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Ok, so the lack of proper pruning could be part of our problem? At the state it's in now, can it be pruned correctly at this point or is it a lost cause? (Told ya, I'm clueless about this.. lol)
You could cut that thing off at 2" from the ground, and it will come back.
What was stated above is good advice, IMO. Cut at about 4-6 feet, or whatever you like. It will look bare for about a season, but they are very robust.
Honestly, unless you dig up all (and I do mean ALL) of the roots, it's not going anywhere anyway, they are difficult to kill in my experience.
It helps if you never limb up from the bottom.
In a bed like the OP has, I would let it grow low. And, I think it would be "self-mulching" and appealing.
I might also put a few low shrubs near it in the bed, to offset the appearance of a stark column to some degree.
I had a little gem and didn't think it was too messy.
We took it out because the builder had planted it 3 feet from the foundation, and it was against the house and 15-20 feet tall.
Otherwise, I would never have removed it.
Again, I'll agree with Mike here. We had a little gem at our house in Winston and it wasn't messy. It will slowly drop some leaves, but they'll just land in the flower bed and decompose. It's easier to deal with than a deciduous tree that drops all of its leaves at once which then need to be raked up.
Again, I'll agree with Mike here. We had a little gem at our house in Winston and it wasn't messy. It will slowly drop some leaves, but they'll just land in the flower bed and decompose. It's easier to deal with than a deciduous tree that drops all of its leaves at once which then need to be raked up.
Fair enough.. I don't have one, but I just recall seeing a lot of leaves around the larger ones. I'm personally not worried about tree litter, but since the OP finds a crepe myrtle too messy, I thought I'd mention it.
I love our Little Gem. It blooms a few times a year and the flowers are huge and smell sooo good, a nice lemon-y scent. Unfortunately ice took out the top last year so right now it doesn't have the same nice shape, more of a bush, but I still love it.
I love redbuds, but think of them more as part-shade, and in under-story.
May well be putting one at the side of my house. Under a couple of larger trees' canopies.
They're pretty adaptable, exposure-wise. We have a Forest Pansy by the driveway that has gorgeous purple leaves. We've never done anything to it but water, and then only when it was getting established.
We have a crepe myrtle in the front yard of our new (to us) home. It is beautiful, but a god awful mess right now. There are blooms all over the place, and they stick to the sidewalk and driveway (and any cars that might be parked there), get tracked into the house, etc. I'd like to have this tree removed, and replaced with a lower maintenance (less shedding) tree. The pic below shows the tree (not in bloom in the photo).
We'd considered a dogwood, but are not especially knowledgeable with trees/plants, so thought I'd see if I could get some recommendations for what would work well in this space. Also, if you have a landscape company you like, I'd love those recs as well, as we have some other things we'd like to update in our yard. (And I will add--if its feasible, we'll relocate the crepe myrtle to a natural area in our backyard, where it can shed its blooms to its heart's content. )
Hi, try Japanese maple. It has reddish leaves. There are three or 4 different kinds you can buy from a nursery on at hwy 98.
Fair enough.. I don't have one, but I just recall seeing a lot of leaves around the larger ones. I'm personally not worried about tree litter, but since the OP finds a crepe myrtle too messy, I thought I'd mention it.
To be fair, all trees litter something or other. It just depends what you want to put up with.
A dwarf-variety magnolia would definitely work. A small juniper might also work decently. The litter is mostly small and drops straight down. I wouldn't suggest a Japanese maple for that spot--they're not typically very tall, they grow slowly anyway, and and in full sun in our climate they can suffer with burnt and curled leaves.
You might also consider something mightier--something for the long haul. You seem to have room for a nice-sized maple or oak (but not right next to the driveway). If it was more in the center of that bed, you could then put smaller evergreens on either side--say, tea olives.
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