What Tree Should I Plant
 

I am trying to decide what tree I should plant. I do not want to plant a palm tree. I want a tree which will provide shade for our patio without blocking our beautiful view so I want a tree with a canopy that starts at about 10 feet. I'm considering a Laurel Oak or Live Oak because they keep some of their leaves through the winter months. However, I keep hearing about how messy they are. Those of you who have these trees in your yard, what do you think? Do they drop their leaves year round, therefore, your yard has brown leaves on it all the time?
Please share your experience and ideas about what tree might provide shade without blocking the view at eye level.

Live Oaks are incredibly messy. My neighbor has one and my yard is a mess. I wish I thought about it before I bought this house. If I had known what this tree would do I would have bought elsewhere.

You might contact the master Gardener, I just found out they are at the library in Pinellas Plaza from 9 to 3 on Fridays. I just went there a few days ago, and they were very helpful.

Don't plant live oaks.

I would also discourage Magnolia trees. They drop big leaves year round and have a very shallow root system.

Agree oaks are hard wood and grow slowly. You may be 90 before you get the shade your looking for depending on your age now:D

How about a coat tree. Doesn't grow, doesn't drop leaves, doesn't need water or fertilizer and serves a very useful purpose. On top of that, if you don't like its location, you can move it without calling in an outside company

Here's an opinion from a big oak tree fan that has one in our front yard...

Yes, there's some maintenance. Mostly just raking some leaves (or mowing the leaves...heh) during the early winter months. I raked/mowed maybe three or four times this year and my yard looked good. They do not drop leaves year-round. Some branches could naturally grow lower than 10' off the ground, but those sorts of branches can be easily trimmed to avoid downward growth, or removed altogether.

I had three oaks surrounding our previous house and loved them...as I love our one now. Make sure it's far enough away from the house to avoid root and/or branch growth toward house. Ours is in the middle of our front yard, about 20 feet away from the nearest part of our house and causes no problem at all. Even with three mature oaks, I only had to rake/mow a few times during the winter.

You will hear (have heard...heheh) others who disagree. (What a shock...here on ToTV!! :) ) I respect their opinions. Good far outweighs any bad imho.

By the way...contrary to what many think, young oak trees are reasonably fast growers. Only in their later years does growth slow considerably...or at least appear to because of the huge size of a mature tree. From the National Wildlife Federation (https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlif...-Live-Oak.aspx), "Southern live oaks are fast growing trees, but their growth rate slows with age...".

UMMM A Money Tree:jester::1rotfl: You'll be the envy of the neighbor hood

Really?!? For one tree...on your neighbor's property no less?!? :shrug:

:censored: Laurel Oak- weed of the tree family!

Quercus hemisphaerica

Just paid a $1000 to have one of these :censored: taken down. Dr. Boogie I know what you mean!

No experience with Laurel Oaks...just Live Oaks. I'll take your word for it...although the author in that article shows his extreme bias very early on.

Yes really. The tree overhangs my property and another neighbor's property. The patio adjacent to my lanai is stained from all the crap that came down from that tree. I have to clean out leaves and other debris even from inside my lanai on a regular basis. My back yard is covered in leaves, twigs and Spanish moss. I think that eventually the grass out back will die unless I want to spend either a fortune or a huge amount of time maintaining it.

Hmm. Guess I am...and have been...lucky. Repeatedly. A little raking/mowing during the winter and I'm good to go.

You know you can trim branches (in a reasonable manner that does kill the tree) that overhang your property, right? Perfectly legal.

Our landscaper told us this, and I've heard it elsewhere. Our neighbors go north for half the year. We trim their palm fronds that hang over and brush along our roof.

I am also a Live Oak tree fan!

We planted one at our home in Clearwater some 20 yrs ago. Driving by that home now, the tree looks simply majestic. We stopped and talked with the current owners. They told us that the tree added 30K in value to the home upon a recent appraisal.

We have a Water Oak in this yard, as part of our landscape package. We can't wait to have it removed and a Live Oak put in it's place. We are south of 466A, so there aren't as many beautiful trees as there are in the northern part of The Villages. We will do our share to add to the mature landscaping look. The do grow much faster in the first 10 yrs than you might think. As they get older, their growth slows down.

But I also like Magnolia trees too. Call me crazy! (Just not within earshot please!)

Doc: I support what you say. I am no fan of messy trees or plants

Love the japanese red maple, never water oak.

Mulching mower
 

Our mulching mower with the leaf catching bag helps with any leaf debris from our neighbors water oak. Terrible tree, shalow root system, pollen, moss.

I say the heck with all these trees. Let's just pave the yards and be done with it! (As I am getting ready to go out and trim my palm and magnolia trees...). :-)

In our view, oak trees look lovely in a large space away from buildings. I too would think twice before buying a property that has one on it or even next door. Our neighbor has one, too close to a palm tree. They are competing with each other and there is only room for one of them. I keep hoping the palm will win, but it will not. That darn oak is growing at a good clip and the owner has been told it will make a mess with his irrigation system to take it out now. Checking with the master gardeners is a great idea.

What tree to plant?
 

Has anyone planted a Drake Elm tree?
In researching trees, it seems that the live oaks and magnolia keep their leaves year round, but both are messy? Also, the Magnolia doesn't have the canopy with a view underneath. I haven't identified any tree that has a nice canopy that we can look under to retain our expansive, beautiful view. I guess there's a reason why there are so many Sylvester Palm trees. They do have the nice canopy which would provide shade for our large patio but it's just not the look I wanted.
I'm beginning to consider a bottlebrush tree. Anyone have these? If so, what do you think of them?
Any other ideas?

I'm going to risk sounding too pushy regarding oak trees...I don't mean too...many people don't like to deal with them and I respect that. But I just want to add one more thought FWIW...

A young live oak can be pruned in such a way that, as it grows, it does provide a broad canopy that leaves an unobstructed view under it...easily ten feet or a bit more.

Maybe engage an arborist for an opinion? For example, Kenani at Tree Frog?
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Bob C

We have a bottlebrush tree. It's four years old. I doubt it is going to ever be big enough to provide shade. The branches fall like and look like an umbrella. Perhaps there is a different variety of them that has a thicker trunk and grows into a bigger canopy? Nice landscaping addition, though.

My concern when selecting a tree is the root structure and whether it will be near a fence or wall. For example, a maple tree would provide shade, but the roots on mature trees are wide spread and on the surface. This would result in damage to a fence or wall near it. You would not want to be responsible for damage to a common wall. Something to keep in mind!

The small lot sizes in The Villages are not appropriate for any of the Florida oaks which can get to 120" + wide. They are very messy, clog gutters and downspouts, stain your roof and sidewalks. There are many more appropriate trees but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....you will have to do your homework. If you come to the Master Gardener plant clinic at the government annex on the corner of 466 and Morse Blvd (sheriff's station is there) on Mondays between 9 and 3, we can guide you.

I agree with Japanese Red Maple.......and I have always loved Willow trees .