Maybe I should have added that they wanted suggestions on what type of shade tree would work for them?

I like Drake elm

Here is a link that might be useful: UFL link

You know we have some Drake Elm in our backyard. They are young. Someone told me just recently that they hate Elm trees because you have to pick the little seedlings out of your flower beds all the time. That is the problem my friends have with their Chinese Raintree. Are you familiar with the Drake Elm causing a bunch of little seedlings in flower beds or in the yard?

Oh, I would say, "Yes, I am". The Drake Elm seedlings are endless. It's either thousands or millions of seedlings because I am sure it is way more than just hundreds. Heaven help you if you miss one, perhaps in a hedge or some shrubs, because if it gets away from you for a year or two, you will be digging up plants. The seedling will now be a sapling, intertwined with your original plant, and you are not going to be able to pull it up and out. No, that is not going to happen. You are now either going to dig up the shrub or rose or what-have-you, or enjoy your new Drake Elm tree that grows out of that middle of that shrub.

Both of my neighbors have a Drake Elm planted close to the property line with my yard. The combination is very challenging for the gardener caught in the middle. (Me.)

The positives: fast-growing; easy care; provides nice shade; has a lovely shape.

The negatives: relatively short-lived; disease-prone; deciduous; puts out seedlings galore.

Carol in Jacksonville

Interesting to read this thread. When I lived in Jacksonville & before I new much about gardening, I had a drake elm installed by the homebuilder in my back yard. I was forever wondering why there were thousands of little miniature trees growing up though the lawn. Now I know :) It was far too many to dig out by hand, unless I had wanted to dedicate a weekend to it. So I just kept mowing over them and they never got out of control but they never went away either :)

Because of this, it is surprising to me that these are used for landscaping as much as they are but I guess everything has its problems.

Just a thought, have they considered an arbor with a vine? I have not done this myself, but many of my books and a few magazines suggest that for 'near instant shade', try putting in an arbor with an aromatic or attractive blooming vine." Sometimes the arbor they suggest is merely a single post with 'branches' at the top so the vines will form an umbrella-like shape and cascade down. The arbor should be "10-12 ft" tall. It's also suggested to not skimp on the posts but to use 6x6" or thucker treated lumber, especially taking our humid summers into account. Suggested vines are Confederate Jasmine, Carolina Jessamine, Coral Honeysuckle, Crossvine, American Wisteria and Trumpet Vine. There are others to choose from, but they tend to have 'seasons' where your friends would end up having a giant, wooden golf tee in their front yard. It may even be possible to mix up some vines. From my observation, my Confederate Jasmine and my Carolina Jessamine seem to grow at about the same rate. So there could be early spring fragrant yellow flowers followed by late spring/early summer white, SUPER fragrant flowers.

Just a thought.

Michelia champaca grows in more temperate climates like where you are. The flowers are yellow and smell like honeysuckle. There's also a white flowering variety (var. alba). Both are hard to find, but worth the effort and perfect for a small to medium shade tree.

Irun5k, You are right. Drake Elm seedlings are not a problem in the yard as the lawnmower goes right over them. They are trouble because they fill the beds, shrubs, potted plants, etc. I had a lovely Drake Elm-Chicago Peace rose combo for a few years, LOL. The seedling germinated right next to the rose's root ball. Was avoiding the thorns so avoided the seedling. Uh, wrong answer. :)

Peabody, I don't know if you searched the forum or not, but in case you didn't, here are two recent threads on tree suggestions. I'll suggest Sweet Viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum) one more time. See my posts in the threads below for more info. :)

Need suggestions for this space

Tree suggestions please

Let us know what you decide!

Carol in Jacksonville

This post was edited by love_the_yard on Sun, Feb 16, 14 at 11:27

Are there any nice shade trees that don't fill your yard and flower beds with seedlings? My husband wants something he can stand under when he cleans his golf shoes. So trees that look like over sized bushes won't work.

To Leekle2ManE - we have an HOA and I don't think they would allow an arbor across the front yard. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

To fawnridge - Thanks for your suggestion, but I can't have any tree that has a strong smell. I have asthma and smells kill me. We ended up taking our citrus trees out and was I glad.

Peabody, if "trees that look like over sized bushes" refers to the viburnum suggestion, let's talk about that. Unless you are planning to install a mature tree, you won't be able to stand underneath any young tree/sapling. A young viburnum is just like a young crape myrtle (as well as magnolias and a slew of other trees): you have to prune them into a tree shape as they grow. That means removing the lower branches as the tree matures. If your husband must be able to stand underneath it right after you put it in, that will eliminate lots of choices and certainly add to your expense. But, I understand, lots of people are willing to pay extra to eliminate the wait. It will be interesting to see what you decide! Did you take a look at either of the two links above?

Carol

This post was edited by love_the_yard on Wed, Feb 19, 14 at 13:27

Michelia (Magnolia)champaca is a nice tree but too tender for that area. It gets damaged below around 27F.