ok, so in an effort to pretty up my backyard, i've decided to add a couple of trees. as of now, my yard is riddled with a few stumps that will be ground out, as well as a pool that i will be extremely happy to part with next spring. i'm already dead set on a sugar maple for one of the trees because they are quite the lookers during the fall season. that and the possibility of getting some syrup for myself out of it equates to major win. now for the other tree, it has to deal well with, for the most part, direct sunlight, and i don't want it to be a tall behemoth where it will block my view from my back deck (i live on top of a hill and get a decent view that i enjoy to look at). i would prefer it to have some nice flowers during spring and a vivid leaf color during fall. anyone have any ideas?

All I can say is avoid Quaking Aspens and Sycamores. The Aspens will take over the yard (they're weed trees) and the Sycamore will get BIG and make a mess in the fall.

Oaks are always a nice choice. They look nice year round and look especially nice in the fall. Acorn cleanup can get annoying, though.

Also might consider some fruit-bearing trees like peach trees. Peach trees look good (not so much leaf coloration, but they have nice shapes) and peaches are tasty. Peaches will stay pretty well in check size-wise, too.

I agree on the fruit-bearing choice. Our dwarf and semi-dwarf citrus trees which stay relatively small are saving us money at the supermarket, too.

numbnuts- what's available in your climate in a semi-dwarf fruit tree? Are peaches, cherries, or some type of apple tree available in a semi-dwarf for your area?

i don't think peaches would fare too well up here. apples do great, but i'm trying to avoid having rotten fruit falling from the trees only to sit in the grass and attract hordes of flies and bees. the dog does a good job at keeping the other animals out. i currently have a pear tree that i am going to take down for that same reason.

leaf cleanup isn't an issue for me, all my raked up leaves end up in a compost pile just beyond the wood line. acorns could get irritating and, although an oak tree would be nice, it would get too large and obstruct the view i have in my backyard.

so after a little searching, i am now thinking about magnolias, but i feel that they would be more appreciated in the front yard, of course where space is much more limited
Modified by numbnuts240 at 5:23 AM 10/21/2008

I like fruit bearing idea.Can't you just throw rotting fruit in the compost pile?Wouldn't all that energy in the fruit make for some BAD A** compost?

If I were you I would buy a juicer and learn to like peaches! FREE FOOD FTMFW!

Grapes are also a great idea.Although you have to build their "enviroment" but they are very rewarding... You can:eat them, chill them and cover them in choclate, make juice, make wine , freeze them and use them as amunition, or pick them late and you have rasins.

We used to give them away to the neighbors all the time! They loved um and it gaves us oppertunies to just say Hi, and to get to know them better.Also grape vines create lots of shade!

(Forgive me for the massive amounts of spelling failure, I have been at work for 15hrs )

fruit trees require a lot of attention that i really don't have to dedicate to them. i have plenty of other things around the house that are more important. i'm looking for something low maintenance and eye pleasing. like i said, i have the pear tree which i'm going to be taking down before winter rolls in. growing up in my parents' old house, we had a grapevine in the yard. all it did was attract animals and insects. it's a mess under fruit trees when they start dropping and after a while, you, and everyone you give the fruit to gets sick of eating them. i love fruit, but not enough to warrant growing and maintaining a fruit bearing tree.

you have to understand, i maintain 0.64 acres of land, as well as all the house repairs/upgrades alone, so my time is limited. i do want to grow a garden, but that's going to be a lot of work since part of my property goes into the woods, so i will have an animal problem. i have a room mate, but he's had his mother and father do this type of stuff without teaching him to be domesticated lol, so he's pretty much my gopher during my projects. that, and i'm very particular about the way my yard appears, so i don't allow anyone to do any work in it.

Not much help for you in CT, but here's our idea of planting trees in Columbia, SC! Apparently they are digging up cabbage palms in Florida and bringing them here where we call them palmetto trees. These guys went in the ground in about 45 minutes at the end of May.



Here they are in early October. (Wow... never noticed how much the tall one settled into a lean)

They need lots of water through the summer while they're getting established. They recommend that you spray them with a hose from the top for 5 minutes any day that it doesn't rain. It's actually kind of relaxing...

Here's the monster bush that they replaced:

Heath
Modified by Q451990 at 3:59 PM 12/18/2008

numbnuts240 wrote:so after a little searching, i am now thinking about magnolias, but i feel that they would be more appreciated in the front yard, of course where space is much more limited

Modified by numbnuts240 at 5:23 AM 10/21/2008

i suggest growing something that is native to your area. it will grow well, and naturally fit with your climate color shift. not to sound gay, but different regions get different castings of light; if you put in a native flowering tree that you groom to fit your viewing needs, it will go good with the sky background. it'll just look and feel right when you're on your deck or back porch havin a beer.

wait.. that sounded gay. PLANT A SATANIC MONEY TREE! lol. and oak's are cool, i like cottonwoods. makes it snow in texas in the spring.

I know allot of people don't like this plant...but I love it. Bamboo.

I have Grey Henon growing in my back yard. Once it gets established and gets bigger it will be beautiful. It will grow 50-70ft, 4-6inches round and have a greyish color to it.

I live in Az and plants out here suck though. Lots of Scisso, elms, oak and figs. Not to mention the desert plants.

on the Grey Henon, you talking about that tree that grows straight up and looks like some classy, "should be outside a mansion" tree?