My mom is looking for another tree for her front yard... right now she has a Hong Kong Orchid, 2-bottle-brush and a small lime tree... she's looking for something asthetically appealing, not too large but she wants to block out a bit of the light from the street lamp... any ideas would be appreciated, just start throwing them out there?? Thanks guys, I know you'll think of something

Can you post a picture of her front yard?

You don't mention what city your Mom is in, but I know Chandler, if you have a problem with the light, will come in and install a deflector, that will deflect the light away from your house. She might call her city and see if they would do that. Those lights sit really tall, it's going to take a pretty tall tree to block them.

alan

It's the light across the street, so I don't think they'll cover it since it will defeat the purpose of even having one... it doesn't need to be too tall to block it out, 10 feet max and you won't get the glare anymore... she lives in Phoenix (she's my crazy swap buddy, lol)... I'll try to get a picture of her front yard in the next couple days...

Your very limited, because most tree's loose there leaves in the fall. I'm thinking a citrus or ficus.

Alan

or a palm

Is it just one window she's trying to block the light from? Shades might work better :)

Alan

Oh, hahaha, forgot to mention it's because they have an outside eating area and they have lights in the trees and they want to keep the ambiance... I don't think they would mind the tree being bare occasionally, or in the winter, because they won't go out there as often at night when it's cold...

Now I totally got you. I stopped putting Christmas lights on the outside of my house because the street light totally washes them out. Fortunately we sit in the back yard most the time, and there are no street lights back there. Only a dark alley. The ambiance is perfect. I will tell you that my Bradford Ornamental Pear tree is now blocking a great deal of that sunlight, but only when it's in leaf. Which is spring, summer, and fall. It generally doesn't loose it's leaves till December. I'm thinking a couple of the biggest ficus trees she can order would be the best deal...but they scare me, because then you have to worry about that frost we get every so many years that can potentially kill them. Of course, if she puts lights in the Ficus trees too, maybe that would keep them warm enough in the winter :)

alan

She doesn't have Christmas lights, they are larger lanterns that flicker like they are lit by candles... really pretty and unique... that ornamental pear might work... it's in leaf in all the right seasons... I'll send the name to my mom so she can look it up and see if she likes it... Thanks!! If you guys have anymore ideas though, please, feel free to throw them out there

Remember, that's the one that gets the beautiful red leaves on it in the late fall early winter. So there will be leaf cleanup. But it sure is a pretty tree.

I love the tree for shiney green leaves, excellent shade, fall color, and white lightly fragrant blooms in the spring. BTW, it's ornamental, never gets any fruit.

One bad about the tree is it is a very slow grower, so again, she should get the biggest tree she can afford. Also, I'm not sure about where you live, but there seems to be a lack of enough iron in my soil. About three years ago, I had to start adding iron to the soil around the tree in the spring, just before leaf set. Otherwise the leaves are very pale green, almost white, and get sunburnt very easily. Fortunately iron is not expensive, so this is a simple, low cost fix. Here is a picture of the tree in the fall. If she would like to see a picture of it now, let me know, and I'll get out and take one.

alan

Jacaranda? I know they grow pretty tall but they survive. Shemel Ash?

Oh, pretty tree, love it.... great suggestions...

Brittany, There is a great booklet you can pick up at the library and sometimes at a nursery, it's free, I've seen it at Bakers. Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert. I have a shamel ash and it needs 30 gallons of water per week in summer. I'm surprised Susie would suggest a water intensive plant.

Here's some ideas from my copy of the booklet:

leather leaf acacia (evergreen) - to 10' - slow to moderate growth
anacacho orchid tree (semi-evergreen) - shrub-like to about 8' - slow to moderate growth
cascalote - (evergreen) to 15' slow to moderate growth
foothills palo verde (evergreen) to 15' slow grower
mastic tree (evergreen) - to 15' slow grower
mexican buckeye (deciduous) shrub-like slow grower

HTH - I browsed by tree size only, looking for any under 15'

The think, with the desert trees, why I didn't recommend them is, most of them are not real dense, they have feathery leaves, so a lot of light still does get through. They do shade, but not completely shade. In regards to the Bradford Ornamental Pear. Now that it is established it only gets watered once every two months, bubblers, for 8 hours.

Alan

Mesquites have feather leaves but provide some really good shade and mine have leaves all year I believe. They can be pruned to the shape and height you want.

To me, Mesquites are continual pruning nightmares!!!

Alan

I'm putting in a small Mimosa soon. Feathery, however, bare in Winter.

I love my Mimosa, but boy are the flowers messy!! Don't put it near a BBQ/Eating/Socializing area, like I did!!

I love the flowers, I love the wonderful fragrance, especially at night. I love that it attracts hummingbirds and the butterflies. I love it's form and shape. Again, it does not provide heavy shade. I would say moderate shade, with it's fern like leaves. If I had it to do over again, i would have planted the Mimosa in the lawn, and my Pink Trumpet tree out by the BBQ pit.

Alan

Great endorsement, Alan!
I'm putting mine in the lawn. I have pretty good shade on the West side of my yard with a neighbor's very tall hedge, 2 Queens, nice size Key Lime with good canopy, neighbors tangerine. I needed something with feathery shade in summer and I think it will be perfect. I'm digging the hole now and hope to get it in next weekend. Only about 3 ft tall at the moment... I grew it from seed. But, I have *high* hopes!