Look at fastigiates. People from your area can help you find a good tree with a fastigiate form.

Is Metrosideros (New Zealand Christmas tree) hardy there? Or maybe Corymbia ficifolia? They may be too tender for your region.

No, I definitely can wait until fall, but I'll need to submit which tree I will be planting to our HOA asap and I haven't decided lol cecily(7 VA)

I read that the Metrosideros (New Zealand Christmas tree) is destructive to sidewalks/sprinkler systems? Is that true? Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

Do either of these varieties come in pink/white colors? I'm not particularly fond of red.

Arbutus unedo - strawberry tree. Olive trees do well there I'm told.

Do crape myrtle grow well there. They make a ton of flowers for a long time and would be the right size for that spot

I think you should post this on the California Forum. Your climate is rather unique in North America; I would wanna grow something equally unique.

subtropix Thanks! I just posted over there as well.

Todd C I'm not sure about crepe myrtle, but I'm going to pay attention and see if there are any around. Our neighbor across the way actually has a strawberry tree and its very pretty. It's also evergreen. They have boxwoods and other v green plants along with a lawn so it looks very nice altogether. I am pulling out my lawn and putting in drought friendly perennials so I was thinking that maybe an evergreen tree would look out of place?

Crape Myrtles need HEAT to do well. I think it would be a fish out of water in the San Francisco Bay Area.

subtropix Todd C Yes we don't have very low temperatures (thus 9a/9b) but we do not get the heat normally associated with 9a/9b areas. There are at most 7-10 days/year where the temperature rises above 90.

I LOVE Crape Myrtles (have maybe a dozen in several colors) but really think, that if I lived in your climate, I would want to cultivate something more exotic than a plant sold in every big box store from Texas to Connecticut (no joke!).

Lol, subtropix, never thought of it that way. Do any cercis redbuds do well in your area? Maybe magnolias?

Logan, redbud will grow here but I do not have one.

Magnolias, yes, plenty of those (maybe half dozen cultivars of M. grandiflora and two deciduous..., stellata and virginiana).

P.S., I think if I lived in the OP's unique climate, it'd be planting tree ferns..., LOL. I wish I had a dollar for every one of those I've tried (and FRIED)!

I was thinking magnolia figo pruned into a multi-trunked tree. A narrow cultivar of magnolia grandiflora would also work. Cercis chinensis would make a nice multi-trunked tree as well.

And he mentioned flowers....

Again, M. grandiflora has a relatively high (summer) heat requirement (you have to think outside of the eastern gardening bubble/box). You do realize that sweaters are worn in SF in the SUMMER; average July highs are in the 60's and nights in the 50's.. That's why I suggested posting on the California forum where you are more likely to have responses familiar with Bay Area gardening conditions.

Same goes for redbuds, they want it hot.

How about Eriobotrya Deflexa? Should tolerate the cool summer, can handle dry conditions and clay, is evergreen and have berries.

That kind of weather sounds glorious. I can think lots of big trees that would work but not so many smaller ones. What about a dwarf atlas cedar like horstmann? In a few decades it may be too much tree...

Windmill palm?

I think your best suggestion so far was the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo); it is native to Western Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, etc.. It is a broadleaf evergreen and does flower and produce edible fruit. Even is grown in Ireland (known for its chilly summer climate)! I fell in love with species just reading about it so had to order one (from Portugal) if only to grow it as a containerized plant. I am sure there are other choices out there but you have to research it a bit.

P.S., Atlas Cedar?! Another tree species I do really LOVE..., but every block in my neighborhood in NJ has one (weeping, non-weeping,...). I think there are more growing in NJ than in their native Atlas Mountains of Morocco! LOL.

PS2., Logan, there are chill tolerant palms ALL OVER SF, no big deal, and no need to feature it where center stage where space is limited. (BTW, I have a Windmill in my own yard.)

I thought of another couple. Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) and manzanita

If you want a less common item we have A native orchid tree in a couple very small places in relatively cool parts of texas. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/bauhinialunarioid.htm

You can mail order a little one from a Texas native plant place probably. I bet it would do well and it is very pretty where hardy. And your neighbors won't have one or know what it is