I planted our cottonwoods in 1993; they have grown huge and do hold the soil well. Hurricane Ike took the tops out of several but I was surprised at how well they survived generally. We have a farm so the cotton mess isn't a problem. I have heard of communities that outlaw cottonwoods however, with good reason.

I wonder if something smaller and less dramatic than maple or cottonwood might work with the scale of the yard. Apricot trees will sometimes get lovely fall color and can easily be kept small, for example. But if fruit is a problem, I've seen some locust trees that produce very light shade that would be great to garden underneath. And they nitrify the soil. I expect neither will take a huge amount of excess water - no more care than you give roses. But I suppose root competition is something to look out for in any choice of a tree.

Well, considering it's going to take much more time & effort to get that damned stump out of the ground than I was expecting, I will be planting the sweetgum in the back where my Autumn Serviceberry croaked. It'll have plenty of space to grow there.

I really want either a Mimosa or a Brandywine Maple. That's what I've got my heart set on, so I probably won't be putting in a tree this year as it's already too hot to be planting them anyways. I really don't know where I'll be getting the mimosa... none of the nurseries here carry them and I've only seen one in the entire Denver metro. But it's a tree from my childhood and I want one! I had one 3 years ago.. it grew nicely, survived the winter well, then we had a massive coldsnap where it went from 60 degrees that day to -15 that night. Lost SOOOO many trees with that snap. :( Plus a Brandywine maple stays super small, so that's a great advantage for me. Only problem is finding one (again!). Locusts get too big too fast. I have a baby Sunburst locust in the back and it's growing nicely.. should be shading part of my house within 2 years.

Maybe I'll just leave it blank & put in lots of roses? I could do that...

Or an arbor that you could cover with roses?

I have a little yard so I like shrubs. Lilac, Viburnum, Ninebark, Sweetshrub, Mockorange, etc.
I'm thinking about adding this:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/...

If you make a run to Phoenix, we can probably find you a mimosa here at about any nursery, but I don't know what there cold tolerance is. I know the first couple of years, till mine got established, there was frost kill on the top of it. One word of warning, they are very, very, very, very messy trees. Both for their wonderfully fragrant blooms and there leaves when they fall in the fall. So don't plant it somewhere like over your BBQ area, like I did.

Alan

OH NO!! YOU DIDN'T PLANT IT NEAR YOUR BBQ!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!



The flowers are sticky, sappy, get into your hair, and look like nasty cotton candy when they start to die off. Leaves couldn't be any worse than with that stinking aspen... leaves up the waZOO! Plus the long seed pods get into everything.

They're supposed to be a zone 6 tree. That part of the yard should be fine.. it's mostly protected by the house and the snow doesn't get too deep there from the swirling winds. And almost every tree here gets frost kill on the top of the branches.. even OLD trees (20-50 years old). I can definitely have a 10-20 ft tree there easily. Plus they don't produce dense shade, so that would be great to plant stuff (like, say, roses?) under. DH wanted me to put in a catalpa. I love catalpas, but they have the deepest shade and grow to ugly shapes (they do not grow into a uniform shape.. rather, just every which way).

I'm planning on making a run to visit my parents next spring down in S. NM, so I should be able to find one there. It's just the concept of driving 13+ hours with a tree in the back of the van..