I have a huge dawn redwood in my front yard. It has got so big after the years, I think it is maybe over 50 years old, the roots started to surface and went underneath the house. Due to the root problem, my garage floor is cracked and some areas are higher than the others. I know it is a precious tree but I have to have it cut down. According to my city's requirement, I have to plant another tree (not a fruit tree) to replace it. I live in northern California. The front yard is facing SW and has full sun all year round. I don't want to plant some tree that will be too big when matures and will cause the same problem down the road. Any suggestion on what kind of tree I shall be looking for?
Find your Sunset Climate Zone in the Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK and then look at their lists of Trees for Garden and Patio in the plant selection guide near the front of the book. Any that spark your interest can then be looked up in the Plant Encyclopedia making up the bulk of the book.
Ron B. Thank you for the info. I found Ginko Biloba interesting. Hopefully it does not grow too tall or too broad.
Big but slow. Narrow cultivars are on the market. Most forms are quite gaunt for a long time, you might want to try one that is low-branching and dense from a young age such as Autumn Gold.
That "gaunt" term Ron B used is not one I hear very often. But it's rather true for that tree. You are near SF - that's pretty mild. You seem to have myriad of possibilities. Did you want evergreen or deciduous? By the way, your root issue is something I've seen up this way a lot too. If sub-soil is a bit compacted, the root ordeal can be even more of pain. Some trees I like are Parrotia, Black Tupelo, River Birch and Chitalpa. Not Catalpa - but Chitalpa: blooms in summer. Am fond of Western Hemlock and Blue Atlas Cedar too. Both a big, but not near the root growth, nor quite the topgrowth speed of what you had.
I don't suppose the garage could move? just a thinking outside the square type thought. Seems such a pity tocut down 50 years of growth. Nope forget that looks like the garage is part of house. Liz
You could also go with Delonix regia, which gets big fast, but has a very deep, non-invasive root system, or if you are warm enough, one of the palms, like a Canary Island Date.
Regarding ginkgo tree: make sure it is a Male tree, female tree produces bad smelling pods and produces too much litter Good luck
Delonix too tropical far north of southernmost California (2001 Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK zones it for Hawaii only). Canary Island date palm probably OK; I've seen long-established Phoenix sp. as far north as Gold Beach, OR. Sunset (2001) puts Fremont just inside Sunset 17. P. canariensis is zoned by them for that climate zone.
This website might be helpful: http://selectree.calpoly.edu/attribute_search.lasso It's for California and the link I've posted brings you to a page that allows you to choose many options for what kind of tree you may want by clicking on what you want and do not want in a tree. Example: root-damage potential (you'd want to click on "low"), invasive/non-invasive, native/non-native, bark colour, exposure, etc... the list is HUGE! I put in three characteristics and the website came up with 72 trees.
The Mimosa tree, looks like an acacia and has a beautiful, umbrella shaped crown, with gorgeous flower clusters....and should not affect your foundation, unless you plant it up against your eves? This tree is absolutely stunning!
