Advice on planting a tree near house/front steps archived

Posted By: rudbekiabut I see trees closer than that all the time around here and it doesn't appear to be a problem.

Planting a tree really close to the house makes it easier for squirrels and raccoons to gain access to your house. Just something to think about. Even with all the habitat available for them, the local population is more than saturating the natural nesting options because they are territorial. Once the trees are saturated with dreys (squirrel nests), they go house shopping in structures like your home.

Squirrels that are born in a home (in the soffits or an attic crawlspace, etc.) end up thinking that is how life should be when they must leave the nest and go out in search of their own home.

i have a 15-20 foot colorado blue spruce with a narrow spread planted about 6 feet from my foundation.

Are you looking for something that flowers, or is simply foliage? Do you want something evergreen or is it ok if it drops its leaves in winter?
Post a photo of your house if you can and it will be easier to make suggestions.

There are a lot of trees such as Dogwoods that don't grow to large. Most are less than 20 feet in diameter, so ten feet from the house might be OK. However, three feet from the steps is much to close imho.

I'd prefer a white flowering tree like a dogwood or crabapple or magnolia (I see one called an Elizabeth magnolia that looks nice). I keep thinking that maybe it could shade the steps, no? I remember having 4 small crabapple trees in my backyard growing up and I don't remember them being very tall and I know my dad trimmed them a lot. But maybe I should just do something vertical like a leyland cyprus. Someone has one down the street that looks kind of cool.

Two to three feet from the steps is not enough room. Dogwoods have a nice, horizontally spreading shape.

The rule of thumb I remember seeing HGN was to take the estimated adult height of the tree, halve that, and that is how far away from the foundation the tree should be. For example, if the type of tree you have selected usually reached a height of 30 feet, then it should be 15 feet away from your foundation.

Okay, I just found one called a Sargent crabapple that grows 6-10 ft tall with a 6-12 ft spread. Anyone have one?

I would strongly advise against planting a Leyland Cypress near your house. They can grow up to 3 feet a year and become quite large. A crabapple could be a good choice, just be sure that you don't have any trees in the cedar family on your property or a nearby neighbor. A disease called Cedar Apple Rust is fairly common in this area and develops when these plants are near each other (they serve as alternate hosts for a fungus). The cedar family includes junipers, false cypress (Chamaecyparis), and arbor vitae, so they're quite common around here.

Have you considered a white crape myrtle? I've noticed a number of them around SOMA this year and they're quite stunning in bloom. They grow in a nice vase-like shape, so their spread shouldn't become a problem near the base of your steps and foundation as long as you plant it far enough away.

Hi bikefixed,
Thanks for the welcome. I am a registered pharmacist, and worked for a big Pharma company back in the day, but several careers (and degrees) later, I'm now a landscape care professional. That's why I thought I'd start sharing some of my knowledge with the good folks on MOL. I liked how "pharmer" merged my 2 careers!
B

Welcome to MOL, Pharmer B ! I like your combo-career-name! It's perfect!

Posted By: Pharmer B A crabapple could be a good choice, just be sure that you don't have any trees in the cedar family on your property or a nearby neighbor. A disease called Cedar Apple Rust is fairly common in this area and develops when these plants are near each other (they serve as alternate hosts for a fungus). The cedar family includes junipers, false cypress (Chamaecyparis), and arbor vitae, so they're quite common around here..

I found out about this when I planted our crapapple. Apparently you shouldn't have a cedar tree within a half mile. If you look, there aren't any crapapple trees in Maplewood without orange spots on all the leaves. The only way to stop it is annual treatments with a fungicide.

Some types are resistant (including the one I planted), but it doesn't seem to make much difference. It's a really pretty tree, but I'm honestly considering ripping it out, so I really wouldn't recommend a crapapple.

What about a weeping cherry tree?

how about a juniper or boxwood? We have them pretty close to our house

I recommend planting something that is not apt to drop potential trip hazards such as fruit or cones that could fall on your steps or path to the house.

There are several star magnolias and little girl series magnolias that would fit the bill for your situation. Also, crape myrtles especially if the location is somewhat sheltered in the winter. In my opinion, while dogwoods and weeping cherries are beautiful small trees, they get quite large for 'next to the front steps' location. If you were looking for something for the corner of the house, dogwoods or cherries would be nice. My neighbor has a weeping cherry right next to front entrance and it covers most of the facade of the house.

Another thought would be the skinny juniper - sky pencil, I think. You just don't want a fat conifer at the front of the house unless you are looking to hide some part of the facade.

Posted By: momof4peepersWhat about a weeping cherry tree?

Unless you are talking about a stunted variety, they get big. We had one that was over 3 stories tall. There is also a huge 3+ story tall one in Caldwell that I used to pass when going to my midwives office.

How about a "Graham Blandy" boxwood:

I'm not fond of the way the bottom of the Graham Blandy looks. I have a very tall green-spire euonymous a couple of large azaleas to the right of where I want to plant the new thing (for which I'll be taking out a very tall rhododendron that I've never liked and didn't weather the drought well) and I'm not sure it would be a good idea to have competing columnar shapes. I fear having too many different types of plants will look silly.

Given that you have a columnar shrub and some azaleas that have more of a horizontal spread (I presume), I would go for a tall multi-trunked shrub which has a vase shape. Some magnolias and most crape myrtle are vase shaped. You could also look at some witch hazels which have gorgeous fall color and winter/early spring fragrant flowers.

I want to put the new tree/shrub where what's left of the tall rhododendron that's next to the stairs is only it would have to be planted more forward and almost to the right of the black-eyed susans. I'm also thinking of moving the azaleas to the back or side yard because the colors of the blooms don't work for me at all. I want to do a garden of mostly white, yellow, and purple, and the azaleas are bright red/pink and the dying rho has pink blooms.

why do you want to block your house and windows...you don't want to see what's across the street?

You mentioned tree or shrub. Have you considered an oakleaf hydrangea? They grow 6-8' tall and has pretty much the same shape as the rhody you're replacing.

www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/plant.asp?code=D380

Seeing your photo, I still think my original recco for a white crape myrtle is a good one, and also like bigben's oakleaf hydrangea suggestion. I had also been thinking of a Hydrangea paniculata, which can be pruned to maintain a vase or standard tree shape and flowers a little later and longer than the oakleaf.

Agree with pharmer, a white crape myrtle or hydrangea paniculata would be gorgeous in that location. They have many new cultivars of hydrangea paniculata with interesting variations in flower form and flowering times.

going to have to go with OS on this one - you want to block the windows?

I have two oakleafs in the the backyard and they are wonderful.
I would also consider going native.

Some places to plug in reqs and get plant recos & other lists

http://www.enature.com/native_invasive/
http://www.npsnj.org/
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/njriparianforestbuffers/nativeplants.htm

Have you thought about a Serviceberry?

[img]http://www.naturehills.com/images/productimages/serviceberry_4.jpg[/img]

It's a native NJ plant, which is nice. Some varieties are more shrub like, some are more tree like -- I think getting as big as 20'. Nice white flowers in early spring, edible berries (the birds will get most of them though).

You could put a lilac in there. You'll know it's Spring when you go in and out that door!