Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / August 2007

Right, and less rain than other nearby areas (the usual climate zones
are just about the coldest winter temperature - they don't express how
hot and dry San Jose summers are, even compared with San Francisco,
Santa Cruz, etc).  So forget about coastal redwood for example (well,
it is probably too big as well, but the point is that it won't be
particularly happy about the San Jose dry climate).

Maybe California Buckthron (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamnus_californica )?  Maybe too short.
That page says "2-5 m tall" (6-15 feet) and I don't know if 15 feet is
as big as you want even if your plant did get that tall.

Madrone has beautiful bark (
http://www.calfloranursery.com/pages_plants/pages_a/arbmen.html ).

I don't know, I didn't have a garden when I lived in California.  So I
don't really know these plants from a gardener's point of view. I'm
mostly just browsing sites like:

http://www.baynatives.com/
http://www.berkeleyhort.com/gardensuggestions/gs_ja07_trees.html
http://www.calfloranursery.com/pages_plantlists/trees.html

I would spend some time researching what to plant.  Even a
fast-growing tree will probably take a while (and the fast-growing
ones may have other problems like short life).  Picking the right tree
will increase the chances that it survives, lasts a while and does
what you hope it will.

You might think about trying out a few non-trees (maybe just while you
are waiting for the tree to grow up).  Something like a vine on a
trellis/cage, or some taller flower like a goldenrod, might partially
block your view of that neighbor's shed while you wait for the tree to
grow up.

Yes.  here are some problems that you can avoid from the start.

Fast growing trees are typically quite weak-wooded and short lived... so you
might want to consider the "so now I have to take it out" factor in your
decisions.  You might want to grow something fast now, as well as something
that grows more slowly -- then take out the fast growing tree as soon as
the others have a bit of growth.  You've also got city forestry laws to
keep in mind... I think there are penalties in San Jose for cutting trees

You're in USDA zone 9, which means the coolest temperature you see in
10 years, on average, is not below 20o, probably Sunset zone 15.  Do you
have a copy of the Sunset Western Gardens book?

Revisiting your idea of an evergreen tree... is this because you want
a green crown all year, or do you just not want to rake leaves?  Some of
the leguminous trees -- mimosa for one example -- have such fine leaflets
that when they fall, they virtually disappear.

Where and how high are any power or phone lines?  How big a canopy spread can
your yard accomodate?  What easements are on your property?

Kay

I strongly suggest you have your property surveyed by a reputable
local plant nursery.  They probably won't charge you more than $100
and could even be free if you give them the planting job, which I also
strongly recommend... since you don't want to wait half a lifetime for
a sapling to become a tree it would behoove you to have more sizable
specimens professionally planted... many arid clime evergreens are
very slow growing.  As angry as you sound you'll probably be very
happy with instant eyesore blockage.  The nursery may also recommend
other appropriate screening besides trees... vines work well on a
trellis, especially grape vines.  But just planting whatever strikes
your fancy without professional intervention will very likely turn out
to be a big mistake, a huge waste of time, energy, and money.  Without
actually seeing your property with my own eyes all the specific advice
I could offer would be wild speculation, even photos don't offer real
help.  Have a professional come to your property.  And don't rush
headlong into any plan thrust upon you, take some weeks to mull things
over, mistakes can be very costly and you may have to live with the
wrong trees for a very long time, if you're not already too old, trees
just don't grow very rapidly, not even the fastest growers... a newly
planted tree typically needs five years to completely recover from
transplant shock before it actually shows measurable growth.  One
specific piece of advice I will offer, make sure that whatever you
decide, that it won't grow so it hangs over on your neighbor's side of
the property line... if laws are still as they were when I lived in So
Cal neighbors can lop off whatever hangs on their side, I can still
remember the fig tree wars.