"Keith" wrote in message
. 17.102...
Emery Davis sagely wrote in
:

On Tue, 31 Jan 2006 03:04:57 GMT
Keith wrote:

I live in Battle Creek Michigan, and this spring I'd like to put a
tree (or two) in my front yard, halfway between the house and
sidewalk. While I'm not a huge fan of raking leaves, I'm not big on
the "evergreen look", so I think I'll be raking. I was thinking of
some Maple variety, but not sure what to look for (any website
recommendations that have variety comparisons?). The house is East of
my front yard (street is west) and there is no direct competition for
sun along the North/South angle except a tall thin evergreen I'm
inclined to get rid of.

Anyway, I live in a 2-story house and wouldn't mind some summer shade
on the side of the house, but I also have a "Michigan basement"
(stacked stone foundation) and don't know if I need to worry about
roots at all. I'm thinking not, because hopefully there isn't any
moisture there to attract the roots, but figured I'd better check to
see if Maple is ok or if there are other issues and/or desirable tree
alternatives.




Unfortunately, it is a small yard- I have a wraparound walk in front of
the
house that is maybe 6 feet out, then about 25-30 feet to the sidewalk- so
I
guess I need other options that will handle the cold, and not have the
shallow roots, since this might be as close as 20-25 feet from the house.
I'm still interested in something tall enough to offer some shade and
block
the windows on the second story (eventually) for privacy. This is an old
house (1870's) so tall ceilings on both floors, it is a tall 2-story. I
don't know much about plants, what else would be common (good) options
other than maple?

Thanks!
Keith

You might be ok with some maples. Avoid Silver maple and Sugar maple. Maybe
a Red maple if the ground is not a clay type. Maple roots fan out. You won't
want one too close to your sewage line. Oaks have a tap root but is slower
growing. You might check with a nurseryman or arborist about the Maples.




You do need to worry about roots. Maples are shallowly rooting
generally, with some exceptions like pseudoplatanus, so you need
to think about the distance from your foundation. Of course the
smaller the tree, generally, the less you need to worry.

A great place to see a lot of different maples on the web is

www.esveld.nl

They have a catalogue in English. Their are so many maples to talk
about that without your narrowing it down, we can't provide much
info. Acer anything, is a maple. Look at esveld under the 'a's...

HTH

-E