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Tree for Patio Shade

Question from Melissa:

I need to remove an overgrown African Sumac tree from my backyard border.  Can you recommend a good shade tree as a replacement? This border runs alongside a cement patio so the tree should not have invasive roots.  We are in zone 9, Santa Clarita, with very hot summers and cycles of canyon winds.  We have clay soil, but the soil in our borders are well managed and irrigated. Thanks for your input!

Question from Pat:

The first tree that came to mind for a border is Cassia bicapsularis, a shrub that is often sold on a trunk as a tree. It is in bloom now in winter. You could plant a row of these down your border. This tree is sometimes attacked by caterpillars but otherwise trouble free. It does not have invasive roots. (I will think about this further and get back to you with more choices.)

At last I am getting back to you with more suggestions for trees for patio shade. Here are a few ideas: My first choice is crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) since it’s at its best in Sunset Zone 9. Other ideas include flowering cherry (Prunus cerasifera), Japanese flowering apricot (P. mume), flowering crabapple (Malus), Forest Pansy redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’) and Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus). In several of these cases, you could plant more than one if room permits.

Comments

  1. Thanks so much! Would any of these trees grow in a manner the would provide a wide canopy to shade a patio? Thx again!

    • Other than ‘Forest Pansy’ perhaps not as wide as you want. These are trees that fit into the size of a patio, more to be looked at from the side. I love Chinese flame tree but the few I have seen in bloom had low branches as well. I would suggest magnolia but it has invasive roots. I would suggest, also Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia ‘True Green’) but it is a drippy tree. The variety called ‘True Green’ is evergreen and grows, if you help it by cutting it flat on the bottom of the foliage, in the perfect shape of an umbrella. That is what you want. These are known as patio trees but surface roots may be a problem. Nonetheless, a truly lovely tree and evergreen. Worth consideration. Another thought is fern pine (Podocarpus gracilior), which is a virtuous tree. This might be your top choice and can be trained into a nice umbrella shape. You will perhaps never find the perfect tree to put shade exactly where you want it and when. My personal solution to this problem is to build pergolas for shade over patios with tables and chairs beneath them and a vine to cover the roof—grapes for example or flowering vines, such as wisteria, to provide shade in summer and sun in winter after the leaves drop. I covered one of my pergolas at first with reed fencing for instant shade, then grew evergreen vines over that. Eventually we will remove the reed fencing from below.

  2. Hi Pat,

    Can you suggest some fast growing shrub or trees to fill in a couple of big holes in a privacy screen between our house and the condo complex next door. They need to be at least 10 feet tall and will be planted on the south side of our 6′ tall fence. They will be shaded sometimes by the neighboring plants/trees depending on where the sun is in the sky. They get more full sun in the spring and summer when the sun moves over on the horizon. We are near the bluffs in Del Mar.

    Thanks,

    Jennifer

    • First thing that comes to mind is bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus). It is fast-growing to 10 or 15 feet and prefers full sun but will grow in part shade though bloom less. It also brings birds. Cutting-grown selections such as ‘Improved’ or ‘Splendens’ are the best since when you buy one grown from seeds you can’t be sure what you are getting. Be sure to get one of these. Don’t buy one of the dwarf varieties by mistake! (Read the label.)

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