I was thinking Holly until you added:

"Doesn't drop anything too messy as it will be next to the driveway where we park"

...which rules out a lot of trees.

Also, fast growing to a MAXIMUM height of 20-30 ft is tough. Most fast growing trees keep going. A magnolia might fit the bill, but it's a slow grower. Are you looking for shade or just screen?

take a lok at http://www.nature-by-design.com/ they are a native company that will be opening a store in Alexandria soon. They are really good at finding natives to fit your troublesome location.

I don't work for them, but that's where all my best plants have come from.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nature by design

I have a really cool weeping cherry that fits the bill. The only time they're messy is in the spring right after blooming it looks like pink snow. I'm not too sure they're disease resistant though.

Kathy

Thanks, I'm going to Merrifield this weekend and I'll see what they've got in hollies, magnolias and weeping cherries. As far as the messiness criteria goes, mainly I just don't want something like a mulberry, or one of those trees with the pods with the fluffy stuff inside-- you know, stuffus fluffius or whatever it's called ;-)

Look at some of the newer crape myrtle cultivars. I'm not up on that in detail right now, but there are ones that meet your size requirements. They have various colors in the red/pink/white/purple range, fall color (many cultivars), nice bark, so are worth looking at in the winter, and as long as you get one that is not too susceptible to mildew, they seem to be relatively pest-free.

Nature by Design is a great firm, and you should get good advice. Unfortunately, you probably wouldn't want my favorite in the size range - serviceberry. It has nice blooms, tasty fruit that's also attractive, pretty fall color, and an interesting shape. Against that, there's susceptibility to cedar-apple rust, Japanese beetles, and the problem of those fruits that neither the owner nor the birds get before they drop.

How about Cercis canadensis (Eastern redbud)? This is just the size you want (20-30 ft high x 25-35 ft wide according to one database), has few diseases or problems, and is often planted in the DC area, sometimes even as a "street tree". The main ornamental feature is showy purple flowers in April before leaves emerge, but many people find the medium size, heart-shaped leaves attractive also. The only possibly messy feature is the numerous seedpods, described as thin, flat "peapods" about 3 inches long. However, the pods usually persist on the tree into autumn or winter, which means you won't find many on the ground at any one time. The link below should contain enough photographs to help you decide if this is your tree.

In addition, it is a bad idea to plant any tree during the present drought conditions. In most years, October is the best time to plant shrubs or small trees, but this year I think you should wait for more favorable weather (next spring at the earliest).

Here is a link that might be useful: Redbud (recommended tree)

To follow up, Redbud is clearly not the tree with the "pods with the fluffy stuff inside" - as my previous description suggested, the small pods contain hard seeds like peas or beans. But now you've awakened my curiousity. What is the tree with the "pods with the fluffy stuff inside"? I can't think offhand of a tree that is common in the DC area and has fruit that fits that description, just herbaceous plants like milkweed.

Maybe the "pods with the fluffy stuff inside" comment refers to Cottonwood trees. My father's neighbor has a HUGE one that is just a few feet from the corner of their house and it blankets the neighborhood with "snow" each year. My father lives in Michigan.

How about a female Ginko tree? An aunt of mine lives in Philadelphia on a street lined with Ginko trees. Man do those seed pods stink! Or maybe a Sweet Gum tree that would drop spiky seed balls all over the area. Okay, maybe those are not good choices.

If you are heading to the Merrifield location in Fairfax make sure you budget some serious time. You could easily spend an hour just walking down the rows of trees.

I cannot think of a tree that meets all your criteria. I have a pine tree in my front yard that looks to be on its last leg so maybe you will see me walking around Merrifield looking for a replacement. Do you need the canopy to be up high enough to walk under?

I have a list of interesting deciduous trees that I have been building up over the past few months. I do not have first hand experience with any of these trees, so I don't know how they would fit your situation.
Quercus coccinea (Scarlet Oak)
Quercus phellos (Willow Oak)
Nyssa sylvatica (Black gum, Black tupelo, Sourgum)
Cladrastis kentukea (American Yellowwood)
Chionanthus retusus (Chinese Fringe Tree)
Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringe Tree)
Styrax japonicus (Japanese Snowbell)
Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Pendula' (Weeping Katsura)
Amelanchier various (Serviceberry)
Styrax obassia (Fragrant Snowbell)
Stewartia pseudocamellia (Japanese Stewartia)

- Brent

I'd forgotten that the cottony seed balls of cottonwood (Populus deltoides) emerge from "elongated capsules" that could be described as pods, so that probably is what the original poster meant. Of course cottonwood would also be ruled out by its size even if it were seedless.

Of the trees mentioned in the previous post by Brent, I think Chionanthus retusus (15-25 feet) and virginicus (only 12-20 feet), Styrax japonicus and obassia (both 20-30 feet), and Amelanchier (15-30 feet, there are smaller and larger named cultivars) are fine choices that usually perform well in the DC area and have strong ornamental qualities. Amelanchier (= Serviceberry) was mentioned earlier also.

Some of the others in the previous post, especially the Quercus and Nyssa, are too big for the requested size range.

Wow, you guys are awesome! I really appreciate all the thoughtful posts.

To answer your question, the canopy doesn't have to be tall anough to walk under, just tall enough to mow under.

As for the infamous "fluffy pods", they are brown and round, and when you crush one they disintegrate into a handful of feathery fibers. Is that cottonwood?

Yea, the first 4 are from the "medium to large" section of my list. Another tree that I notice is not on my list is Oxydendrum arboretum (Sourwood). I have read a lot of good comments about this native tree, but I am not quite sure how much I like it. I am sure there are plenty of examples around but I cannot say that I recall seeing one outside of a nursery.

Just thinking about all the great trees available is making me anxious to plant some. Now that I think about it the only trees that I have ever planted are the three Thuja 'Green Giant' trees that I planted last weekend and I guess the Fosters Holly counts as a tree.

The following two sites have good information about trees:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/index.html
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/treesindex.htm

- Brent

One tree that hasn't been mentioned is river birch (Betula nigra). It can grow to 30-50', but I think 50' is unusual. It has reddish peeling bark that looks pretty in the winter. It's considered to have a medium to fast growth rate. It does drop a little bark and some small fruits, and leaves in the fall, but it's not too nasty.

I think you'll have a hard time finding an evergreen that fits the bill. However, I've never noticed American holly trees dropping a lot of stuff. Their leaves don't decompose quickly, so you may want to rake periodically, but at least they don't all fall at once.

The rain this weekend has relieved the drought (the official word from the National Weather Service is found at:
http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/seasonal_drought.html) so I think you can plant your tree between now and the ned of October (and maybe even surround it with water lilies).

Now, more on the side issue I am still wondering about, the identity of the "messy" tree mentioned earlier. First, the information I posted earlier concerning the fruit of the Eastern Cottonwood tree, Populus deltoides may have been misleading. The true picture of the fruit is as follows: a mass of white cottony material, with tiny brown seeds embedded within the white cottony material, and without any covering, shell, or husk over the cottony material. The individual seeds with their cottony "parachutes" eventually separate from the seed mass and disperse, producing the phenomenon of "cottonwood snow" which anyone who has lived near a mature, seed-producing tree will not forget. (I still remember the blankets of "cottonwood snow" produced by one tree near my grandmother's house.)

The following pictures of Populus deltoides should be helpful:

Populus deltoides: fruit
http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde50

Populus deltoides: leaves
(note the species name "deltoides" originates from the spade-like or "deltoid" leaf shape)
http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde10

Populus deltoides: whole tree, growth habit
(vase-shaped to rounded, fast-growing to 75-100 feet tall, with coarse (open) branching)
http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde00

Populus deltoides: bark
(medium gray, deeply ridged and furrowed)
http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde70

At any rate, I don't think the fruit of the "messy" tree mentioned earlier in this thread ("As for the infamous fluffy pods, they are brown and round, and when you crush one they disintegrate into a handful of feathery fibers") is anything like cottowood. Could you describe any other distinctive features of this tree (leaf shape and size, flowers, bark, etc.)?

Abigail99, the first thing I would ask is, do you really want to end up with a 20' plant or with a 30' plant in your front yard. If you would actually prefer something that tops out at 15-20 feet, you might be happier with some of the larger shrubs like viburnums, crape myrtles, styrax, or lilacs. On the other hand, if you really do want a tree which will get larger than that, here is what I've grown that meets your criteria to some degree.

Stewartia - The Stewatia psuedocamellia is supposed to grow 20' to 40' feet, but it won't reach 40' any time soon. Lovely flowers and beautiful fall color. No mess unless you count some flower petals and the usual fall leaf drop. This would be my first choice. There are other Stewartias, but this one is usually easy to find as a small tree for maybe $75, more or less.

Chionanthus - You could try either of the fringetrees. The Chionanthus virginicus is a native tree, which is a plus for some gardeners, and the Chionanthus retusus is its Asian relative. C. retusus is almost evergreen here (Baltimore) and holds its leaves until about Thanksgiving. That's its messy quality -- it creates the last cleanup of the year, and the weather is getting cold by then.

In my experience, the redbuds are not messy either. The main chore with them is that they benefit from some selective shaping and from pruning off lower branches. I have two 'Forest Pansy' redbuds because I enjoy the purple to green color changes, but there are many other cultivars available around here.

If you have a good mix of sun and shade and the right soil, the sourwood (Oxydendron) is a gorgeous tree. There's a beautiful one in the front yard next door, and cars slow down for a look at it in spring and again in fall. This one is a bit messy when the flowers and pods drop, but if you see a sourwood and fall in love with it, you won't care. You'll just plant some pachysandra around the base to hide the fallen bits and enjoy the tree. Mine is growing slowly, but I planted it in lots of shade.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1052365}}

We have very much enjoyed our 25-year old serviceberry despite the short-term mess (which stains concrete for awhile), especially since we learned what good jam the berries make as long as you don't use much sugar. Our two river birches, planted at the same time, are beautiful & have been trouble free. However, they are definitely not small trees and got much larger than the 30-40 feet we were told. They have reached at least 50' and have shaded most of our yard, and our neighbor's. Sadly, they are going to be cut down this winter and since they are both just over 18" in diameter we are caught up in the new & expensive DC tree-permitting process.

Please note that most fast growing trees tend to be weaker, and perhaps not as long living as slower growing trees.

I bought (before GW existed) a Bradford pear much to my dismay.

Don't forget the dogwoods. Either the white or the pink make nice specimens. The star magnolias are probably a bit too small.

The redbuds cast a great deal of shade, and have the ability to eventually kill everything under them if not watched. If you are looking for shade, though, you would get it with them.

Redbuds tend to grow fairly quickly, but are sensitive to drought and winter blasts. They are not as long lived as many others, but they are sturdier than, for example, willows. In my experience, squirrels whisk away the seed pods.