Tree for in front of our house
Question from Heather:
thank you for your very detailed answer to my husband’s question about planting trees in a parkway. While he and I agree on many aspects of our garden, we differ in opinion about what type of tree to plant in front of our small traditional style house. I love the California Pepper Tree and feel it would be perfect to plant in our open space. Our house is east facing and close to the marina. We both want something that is relatively drought tolerant once established and does not grow so big that it overwhelms the house. What do you think, is this tree a good option for us?
Answer from Pat:
I also love California pepper trees but they do not fall within your requirements. They are much too large for parkways, and they are messy, invasive, fall prey to thrips, and their roots get into pipes. Regarding my advice on India Hawthorne tree (Rhaphiolepis ‘Magestic Beauty’) this is the very best thing you could plant and is basically pest-free and easy to grow. You will love it if you give it if you purchase good ones in the beginning and if you give them the care I have already suggested. I also suggested fertilizing in March due to the sparsity of irrigation you plan to use and there is still rain usually in March. It would be better however to fertilize after the June pruning since this is when you want to stimulate growth, not before bloom in March. Just be sure to water the fertilizer thoroughly into the ground. If your house faces east, however, you have more sun than I thought. This widens your choices. See the list of small patio trees on Page 80 of Sunset Western Garden Book. Be sure to choose a drought-resistant one. Gold medallion tree (Cassia leptophylla) is a popular choice today, but the India Hawthorne trees would be far more elegant and would become in time the envy of all your neighbors.
Thanks again, Pat. My wife’s question was in regards to the front of our house which faces east and is about 2 miles from the beach. The parkway is next to a small apartment building we own in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood right outside of downtown LA and faces north. Sorry for any confusion and your detailed responses are more than appreciated -especially with the challenging question I submitted. I am going to order your organic gardening book (and maybe another title) through your website. Take care and I will let you know what we plant and how it turns out.
In that case, go ahead and enjoy the California pepper tree (Schinus molle). It may be an excellent choice, and if it ever turns out to be a problem, time enough to choose another tree. Plants—even trees—are not forever decisions. Another possible idea is an olive tree. These look great in drought-resistant gardens but do not give as much shade as pepper trees. One can purchase lovely old gnarled olive trees if willing to pay the price. (Worth it in my opinion.) Be sure to place your tree, whatever you decide on, to one side in the yard and not bang-smack in front of the house or front door. This is considered bad Feng Shui. Thanks for the explanation, but what I had perceived as a difference of opinion made me smile. When my husband Lou and I had just met but were already engaged, I was disappointed to learn he was (emphatically!) not a gardener. But it turned out great. I made all the garden decisions or most of them and Lou simply admired everything I did. Then came the day when I said I was going to yank out a climbing rose, ‘America’ that was beautiful in spring but due to the ocean wind, sick and ratty looking at all other times of year. Lou was cut to the core, almost wept and said didn’t I know it was his favorite plant in the whole garden? I didn’t! But I quickly back-tracked and even after Lou died I couldn’t bring myself to pull out that rose. Only last year—14 years after my husband Lou passed away—when rebuilding the old and rotting arbor on which ‘America’ grew, did I finally get the courage to yank out that trouble-maker and plant a more foolproof variety—’Fourth of July’—not as beautiful in spring, perhaps, and not a fragrant variety, but probably the most floriferous and disease-resistant climbing rose ever developed An additional note regarding the Rhaphiolepis ‘Majestic Beauty’: If these are to be planted on a slope be sure to terrace the ground for them so the irrigation water does not simply drain off. Provide watering basins and enlarge them as the trees grow so water does not collect near trunks. If the soil is clay, mix about a half-coffee-can full of gypsum into the soil in the bottom of each planting hole to help soil to drain. (Plant into straight un-amended native soil. Only if you are planting in something akin to pure beach sand should you add soil amendment when planting trees.) If you can find it, you could put some slow-release fertilizer recommended for tree planting in the bottom of each planting hole, but do not let fertilizer touch the roots and follow all package directions.
Thanks for sharing your story with us. I love the name Lou-it was my grandfather’s as well. We really do disagree on a lot of gardening decisions including what tree to plant in our front yard. Everything always ends up working in the end though, and we are both happy with how our garden has turned out. I am fairly stubborn in my view that if I put energy, water, money, etc. into a plant, I either want it to be native for the wildlife to enjoy (and not have to water it after the 1st year) or have it produce something edible. I’m pushing for a pomegranate tree, but we’ll see what happens. I found a nursery with 15-gallon Majestic Beauties for $80 and they are between 7 and 9 feet tall. The larger ones are too expensive so we’ll probably plant 5-7 of the 15-gallon ones either in the next few weeks, or sometime next year, depending on finances. Either way I’ll email you a picture once they’re established.
Olives are an ancient tree for food and oil, but require a lot of work to cure the fruit. I adore pomegranate trees. The best one is ‘Wonderful’, but it does not do well along the coast. You are far enough inland it should be okay. Regarding native plants, no native tree that is also drought-resistant can take shade. I realize however, that we are talking about two different properties here. One benefit on the side of pepper trees is that they are beloved by wild birds, such as mockingbirds, who eat their fruit. This virtue can turn a California sycamore into a “singing tree,” which is enough to endear them to my heart.