Shade trees for small yards: Re: Replacements for big leaf maples?

» Marge_Talt - Re: Replacements for big leaf maples?

Wow! Laurie, sounds like you've got your work cut out for you:-)

Yes, you would need a good, professional tree crew - no quesion about it. I've had to have several large trees near the house taken out - hit by lightening and other interesting little problems. I can tell you a good crew is worth every penny; a lousy crew will cost you money you didn't want to spend!

That smaller tree sounds like it needs to come out NOW.

When you get the trees taken down, make sure the crew has a big chipper so they can chip up all but the trunk and largest branches. Then, get them to dump those chips somewhere on your property and let them rot. There is nothing like well rotted woodchips for mulch or incorporating into the soil or just planting into once they get really rotted. Plus, you can use the semi-rotted chips for path surfacing. Takes a few years for a pile to rot down, but it's black gold when it does.

If you have a fireplace; you'll also get a nice free supply of fire wood. If you don't have one, build an outdoor barbeque and use it for that:-)

I wonder just what extent you're not allowed to grade? I can see the problems with getting a dozer in there and moving a lot of earth because even with silt fencing, there's always a lot of washing of soil and I am sure that's why they don't want this done as it would wash straight down into the river.

However, seems to me you might be able to do some leveling with some retaining walls and then filling in behind them, rather than heavy grading. Would seem to me that retaining that slope a bit would help ensure that there is no washing into the river, but logic doesn't always prevail with government agencies!

I would expect that most of your outdoor living will happen on the porch, so you won't have need for some large patio area. But a little leveling of some areas would make a more pleasant garden right off the porch where activities will be concentrated (I imagine).

Seems to me that a porch roof will provide shade for sitting, so huge shade trees would not be a necessity for enjoyment of the outdoor living area.

If that is the case, then I'd suggest looking at smaller trees; concentrating on those that provide the most interest during the time you will be using the porch - flowers, fruit, bark and form - not to mention leaf - there are some neat trees with variegated foliage out there:-) A tree whose ultimate height is 20 or 30 feet (6-9m) will cast considerable shade without turning out to dominate the entire area.

I'd also be inclined to live on that porch for a season; see which spots are most used and then plant trees to frame the view of the river from those places. That's a very unique and dramatic view; you need to make the most of it IMO. Also consider any views from 2nd story windows which now probably look smack into the crowns of the large trees instead of out and over the river.

If you're going to be doing construction, that's the time to remove the tree(s) closest to the house on that side. If they are starting to decline, construction activity will only speed the process. If not from digging footings, then from compacting the soil with machines, materials and large booted feet tramping back and forth.

Let us know which tree(s) you decide on, OK?

-- posted by Marge_Talt