"Ponderosa" means ponderous, and ponderous means large, so from that alone, a decent distance would be indicated. But.....I don't know where you are, how well Pinus ponderosa grows there, etc. In time, a too-close planting may present a reasonable risk to occupants of your home, but that could be a fair number of years.

On my tree farm, I planted some ponderosa pines the first year we got started. There, in N. Wisconsin, they are easily the slowest growing of the conifers we've planted. But that's outside their actual range. Perhaps give us a few more details about what it is you want to do, then we'll either try to talk you out of it, or vigorously congratulate you on your plans!

I'm not as leery about near-house trees as are some members here. In no time at all, for example, you'll be hearing from a certain "Ken" who will advise you that the nearest to your home this tree should be planted is the nearest National Forest! I know of Ken's concerns but I do believe he protesteth too much at times. So yeah, give us more info.

+oM

hi mary ... who wants to cut back on garden work.. and has more plans for this spring.. than i have accomplished in the last 3 years... lol ...

from a one gallon size ... about 15 years ago ..

mine are now 15 feet by at least .. almost.. 10 wide .. i am going to guess.. a few years to get established.. and 1 to 2 feet per year upwards .... if the snow ever melts.. i will go out and look at mine ...

huge.. huge.. pines ... with a 200 year potential life span ...

unless it is a named variety ... of which there might be some slower growing versions ...

see link for more info than you will ever need ..

gorgeous trees ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

If you're worried about risk to the house if a mature pine fell...75'+. If it's pine needles in the gutters...30'+. Falling branches....20'+.

If none are of great concern to you, I'd still stay at least 15' away just for a proper sense of scale. If you do plant that close, don't do it right in front of a window...

Thanks you guys. I thought you would say that, but before taking it out just wanted to hear it from you folks. I will take it out now before its too large. I took one out last year too but it was much larger. This one can be given away as it's quite small. We took a sycamore out last fall and got a lot of the tree removed just had to call in a tree faller for the trunk and very top of the tree. He did an amazing job. Been just tearing this place apart moving towards more evergreens and shrubs. You folks have no idea the help you have been. I hope this Garden Site continues!

Pfft...for all that's said about distance from buildings around here, you can still drive around and see full grown conifers that look decent and were planted ridiculously close to buildings. Not saying you should, especially if you ever plan on removing it, but I think people overstate things on here sometimes.

Absolutely Unprofessional! I see this all the time in our area also. I mean these trees about 5 feet from homes. Probably why I thought we could do the same. But after seeing the trees I have had to cut down because they were planted wrongly I really want to get it right now so when I am older I don't have to be chopping it all down. And I do worry about foundation and a tree landing on house. But I know exactly what you mean. I see this all over our area!

.....and I too agree....sometimes, a tallish conifer a little too close to the house adds a certain je nais se quo. Something about being able to look out your den window and see songbirds roosting in the Scots pine branches, er something like that....I've always liked. For that matter, I've got two very large Thuja occidentalis right in front of my house, one porchside, one at the corner...and to most, they are indeed too large, but I love the effect, and really, they're never going to damage anything.

So I know what you mean.

Ken, I thought you'd flip out a little more here! Gave you the big intro and everything....

+oM

"...adds a certain je nais se quo..."

Unless its a jiant se quoia, then it adds a bit of noir drama.

tj

For a pine that gets large, I would say about 30' so you won't have the limbs growing out over the house at a minimum.

"For a pine that gets large, I would say about 30' so you won't have the limbs growing out over the house at a minimum."

Limbs growing out over the house can be a very desired feature, especially when appropriate species are selected and there is a reasonable expectation that any weather apocalypse will be infrequent and less severe than what might be generally expected in Texas, the midwest, or the southeast.

Gutters collect long needles and they clog at the downspouts.
The shedding long needles also hang from the bushes. I'd put the Ponderosa out as far as possible to the north of the house so it won't shade you in the wintertime, unless you have extenuating circumstances, of course.
Mike

Yep. Structures shaded by conifers also have to be cleaned of moss at frequent intervals.

This post was edited by bboy on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 22:09

No comment on the particular circumstance of the OP. Just going to comment that trees being planted near a home is so that they overhang a house is the norm for the Southeast. Summers are so hot, and the sun so intense, that the advantages of a shaded home far outweigh the rare instances of home damage from said trees. In these instances it is usually ice storms, and only occasionally a thunderstorm. Tornadoes can blow trees down, but if you have a tornado that close, you typically have other problems besides the tree.

Arktrees

Je't'aim this topic. I like it too. We've got this "tree for a tree" deal in our town; bring in your used Christmas tree, get a seedling in exchange. Well, one year, it was Colorado spruce. One of my bosses-I've had several-posited the notion that there would subsequently be a lot of house fires, as too-closely-planted spruce trees would be going up in flames and starting said houses on fire. Now I've heard my share of hooey, but that one won some kind of award for worrying about the amazingly improbable.

For the most part, any and all undesirable aspects of trees-any trees-growing near to and even overhanging buildings, can be alleviated with such revolutionary ideas as cleaning the gutters once or twice a year. One other guy decried the moss that shade on a roof can foster. And yes, of course that's true. But, the number one killer of roofs is....duh dudu duh...sunlight beating down on it, drying out the tar-like binder and loosening the little mineral aggregates. At least, that's what roof experts think!

Dear lord I swear it, if some here had their way, there'd be a tree over yonder, and then 800 ft. away, maybe we could fit in another one...and so on. IOWs, the world would look very, very different.

+oM

;^)

+om, it certainly wouldn't be me! lol
Just because you can't see the house very well, doesn't mean I can see out very well.
I'm not into evenly spacing specimens so as to keep them from touching. My landscape is a garden, not a collection display. Each approach has it's merits and demerits. I'm doing a lot of pruning in my old age, but I happen to like pruning. I'm still doing a lot of planting and transplanting. I enjoy working a shovel, except for digging ditches. That ain't fun.
Mike
{{gwi:131420}}

Trees don't have to be directly above or even quite near structures to cast shadows over them and their vicinity - you can get shade from trees without having them looming over you and dropping debris straight down onto your buildings and vehicles.

Or your head.

This post was edited by bboy on Wed, Mar 19, 14 at 20:53

True enough, BB.

Mike, you can do no wrong near as I can see! That is paradise, is it not?

+oM

It's paradise because his wife does all the work.

I've always thought Mike's garden was gorgeous. Unlike most who like to, and have the luxury to, spread things out to show trees individually, my garden is a lot like Mikes and things are just beginning to really melt together.

Beautiful job Mike.

Mark

Thank you +om and Mark. Much appreciated.
bboy, my wife always made more money than I, but Marilyn has never worked in the garden. She worked as a Information Technology manager for a nationwide bank. One project she managed was the Y2K thing. You remember that. ;-) The only time she goes outside is to get in the car and go shopping. Plants are not her thing. She's a numbers person. I'm not.
Mike

What?! Say it isn't so!!