hello... most trees produce litter of some sort. i do know that the mesquite can be quite messy. also they tend to have a shallow root system. i can't help you with the other trees. good luck.

Mesquites are messy. We have a chinese Pistache (Litensis) which is very litterfree and is evergreen. We needed a smallish tree to go in back of our pond, so we did some research to find litterfree types before we got the tree. This tree is quite interesting. It looks similar to an olive, but the leaves are smaller. Check it out. Another one that was recommended to us was Texas Ebony.

Thank you, port a bella. I had some doubts about mesquites, and the shallow root system means I would have to worry during windstorms, which is what finished off my acacia. I really hated the dropped strings and seed pods from that tree. They were so hard to clean up from the gravel, and my yard always looked messy.

Thank you, hokul. Chinese Pistache is on my list of approved trees. I'll check it out.

I would avoid the african sumac, unless you want the threes sprouting as weeks all over the neighborhood, (whereever there is a little water) The birds just spread that tree around.
Have you looked into a Palo Brea (from the palo verde family). It is one of my favorite, the litter is very little (some small seed pods that can be raked once a season) and the color of the trunk and the artistic branching is very stiking.

vicki

Old post, but in case anyone else should come across it like I have maybe they'll find my comment helpful. An earlier comment mentioned Texas Ebony...it is not litter free, it drops large bean-like seedpods.

and if someone else finds this Texas ebony also grows sloooooow