need help picking trees for backyard landscape. Have pictures

10 years ago

Hi I'm looking for some help deciding what trees to plant. I know we want 2 red push pistache and those are going to go where the X is on the drawing. The 2 middle trees are what I'm not sure of. We plan on a pool some day and I'm not sure I want deciduous trees in the winter but I cant find any good evergreen trees that the fiancé approves of ( she wants that green not desert look)

anyway local nursery is really pushing the sissoo tree and it sounds perfect other then all the bad root issues. Nursery said to deep infrequent water it and I would be fine.

I also have 2 Chinese elm trees I got as a gift in 24in boxes I think they may be a good choice there too.

other 3 trees I was considering were:

fan tex ash: same leaf drop issue as Chinese elm I already have?

ficus: frost issues and too much water?

southern live oak: nursery said there slow growing and messy?

couple notes were in Buckeye and its on a acre lot so lots of room (30 to 40ft spacing easily). closest tree would be 70 to 80 ft from pool so maybe leaf drop isn't an issue?

sorry for long thread first time poster, long time reader

trey_koile's ideas · More Info

trey_koile's ideas · More Info

trey_koile's ideas · More Info

Featured Answer

PRO

User

10 years ago

I do LOVE my red push pistache and I recommend them to many clients who want a beautiful shade tree. I do not think they are messy. Of course they go dormant so you need to be ok with no leaves in the winter. But each tree will act different depending on the temp where it is planted. I saw 2 today full of leaves! The pistache requires more water than our desert trees.

The difference with the citrus is that you will want to do deep watering often in the summertime. You must be careful though and make a well around the trunk as you do not want the citrus trunk to ever get wet. You also want to fertilize the citrus and be sure to paint the trunks in the spring so they do not get burnt in the summer.

I would stay away from the sissoos. Once you have them they will spread roots looking for water. If they reach grass you can bet on little babies popping up everywhere! I am an arborist and I cannot tell you how many we have removed in the past 5 years. Once removed none of the root system can have any water or sunlight or you will be sure to have babies everywhere.

You definitely have room for the swan hill olive (fruitless variety) and I agree that they are super clean. They will send suckers up at the base all the time and you will want to cut these back.

I really like the tipu tree also. It does get very large, has beautiful leaves and small yellow flowers. it will defoliate late winter and immediately send new leaves out again. Below is a baby and a close up of the leaves.

I was really glad to see you have the trees spaced far apart. So many times trees are planted too close and end up competing for sun. I hate removing trees for this reason. Good luck!

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Comments (10)

cwlucking
10 years ago
Holy moly, you have a beautiful blank-slate there! You're going to get a lot of suggestions that you plant fruit trees. My suggestion is this: Plant fruit trees. Good luck!
MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
10 years ago
What about a fruitless olive? I have one and like it, low litter and evergreen. Not super fast grower but a nice tree.
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t k
Original Author
10 years ago
That actually would be ok the fiance really wanted lemon and orange trees. Are they hard to grow here? I heard they can be a lot of work. Which type of lemon and orange should I go with
MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
10 years ago
Fruit trees, especially citrus, need a lot of water. And when they start producing, they can REALLY produce. Keeping up with the fruit 'drop' can be a lot of work, so you gotta love citrus. :-)

I made a lot of mistakes when I first started landscaping my house in 2004. Most of the mistakes were planting non-desert trees and shrubs and not keeping up with adequate watering. I do understand the fiancé wants a green look but, well, this *is* the desert. :-(

Here's an on-line copy of a booklet you can find for free at most nurseries: Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert
campv 8b AZ
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I would still plant a few fruit trees (2-3) and maybe a semi dwarf lime OR lemon. Be picky on what you choose and do some research. The rest I would stick with desert plantings( ref MaryMcP above) A trade off on the water as it may become very expensive in the years to come. One other thought you might want to consider raised veggie beds. Grow your own tomatoes, chilies, Zucchini etc. Camp Verde AZ
t k
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you guys for the suggestions. I should add I do plan to have a planter against the back wall it'll be roughly 40ft long. I think we will have a lemon an orange and a lime tree eventually I don't think those are going to be my main landscape trees though. I will look into the fruitless olive tree.

are sissoo trees really that bad if they have over 70ft from the nearest structure? I went driving and I seem to see a good amount of them in my area
Pumpkin (zone 10A)
10 years ago
The pistashe trees are big creators of leaf litter. Huge. Such a mess. I spent my childhood taking those leaves. Ugh! Go with an evergreen instead. Even an Australian bottle tree--still less of a mess than pistashe!

I highly recommend a few fruit trees, whether citrus, a low-chill apple or stone fruit. They taste wonderful and are nice trees. Regardless of what tree you get, you'll still have to water it and clean up after it. Why not get some tasty fruit in return?
haroldws
10 years ago
What is your water supply? Are you irrigated or will you have to run water to all those trees?
t k
Original Author
10 years ago
I'll have to run water. No irrigation yet but I am working on getting it.