Weigh all factors before picking tree for your yard
You want shade in your backyard, one large shade tree could work, but the problem is that everybody wants instant shade. So, you plant three or four trees in your backyard instead.
After a few years, the back yard is under complete shade. But the lawn does not grow very well, because of the shade. In fact, most plants will not tolerate the shade and the competition for fertilizer and water.
It may be better to plant patio-sized trees (smaller trees) or maybe only one large shade tree (probably still too big). Remember, there is no such thing as the perfect tree. If there were, everybody would be planting it in the landscape. You will have to weigh the good points against the bad points before deciding which tree is best for your situation.
Shade trees in your landscape can help cool your home and the urban environment, and of course they increase oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide. This seems to make shade trees environmentally friendly. However, shade trees are not always the best choice. Some undesirable effects include, large roots lifting and breaking your sidewalks, patios or even foundations. Some trees are notorious for getting into your sewer lines or septic tanks and creating problems. Surface roots may become a problem in lawns or even cause your landscape to deteriorate because of too much shade by the trees.
It is hard to impossible to find drought-tolerant shade-loving plants. Most drought-tolerant plants grow in hot, sunny locations.
Following are the four trees that should not be planted in most homes in the Antelope Valley. Some cities have already banned the use of them.
They are usually too large and too thirsty for the landscape. They have the advantages of being fast growing and producing nice shade, but this does not outweigh the disadvantages.
Someone will always tell me that I am wrong and they never water one of the following trees and it just does very well. Keep in mind the roots from some of these trees can grow 20 to 30 feet out from the tree’s trunk, which means they are getting water from several landscapes around them. Fruitless mulberry (Morus alba ‘Fruitless’) — This large shade tree grows to about 40 feet tall and 60 feet wide. There is only one reason to plant this tree and that is for its fast growth. The fruitless mulberry produces shade the fastest of all our shade trees.
The disadvantages are many. The roots are surface roots and are very invasive. The tree is one of the thirstiest trees we can plant, requiring more water than a lawn. With the high water use and deep shade lawn, and shrubs are hard to grow under them. They are susceptible to a disease called slime flux, which causes a black ooze to seep out of the tree. They are a habitat for many pests, including mealy bugs and cottony cushion scale. This is a tree to avoid planting.
Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) — This large shade tree grows to about 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide. The most common tree that was planted in the 1950s and ’60s and is still found in the older sections of the cities and county. It is incorrectly called a Chinese elm. The Siberian has a problem with the elm leaf beetle and slim flux. This tree should not be planted.
Cottonwood (Populus spp.) — This large shade tree grows to about 80 feet tall and 60 feet wide. This is a fast-growing shade tree, and that is the only reason to plant it in the landscape.
The disadvantages are many. The roots are surface roots and are very invasive. The tree is one of the thirstiest trees we can plant, in many cases requiring more water than a lawn. The recommendation is that a cottonwood tree should be planted at least 200 feet from sewer lines and leach fields (one acre is approximately 210 feet by 210 feet).
Poplars are susceptible to a disease called slime flux, which causes it to ooze sap out of the tree. Cottonwoods are a habitat for many pests. I feel this is a tree to avoid planting at all costs.
Weeping willow (Salix babylonica) — This large tree grows about 40 feet tall and 60 feet wide. This large tree is best known for its graceful weeping habit. The problems are many. The tree uses large amounts of water; in fact, they prefer to be planted next to water. It is a habitat for many pests, but the worst is twig borers, which bore into the tree, eventually killing it.
The common factors of these trees are they grow too big for urban situations, they use way too much water for the desert, and they are habitats for a lot of different pests. Big shade trees can lead to big problems in residential plantings, so plan to prevent future problems.