Good Trees For California

[skyclaw441]

-These plants are all hypothetical, iti is only for a Horticulture III project.

I'm planning a landscape design for my Horticulture III class, and I'm setting my home up to be in an area in Southern California and to be close to the coast somewhere. I need some trees on my design, or I'll loose major points, but there seems to be a problem. I can't find all that many trees to grow in a Mediterranean climate zone or in Hardiness Zone 9, much less any ones that will look good, or are Japanese in origin. So, can you guys help me out with any trees I could possibly add to my design?

[hooloovoo]

-These plants are all hypothetical, iti is only for a Horticulture III project.

I'm planning a landscape design for my Horticulture III class, and I'm setting my home up to be in an area in Southern California and to be close to the coast somewhere. I need some trees on my design, or I'll loose major points, but there seems to be a problem. I can't find all that many trees to grow in a Mediterranean climate zone or in Hardiness Zone 9, much less any ones that will look good, or are Japanese in origin. So, can you guys help me out with any trees I could possibly add to my design?

We grow all sorts of trees- elms, pines, palms, ferns, oaks- one of the nice things about it is this plethora of mixed trees you see rising between all the communities and surrounding slopes.

But it looks like you're looking for special garden variety trees that will look good in a garden. Citrus trees thrive here without even trying- you get a nice treetop full of shiny dark green leaves with white flowers and orange or yellow fruits.

Also, dwarf fruit trees are nice aesthetically because they have lots of pink blossoms in the spring: http://www.garden.org/images/App/articles/2566a.jpg

Really, you can grow quite a variety trees here as long as you take into account how much shade/sun they need and plant them in an appropriate spot. Disney Hall garden in Los Angeles is a great example- it's a showcase of hand-picked exotic looking trees from around the globe.

A couple I can remember that are especially interesting are the coral trees:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/2497993561_244854c41c.jpg
http://www.calliebowdish.com/Pictures/CoralTreeSBHarbor052906_1846.jpg

and the dombeya trees known as "pink ball trees."
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/3105503933_b64c90164c.jpg
http://lahorenursery.com/images/dombeya_x_cayeuxii.jpg

[Hyper-dimension]

I don't know if you see these in California, but they fit the hardiness zone.

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p104624-North_America-A_Louisiana_Live_Oak.jpg

EDIT: Uhh...it's a live oak.

[skyclaw441]

Well, I was hoping to have a few fruit trees. My design had a small above ground level of the house about 750 sq. ft in size, and a 1500 sq. ft basement (I'm cool like that, I like underground. I could have a guest room, a music/computer room, grow room for the huge garden, room for wine production, etc. all subterranean. :cool:). Anyway, my backyard in the design is huge as a result, and it's mostly utilitarian in purpose (open concrete patio with solar panels, big garden with flowers, potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, etc, I also have a seperate garden for grapes). Now, I was hoping to get a couple fruit trees in there like apples or something like that, but California appears to be out of the hardiness zone of just about every fruit tree I could find.

[hooloovoo]

Now, I was hoping to get a couple fruit trees in there like apples or something like that, but California appears to be out of the hardiness zone of just about every fruit tree I could find.

Well I dunno about apples, but my dad in LA has a peach tree in his garden identical to the picture I posted... and everyone has lemons, it's like a joke around this season- neighbors come by offering bags of lemons only to be told "no, we've already got way too many lemons... thanks though."