I am hoping that the collective wisdom out there can make a few recommendations for me. I am looking to shade part of my house. That's the easy part. I live in North Texas, just North of Dallas. As you can imagine, summers are very hot, 95 is average and some time of 100 plus. Winters are very mild, freezing is possible, but not common. We are not in a drought like much of Texas is, but rainfall is not plentiful. I know that I will need to water quite alot when establishing the trees, but I would prefer something that when established, can tolerate less water. I am looking to shade the western exposure of my house. The trees would not get any morning sun, but will get full sun from noon on. I would like a mature height of in the neighborhood of 25 to 30ft, maybe a little more. I would prefer something that does not spread too wide, single trunk is better then multiple. I would also prefer leaves that are distinctive in some way. Either in shape or summer color. Not too many requirements!! Any way, if anyone out there has a favorite Maple that might fit the bill, I'd love to know. Thanks. Tom
Shantung Maple, Acer truncatum, might be a good choice. "Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. ... Established trees reportedly have good heat and drought tolerance. ...typically grows 20-25’ tall with a densely-branched, rounded crown." Information from Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant Finder And a nursery near Dallas, Metro Maples, has a cultivar called 'Fire Dragon' that has bright red fall color. According to them "It is a medium-size shade tree to 35 feet that grows in full Texas sun." Here's the link to their webpage: http://www.metromaples.com/Shantung.htm. Being from Texas also, they've got some good information.
I was just in Dallas and there are Japanese Maples - several varieties - planted right at the airport. One large one looked to be Seriyu. And there were four large red-leaved varieties at the courthouse...
