6' is pretty close to a pool to plant a tree. If you have a bit more room I would plant farther away to minimize the amount of tree litter that ends up in the pool. How tall and wide would you like the tree to be when mature? Since the tree is going to be for privacy, would you prefer an evergreen or is deciduous okay?

Yikes! We need privacy in that one corner in our backyard and I don't have any more room than that. Someone suggested a citrus tree? We only need it to be about 10'-15' high and wide.

How about a nice trellis that you can twine an evergreen vine to climb. I have a jasmine that is wonderfully fragrant when it blooms, takes a lot of neglect and just keeps on growing. I think it's Azores Jasmine [Jasminum azoricum]. But there's an off chance it's Twisted Jasmine [Jasminum totuosum]. I bought them at the same time and one didn't make it.

I agree with the others, too small a space for a tree. Can you give us a pic of the spot?

6' is still pretty close to plant a tree, as campv mentioned, the roots could end up damaging your pool. Though it would take several years for any damage to occur, I think the potential repair cost is reason enough to avoid planting trees that close to the pool. You might be able to get away with a smaller citrus tree like a kumquat, but it probably won't give you a 10'-15' spread. If you really only have 6' due to the presence of a wall or fence I would consider the trellis/vine option. Consider grape vines, they may not be evergreen, but they produce dense foliage and love the Arizona heat. Another option would be to skip the plants and put in some posts to string up a shade cloth.

My neighbor has a grape vine that grows to my side of the block wall. I have a clothesline there (truly, I do..... ;-) ) that I use several times a week and the vine gets bugs. Little white ones mostly - millions of 'em. not sure what they are but it irritates me greatly b/c they get in my nice clean clothes.

Shade cloth is a good idea too. Get a welder to make something.

How about a large shrub we have an Arizona rosewood by the side of our house it is beautiful and the roots are not very invasive like gives us plenty of privacy

I would second the idea of a trellis or privacy screen ... I can't think of a tree that is tidy enough to be that close to the pool.

Exactly WHAT are you trying to block? Please post a picture of the area including the neighbor's spot they have the view from.

If you are set on a tree that close to the pool, consider the Mastic tree (Pistacia Lentiscus). It is well behaved, hardly sheds, is evergreen, and is not poisonous. It is pretty low water use, but will need deep soakings every few weeks in the summer.

You could consider cypress, especially a new-ish cultivar called Monshell or Tiny towers. It is not tiny -- reaches 30 or 40 feet in height (as opposed to the 100-foot height of a traditional cypress). It stays very slim, only four to six feet in diameter.

But a trellis might be more practical in regards to roots. pyracanthus has glossy evergreen leaves that absorb glare, takes brutal sun, is frost proof, has bland white flowers in spring, gorgeous non-toxic berries in fall, and can be pruned or shorn to keep it flat, if you need to walk back-and-forth in that area. It does have thorns, which is why you'd want to keep it in bounds. It is not without some shedding, but nothing that will make you as crazy as bougainvillea blossoms blowing into the water.

Good luck finding the right solution!

Do a web search for "trees and shrubs near swimming pools" and the like for suitable candidates. You want large parted ones like palms for this use, because their debris isn't going to get sucked into pool filters. In the same way that the emanations of small parted kinds like cypresses and fire-thorns does.

Hi just saw this post. What did you end up planting? I have same delema.