Zone 7. Southeast PA.
I have plans to remove the concrete pad in the front yard area of my house, and I want to plant some kind of shade tree here. My street, like many others totally lacks any shade in the sidewalk, and gets quite scorched by the sun. I’m trying to start some kind of urban forest that will show some kind of dividends in a few decades, even if we move out. Right now behind the fence (but about 4-5’ away from it) are 3 types of oak trees, and on either side of the gate are crape Myrtle. Not shown in this picture is about 80’ of fence frontage along the sidewalk. The sidewalk is too narrow for street trees.
Close to a decade ago there used to be some kind of dogwood tree in the front yard before some flippers bought the house and cut it down. The patio is about 11×10 and is totally useless to me. What tree would you plant here, and other plants along the driveway/alleyway by the side of the house? The front of my house is south facing so the patio gets sunlight literally all day long.
by Andololol
41 Comments
Magnolia tree
A for sale sign
Ask over in r/arborists!
Too many options! I’d recommend finding a really quality local nursery and asking them for their urban tree recs for your area. Trees recommended as urban/street trees can withstand salt spray, adverse soil conditions, etc. Also take note of width – looks like you could probably only accomodate 20′ diameter from the pic.
Never mind the shade trees – I would be hiring my fave local artist to spray a mural on that sidewall, omg. How cool.
Lol, but yeah, Im a big fan of trees that give back – so I vote for a small espaliered fruit tree.
Idk but be mindful of the height/width. You don’t want the town coming in & cutting up 30% of your tree b/c it’s over the sidewalk or near electrical.
Err, there’s no dirt. You aren’t getting a shade tree out of those planters.
You could do a retractable awning for shade in summer, pull it back for heat in the cool season. Then just get whichever native plants and shrubs you like.
I’d not plant a tree, I’d out a nice long rectangular hedge that come up to just the foundation line under the main floor window.
Honestly nothing. It’s going to destroy the sidewalk over time as the roots grow. Unless you plan to rip up all the concrete and redo the entire front entrance to add a yard and plants.
Is there any ground to plant in? Looks covered by concrete
There’s a couple varieties of pecan trees you could plant. They can get fairly large canopies wonderful for shade they’re pretty big trees though. And if you actually wanted pecans you would need two of them
What that grows in concrete instead of soil.
Quercus Robur ‘fastigiata’ English oak. Doesn’t get too wide but gets plenty tall enough for shade.
Honey locust, super tough street tree.
Ginkgos are super resilient and do well in cities, just make sure you get a male tree.
Catalpas have very large broad leaves and make lots of shade. They also have pretty flowers and interesting seed pods that kids often play with.
If you want something to grow tall and fast, get a Royal Empress. I have one that is 8 years old in my backyard that is 50+ ft tall.
I love (genuinely) how atypical your home looks. It’s huge stone foundation makes me think of a fortress.
It looks like you want a tree that you can safely plant right next to your house and one that will provide shade. That seems like a very specific criteria. Maybe ask in the arborist sub as well.
What front yard ?
Pawpaw
A really big one!
Tree of heaven
Crepe Myrtle then. Survives hot sun. It can be trimmed when too tall over the sidewalk. Has summer flowers, gets tall, and indestructible.
Bamboo trees in a planter along the front like a fence Too much cement
My country road commission has a guide for tree planting near their roadways, (including their right of ways) and includes recommended and prohibited tree varieties. Maybe yours does too?
Is it East facing?
There’s no dirt…,
I would talk to a local master gardener. You don’t have a huge amount of space so you don’t want something whose roots will destroy your house. Also, go with evergreen if you can.
Are you planning on putting this thing directly into the concrete?!
Isn’t the regional tree the “greased light pole?”. Or is that only in Philly?
Crepe Myrtle are a pretty tree and are okay under power lines down here in MD.
Tinted windows
I’d rule out a sequoia.
Are you in Philadelphia? Look into the PHS Tree Tender Program to request a free tree from the city. If you have room in your front lawn and on the sidewalk you could get 2 trees for that space. I would recommend looking at the Philly Parks and Rec approved street tree list to find species well adapted for urban environments.
[https://pg-cloud.com/phs/?openform=request-a-tree](https://pg-cloud.com/phs/?openform=request-a-tree)
[https://www.phila.gov/media/20230518165141/Parks-Rec-approved-street-tree-list-rev-05-2023.pdf](https://www.phila.gov/media/20230518165141/Parks-Rec-approved-street-tree-list-rev-05-2023.pdf)
Junkyard dog maybe some barb wire.
Are you getting rid of the concrete? Where is the dirt?
Something native to your country and local region 🙂
Remove the concrete pad in front of the of the house? Looks like an incredibly bad idea.
Where will a tree go? All I see is concrete.
Mimosa tree
Demo the concrete pad. With no same-side electrical- Plant a Burr Oak.
A sturdy species that can manage the urban conditions and then choose either a column shaped type of that species or a pleated version. The column type will stay that way on it’s own without trimming (do look up mature width) and the pleated/espalier models need yearly trimming.
Quercus, Platanus, Ginkgo or Alnus come to mind as species that have types that can handle urban conditions quite well.
*I have a Liquidambar ‘Slender Silhouette’ in my garden that is over 10 years old, but still only about 3ft in width. The choice of the tree variant can really make a difference.*