Hello folks,

Hope everyone is staying healthy and safe.

Was hoping I can benefit from the collective knowledge of this community to ID a few trees in our yard. We recently moved here and I have since developed some nasty allergies so part of the Dr's instructions was to try and ID trees around us.

We have 5 of them so will create a thread for each one.

Thank you!!

Ah man...was not able to start the additional threads because I am a new member. I have rest of them here in case folks are able to help this way too.

Really appreciate any input!

There isn't enough detail in the photos to give definitive ID's but here are some guesses and general categories:

#1 no idea
#2 based on the bark and what looks like last years old blooms on top, I would say Crepe Myrtle.
#3 an oak in the "red oak" family.
#4 probably a maple and likely a Red Maple.
#5 probably Redwood but too distant to be certain (Redwoods obviously do well in your area).

Thank you so much KellyFW.

I did take some close ups. Hopefully that can help ID more definitively!

#1 is Podocarpus
#2 Crepe Myrtle
#3 some kind of Oak
#4 some kind of Maple
#5 are Redwoods planted way too close together.

Was your yard put in by a landscaping company? Unless your yard is about 1/2 acre, you have too many large trees (the only small growers are the Podocarpus and the Crepe Myrtle). Landscape companies plant so things look good now but, in 5 years, you will be hiring someone to take most of those trees down.

None of those plants should cause allergies. What's blooming? That's more likely your culprit - but it isn't necessarily something in your yard.

DaisyI: Thank you so much. Really appreciate the extra advise too, on them being too close.

To be honest I am not sure if the previous owners or a landscaping company did this.

So on allergies: The ones identified actually do match my allergy test results. I went and got a comprehensive test and I was most severely reactive to Oak and Maple. Eucalyptus as well among some others, but I know we don't have any of those. So that makes sense to me.

Given what you Id'd and my allergy tests, I think I have an initial list of ones to take care of. Will look into removing the Oak and Maple. Would you recommend I remove a couple of the Redwoods too while they are small?

Finally, any tips on finding removal services? How to get a good quote and a good company?

Thank you again

How many redwoods are there? It depends upon what look you want. Jammed together hedge look, take out every other one. If you want them to grow into majestic redwood looking trees, leave just a couple of them. I wouldn't want a redwood too close to my house or driveway.

The trees are small enough that a large pair of lopping shears or Christmas tree saw should do the job. None will come back from the roots so, dig enough to chop out the trunk and about 1 ft around it. That will do it.

ahlawi, that last photo doesn't look like the same tree as #4. Do you have something else mixed in there or is it my eyes?

I wondered the same thing but photo #4 and photo #10 are both Maple trees. Hopefully there aren't two maples in the yard!

They are both the same They do look different in the photos. I had to go check myself. I guess the closeup and angle makes them look different. Luckily only 1 maple!

On the redwoods: They are in the backyard away from any driveways etc. The last thing before the fence separating us from this somewhat tall apt complex. So, the goal is more of a hedge / to attain some privacy for the yard from the complex vs majestic tree.

Before all of this, I was wondering if we should replace those with something else that is faster growing and more built for privacy. I know that once they grow they may give us some privacy but redwoods probably would take forever as I understand it. Maybe I can take some out and leave the rest, but also plant a bunch of fast growing stuff that would work well with it.

Thanks for the tip on the saw. Will give that a try!

The original poster should talk to their allergist about what exactly it is about any species of tree that could be causing any kind of allergic reaction.

The maple(s) shown seem to be sporting samaras - the helicopter-like seeds that form on pistillate maple trees. There isn't anything on those trees which is likely to cause any kind of allergic reaction in anyone. If pollen is a culprit, then that would be appropriately attributed to staminate trees - not shown in the maples illustrated here.

Destroying trees out of ignorance or misinformation doesn't help in health nor advances knowledge.

Thanks ViburnumValley. That is a good idea. I will do that before taking any action.

Plants that disperse their pollen on the wind are many times the culprit. Oaks, hickories, pines are among species that rely on wind to blow pollen from male parts to receptive female parts.

Having one of these species on your property is probably not helpful to someone with allergies. BUT - if your street is lined with the same species, or there are a dozen in neighboring properties, do you believe that the removal of that individual is going to make any difference? Especially when the flowering/pollen dispersal period is - all things considered - very brief?

As I noted above: knowledge is power. Knowing what specialists in health care cost, you would be well spent to invest in an arborist's knowledge in reviewing all these things about your landscape and all the nearby contributing landscapes. I think there is some kind of saying about "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

You don't have to be religious to see the value in that approach, even in gardening.