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.

I appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
keith

"Keith" wrote in message
. 17.102
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.

I appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
keith

How far from the house do you plan on planting the trees.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5

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.


Keith,

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
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

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 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

"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

On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 11:40:00 -0500
"James" wrote:


"Keith" wrote in message
. 17.102...
[]
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
[]
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.

[]

James is right, there are plenty of maples that will do the job.
The great thing about Acer is the huge choice and variety.
Given the distance from the house you will need to pick a
tree that wont get too big. Acer rubrum (Red maple, note
for fall not summer coloring) will probably outgrow the spot, IMO,
if you pick the species, but there are probably some cultivars available
that will stay much smaller, e.g. 'Sunshine' or 'Red Sunset.'

I don't know what exact zone you're in, but here's a few that might do:

Acer x freemanii 'Autumn Blaze" is a cross between rubrum (Red) and
saccharinum (silver) the latter contributing mostly a fast growing
aspect. Good deep red fall color, fairly upright in habit but eventually
spreading, hardy to zone 4, eventually to 20 m, which may be too
large for your situation.

Acer platanoides 'Globosum' is smaller than the usual Norway maples
(to 12 m) but with similar leaf (a bit smaller) and color characteristics.
The crown is a bit spreading, but it has other nice features like yellow
flowers and red bracts in spring. Also widely available. Hardy.

Acer pseudoplatanus 'Prinz Handjéry' is very similar to the popular
'Brillantissimum' but has red shaded under leaf, with the advantage
that it is much less prone to sunburn. The leaves are also more
deeply cut. A very remarkable tree with shrimp pink spring foliage
going through orange and yellow before nice summer green. Not
remarkable fall coloring, though. To around 12 m maximum. Hardy.

Acer cappadocicum, the caucasian maple, is also hardy to zone
4-5 and in colder climates makes a smaller tree. Lovely dark green
leaves emerge red -- also in summer -- and good yellow fall color.

Of course as was pointed out a local nurseryman is your best
source for advice as to what will do well locally.

HTH

-E

--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

Fagus sylvatica 'tricolor'

beech trees don't lose all their leaves until the next spring and the leaves
contain much less tannic acid thn oaks...best of all, having them is akin to
having autumn all season long!!!!!
--
With Malus toward none, and Cherry-Trees toward all.


From: Keith
Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 03:04:57 GMT
Subject: Tree recommendation? (maple?)

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.

I appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
keith