roger

I just got a Yoshino. I like it a lot so far. Someone sent me a pic of theirs. It's beautiful even through the summer.

OK I had another idea: Heptacodium, or Seven Sons flower:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2036/
I planted one and it is fast growing and has interesting bark in the winter. It is not as showy in bloom as I had imagined but is quite a nice tree that should grow well for you since I have had success.

This is the only pic I have, from last year, which doesn't do it justice as far as the pretty arching form and peeling bark:

Would there be a reason why a magnolia would not fit the bill? I have a magnolia acuminata in my front yard, it is currently about 7' tall, in its second year in my yard. It is said to grow 2-3' a year when established, mine grew 10-14" last year. It has inconspicuous yellow or green flowers, and there is small fruit in the fall but supposedly the birds eat them all (mine is too small to have fruit yet).

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1678/

Elizabeth

Magnolia .. hmm .. they are messy, messy trees. Did you know that the magnolia is of an ancient genus? They evolved even before bees came into being. There are fossil records of magnolia dating back over 20 million years ago. I love the scent of the flowers and the trees are beautiful, but they are a mess when they start dropping leaves and seeds.

I've made my decision on the cherry .. since it's best to plant them in the late fall, I will have plenty of time to prepare the ground for it.

Thanks to all for your suggestions!

X

Magnolias don't seem to be messy around here (no more so than other trees), maybe it is different so far south.

Yup, I did know they are ancient...their flowers were designed to be polinated by beatles, because there were no bees : )

I have a dwarf weeping cherry and love it. Please post a picture after you get your new tree planted!

Here in the south, towering magnolias are quite common. The dropped leaves are hard and sharp and the red seeds and seed pods will trip you up if you don't watch where you are going.

Now I need to find a source for the cherry tree. The ones I've found so far are tiny saplings.
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