Long story short, my landscapers planted 3 sycamore trees (without telling me) to replace my 3 maple trees that perished the first year I had them.
Everything I read says that Sycamore trees are terrible to put near sidewalks and streets AND that they are among the messiest trees you could possibly have. I tried to be optimistic at first, but I know if I don't replace them now, I'll either be stuck with problem trees or I'll have to replace them later and never have beautiful, mature trees at the street.
Here's just one example of the mess they make (doesn't show the seed balls that can cause respiratory distress, the mess of fallen limbs, or the damage that can be caused to nearby cement):
picture credit:
http://bobklips.com/dirtytrees...
SO...I'm trying to convince my husband the sycamore trees need replaced
and I need some suggestions for what would be good alternatives. There are so many trees and street tree suggestions online, but it's hard to sift through all of them and many nurseries don't give you the *cons* of certain trees so that I can weigh my choices fairly.
Can you guys tell me what trees you recommend as GREAT street trees
and which one you know for sure to steer clear of
?
A little about my growing conditions:
zone: 5b/6a
sun: south-facing (full sun)
air: high winds, pollution isn't much of a problem
soil: clay-like, possibly a bit compacted, fluctuates somewhat between wet and dry (but we do have an irrigation system), (I don't know the pH level offhand)
spacing: roughly 35' between trees, planting area is on a 10' wide patch between the sidewalk and street
Preferences: It would be great to have a tree that either flowers or produces edible nuts. Tree cannot be evergreen. No messy fruits, please! No stinky trees, please! A fall color other than red would be great.
