Local homeowners share insights on the best shade trees to plant
Posted
I desperately need shade behind my house. Is there a tree that works here in Phoenix that is A, a good shade tree, B grows super fast, and C, can be planted within 5 feet of a block fence? There will be grass around the tree. — Whitney Monahan
___
E-Z
Moringas. They grow super easy from seeds and fast. — Mary GZ
If you want a fruiting one, look into a mulberry tree as well. — Sara Allen
___
Ashy
Put in an ash tree. They are wonderful trees and they can handle the heat. They have a nice big canopy that will shade your yard. You can’t go wrong. — Luann Recker McDonnell
___
Read up
Be careful of recommendations of fast-growing trees. Research the canopy width and height. Ash trees do get over 50 feet tall and I have seen them at 30 feet wide. Moringa grow fast and are a soft wood that can easily be trimmed to stay small. Also, be aware of invasive roots, like sissoo and eucaliptis. — Rose Courtney
___
Flowers
If you are looking for a tree that gets about 10 feet tall, I would recommend the Arabian lilac. It grows 3 to 5 feet per year, so full size in about two years. Does well with drought, heat and frost. It also gets very small purple flowers, but it’s not messy... — Lisa Pagac
___
Short lived
Plan for the mature size of the tree and don’t count on constantly lopping the poor thing to control size. Remember that in general, the faster they grow, the shorter the lifespan. — Sandra House
___
Falling
I have an Arizona ash in my backyard and my neighbor has a Chinese pistache. Both are amazing shade trees. They lose their leaves briefly in the winter, so they are messy, but I love that feel of “fall” even if it mostly happens in December. — Julie Williams Peck
