What to plant?

I am new at gardening in central N.C. and need some suggestions. I want to plant a tree that gets tall and does not have a large canopy for my front yard which faces west. The yard is small and we need some shade for afternoons. It can be deciduous and even bloom maybe. The soil is hard to dig in so I have been making raised beds for some flowers. Do any of you have a suggestion for a tree? I don't won't to plant something I will regret later. TIA

Bradford Pear trees are very popular here in SC - they grow easy & upright, flowering first thing in the spring. In fact, I'm taking an ugly variety out of my yard to put in a Mimosa tree.

Bradford pear trees are beautiful when blooming. However, I've heard they can become overwhelming especially on a small lot. Where are you getting a mimosa tree? In Florida, they're not sold because they're considered invasive. I've seen lots of mimosa trees growing wild by the side of the roads in N.C. Do nurseries sell them here?

I bought 3 from eBay - 3-5' tall @ $3.25 each - not bad!! ( http://stores.ebay.com/Lees-Nursery ) I get most of my plants from eBay at a much lower price than I would at the nurseries, and I get stuff I can't get at my local nurseries.

I don't like upright trees myself, unless they're the very old & very tall gorgeous trees that I can never hope to grow in my yard (my house backs to the woods with those kinds of trees, tho). I prefer the canopy & weeping ones for landscaping, so Mimosa's fit right in. I've put off buying them because I heard they were invasive, but they are so beautiful to me, I decided to go ahead & risk it.

I've been watching them all around this area, especially the wild ones. I don't see young Mimosas anywhere around them which is why I decided to risk it.

Just some things i have learned around this area:
The Bradford Pears around here are considered fragile unless you buy the right variety , agh memory... the spots where new branches come out become weak as the tree ages and they tend to break in winds, snow, freezing rains - I am not sure which ones are good though. As for Mimosa's you are correct you can find them on the side of the road here but most of those are invasive, you need to find one that is not invasive to the area and wont take over. At my dad's house he pulls them up all day long due his neighbors tree, but my mom has one and has never had any babies... different varieties.

Good nurseries will know the ones to avoid if you ask, some of the really good ones wont even sell them...

Good luck!

I was asking the same questions awhile back .. you might want to check out the thread. It lists some good candidates.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/841174/

X

I appreciate everyone's responses; great information. Does anyone have experience with or know about the following trees: Goldenraintree, saucer magnolia, Smoketree, Carolina Silverbell, Serviceberry.? These seem appealing according to the Arborday org.

There are wonderful and varied types of deciduous magnolias. Lots of them are multitrunked and can be shrublike if not pruned into tree shapes. Colors vary from pinks to white, and some yellows. I love them and so do the birds.

I would stay away from Bradford Pear.It is not a native tree and in my opinion is only beautiful when in bloom.There are so many beautiful trees you can grow here in the Carolinas.

I agree with the above post that the magnolias fall into this category.

I would concur on the stay away from Bradford Pears. I'm sure North Carolina has an extension service with lots of information, but I'm not familiar with it, so I'll direct you to Clemson extension where you can look at information on a lot of the trees you're interested in:
http://hgic.clemson.edu/plants.htm#1.1

I think serviceberry is great, it has berries the birds love it, it's grown for it's flowers, bark and fall color. It's also got a great history. It's called serviceberry because it blooms about the time the grounds thaws further north when it's time to hold "services" and bury the people that died over winter. There are lots of different types to choose from.

Smoketree is gorgeous, I like the Royal Purple variety.

Bev is right, there are many lovely magnolias to choose from. Watch out, though, some can be huge!

Forest Pansy Redbud should do well in your area.

SCNewbie wrote;"I've been watching them all around this area, especially the wild ones. I don't see young Mimosas anywhere around them which is why I decided to risk it."

Hop over the river and come see me. I've found 7 (I think) "new" ones this year, and that's without looking for them. They're quite a distance from the wild ones in the woods. Had I known you wanted them, I would have delivered a couple.....*G*.

In Raleigh we have a Japenese <--msp Maple. Not knowing exactly how central you are I am afraid to guess to much. NC varies from one central location to the other.

Lavina

This message was edited Jul 15, 2008 1:51 PM

This message was edited Jul 17, 2008 11:57 AM

Well, durn! After I bought & paid for them and all! hehehe

How ya doing, Catmad? Haven't seen you here in a while.

I'm doing pretty well, how 'bout yourself? I've been hanging out among the Vegetables :). Not such a good year for them, but I'm hoping it will be better for the fall planting (which I'm starting today, I hope).

I've got Tulip trees as well, if you're interested I could try to dig them? I never would have thought it, but I saw 3-4 footers at KMart yesterday for $19.99. Or Oak tree seedlings. Got two different kinds. Hundreds of them.....

I'm not offering the volunteer Redbuds *G*

LOL Thanks, but that's ok. ;) My veggies aren't doing so great either, with this freaking drought. I started late & it's my first year, so that doesn't help either. lol I restarted some tomatoes in containers last week, but I won't start my fall veggies until next month - is that right? That's what my brother told me & he's been down here gardening for 10 yrs now.

Barberry I have Golden rain tree it has been kind of a slow grower, but I also have not pampered it, and the bloom time is pretty short, Look into a Yoshino Cherry I love mine, has pretty bark, bloom time is pretty long, has a light pink blossom, I to would stay away from Bradford Pear you will end up with just 1/2 a tree somewhere down the road from heavy winds or snow loads, I also like my Star Magnolia but it is more like a bush and wouldn't be very apealing through different seasons !

I'm still planting beans and squash, but yes, the cool weather stuff will be next month. Broccoli, turnips, all the cole crops, and I'll be putting in peas since they didn't make it this spring. I was late, too....:)

Why is only 1/2 my message showing up and when I try to edit the whole thing is there?

Lavina