To continue sharing my love of trees I want to share with you some good species to consider planting in your yard. Below is a list of sixteen trees that do well here in the Central Valley and are easy to locate at any nursery. This is by no means an exhaustive list! There are so many more excellent tree species for the area. Along with a picture of the tree I will share some basic info that will hopefully help you make a decision if the tree is right for you or not. One quick note, E/D means evergreen or deciduous. If you need an explanation of these terms check out my previous post about tree selection. Also don't let my notes about pests or litter deter you immediately from a type of tree. I want you to be well informed when you make your decision but most issues with pests are very easily prevented, and I want you to be realistic about how much a tree will drop that you may have to clean up. If you don’t find one you love here, head over to my services page and send me a message, I would love to help you pick out the best tree for your yard!
Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp.)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 12-30 ft (Species dependent)
Growth rate: Species dependent
Flowering season: Summer
Water needs: Low once established
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: Very low
Pest / disease considerations: Prone to aphid
Additional notes: High litter with leaves, flowers, and pods. Loves the heat! One of the best selections for summer color for California’s Central Valley. There is a wide variable in size, color, and growth rate across these trees. Generally speaking the smaller varieties are slower growing and the larger ones are faster. If you need help selecting which variety is right for you don’t hesitate to send me a message or reach out to your local nursery professional.
Purple Pony Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 12 ft
Growth rate: Moderate
Flowering season: Early spring
Water needs: Moderate
Heat tolerance: Moderate
Root damage potential: Low
Pest / disease considerations: Shothole, borers, sunburn on young wood.
Additional notes: Dramatic foliage, beautiful spring flowers, low mess though can produce fruit around 20 years old. Protect the young trunk from sunburn with tree wrap until the canopy is established enough to shade it through hotter months.
Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: ~20 ft
Growth rate: Slow
Flowering season: Spring/inconspicuous
Water needs: Low once established
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: Very low
Pest / disease considerations: Scale insects
Additional notes: Edible leaves! Great selection for the Central Valley heat and water. Males are low mess dropping very little litter. Female trees can produce fruit. Look for varieties like Saratoga and Hubbard for the best landscape trees. Easily hedged to maintain size or aesthetic. Great for screening.
Fruitless Olive (Olea spp.)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: ~20 ft
Growth rate: Very Slow
Flowering season: Spring/inconspicuous
Water needs: Low
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: Low
Pest / disease considerations: Can get root rot if inappropriately placed.
Additional notes: great statement tree that gives the classic Mediterranean feel. Great selection for our summers in the central valley. Requires full sun. Remember each has their own personality-don’t try to force prune it to look a certain way and definitely don't hedge it. You will regret it.
Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 50-70ft
Growth rate: Slow to Moderate
Flowering season: Inconspicuous
Water needs: Low
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: Moderate
Pest / disease considerations: None notable
Additional notes: California native. High volume of litter with the leaves and acorns. Massive tree, make sure you have the space.
Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: 50-70ft
Growth rate: Slow to moderate
Flowering season: Inconspicuous
Water needs: Low
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: Moderate
Pest / disease considerations:
Additional notes: Very high volume of litter all through the year. Make sure you have the space for this one too, they are very large.
Gingko (Ginkgo biloba)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 50-80ft
Growth rate: Very Slow
Flowering season:
Water needs: Moderate
Heat tolerance: Moderate
Root damage potential: Low to Moderate
Pest / disease considerations: None notable
Additional notes: These trees are living fossils, a truly ancient species. Beautiful gold fall color. Male trees are a must, but you will likely not come across a female tree for sale any more, no one wants the stinky fruit around. Beautiful form for all varieties sold. They can get very large but are incredibly slow growing and will not reach the height listed until it is near 100 years old.
Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis ‘Keith Davey’)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 30ft
Growth rate: moderate
Flowering season: Inconspicuous
Water needs: low once established
Heat tolerance: Good
Root damage potential: Low
Pest / disease considerations: None notable
Additional notes: Trees are either male or female. If you want low mess choose a guaranteed male selection such as Keith Davy. If you select a tree labeled as just Chinese Pistache it is not guaranteed that you will have a fruitless tree. Female trees produce an abundance of berries that are beautiful but very messy. They are very well behaved trees and have excellent fall color.
Maple (Acer rubrum ‘Redpointe’)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 40-50 ft
Growth rate: Moderate to Fast
Flowering season: Spring
Water needs: Moderate to high
Heat tolerance: Moderate
Root damage potential: Moderate
Pest / disease considerations: Potential chlorosis at high pH
Additional notes: Beautiful upright form makes an excellent shade tree. Incredible scarlet red fall color. Low litter, great selection for a larger yard. Flowers are present but typically not very showy. One thing to note is that other red maples are great selections as well but can suffer from chlorosis at high pH levels. Redpointe is usually more tolerant.
Oklahoma Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis ‘Oklahoma’)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 15-20ft
Growth rate: slow
Flowering season: Early Spring
Water needs: low once established
Heat tolerance: Good
Root damage potential: Low
Pest / disease considerations: scale
Additional notes: Showstopper in spring with magenta flowers. Many varieties of redbud available but Oklahoma is most heat tolerant. Beautiful grey bark, lovely heart shaped leaves, produces some pods. Moderate litter.
Rosalinda Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: Up to 15 ft
Growth rate: moderate
Flowering season: Spring
Water needs: Low once established
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: Very low
Pest / disease considerations: Aphid
Additional notes: Excellent small tree with beautiful pink flowers in spring, great for screening, bronzy new growth, and fairly low litter.
Red tip Photinia (Photinia fraseri)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: 15-20 ft
Growth rate: Moderate
Flowering season: Spring
Water needs: Low once established
Heat tolerance: Good
Root damage potential: Low
Pest / disease considerations:
Additional notes: Showy fragrant white flowers in spring, easy to maintain size, attractive red new growth. Makes an excellent screening plant.
Shiny Xylosma (Xylosma congestum)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: 12-20 ft
Growth rate: Moderate
Flowering season: Spring/not showy
Water needs: moderate to low once established
Heat tolerance: Good
Root damage potential: low
Pest / disease considerations:
Additional notes: Easy to maintain size, great as a screening plant, moderate mess, beautiful shiny leaves with bronzy new growth. I need to point out that Xylosma is technically a large shrub and as a result can have a bit of a wonky growth habit. They are easy to prune and can take hedging to keep them in line.
Arizona Cyprus (Cupressus arizonica var. glabra)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: 20-30 ft
Growth rate: Moderate
Flowering season: N/A
Water needs: Low once established
Heat tolerance: Good
Root damage potential: Moderate
Pest / disease considerations: Spider mites
Additional notes: Great for screening, as a specimen or groupings. Striking foliage, some varieties are almost baby blue. Great option for a living Christmas tree in the Central Valley.
Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus)
E/D: Deciduous
Size: 20-25 ft
Growth rate: slow
Flowering season: Spring
Water needs: moderate
Heat tolerance: moderate
Root damage potential: Low
Pest / disease considerations: no outstanding considerations
Additional notes: This tree generally has a wider spread than height and has attractive peeling bark that provides some winter interest. Fall color is yellow and produces a berry in the fall/winter which attracts birds. Great for an Asian style or classic garden style. Considered higher litter due to fruit production as well as flower and leaf litter.
Strawberry tree (Arbutus spp.)
E/D: Evergreen
Size: ~30 ft
Growth rate: slow
Flowering season: Fall to winter
Water needs: low
Heat tolerance: Excellent
Root damage potential: low
Pest / disease considerations: Susceptible to root rot
Additional notes: Beautiful red flaky bark makes this tree stand out. The fruit is edible, and has a long bloom season. Does not like much summer watering which can cause root rot. Because this tree flowers and bears fruit it is considered a high litter tree.
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