Sam Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 As some of you may or may not remember, my wife and I are building a new house. One of the first things we want to do is get some trees planted. My wife just called and said some business is raising money for earth day and is selling Red Oaks, Bur Oaks and Pin Oaks for $10 a piece. Neither my wife or I know anything about trees. Would any of these trees be a nice tree to put in my lawn? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seminoles Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 (edited) Bur Oak Bur Oak Red Oak Pin Oak Edited April 22, 2008 by seminoles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneymakers Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Live oaks are evergreens.-I know you did not mention pass on pin oaks-branches have a tendency to grow out or even down instead of up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 personally, I'd rather pay a couple hundred bucks for a tree that already has a little height and a couple inch thick trunk. you'll be waiting YEARS for a $10 seedling to look like anything more than a little twig sticking out of the ground. oaks are cool trees though if you like them, and are willing to live with the slow growth and acorns (eventually). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I can't speak about specific types of oak trees, but I can say that if I could get the Oak trees out of my yard I would choose to do so. They make the soil acidic (tougher to grow grass), and the leaves hang on forever...and ever....and you clean up all fall. Oaks are also messy. they drop acorns and twigs like nobody's business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Arbor Day Foundation to the rescue. You can search all kinds of trees including the ones you mentioned. Be sure to pay attention to the mature spread of the tree when you plant it. Some Oaks can have a 60-80 foot diameter branch spread at maturity. So, even a spot 20 feet away from the house could eventually require some pruning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I have HUGH Oak trees in my backyard. Beautiful trees but the acorns are a bitch and trimming them can be very expensive. Luckily, you'll be dead by the time they get to the height that mine are at right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 BTW, Oak trees == lots of squirrels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelBunz Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 CN is right about Oaks.....although I still love them. But we don't know how much space you have in your yard. Other than pin oaks, that have a fairly compact, straight, tall shape with a true central trunk, most other oaks get VERY big, spread out and their root systems are massive. They should not be planted close to the house at all really. Less than 50 ft from the house will eventually become destructive.....lumpy lawn, roots in the drain tiles and sewer system....not to mention large branches over the house. And way too close to the house....you'll find the roots will eventually crack basement floors and even push foundation walls in over time. Keep in mind the root system on oaks is at least twice the diameter of the widest part of the canopy. I have a 50 yr old oak about 25 ft from the house out front. My driveway will never be flat.....lol. Not to mention the sidewalk, that I've repaired twice in 15 years. And I had to dig up the drain tiles to the street and replace them with PVC a few years ago. And the one out back has some years where I fill about 5 lawn bags of just acorns and sticks in the fall. I'd look at maples if I were building a new house. They still shade the house nicely in summer, but have better color in the fall and the leaves drop mostly at the same time. The root systems are generally a bit deeper so you can still have a nice yard underneath them. You'll get the whirlygigs...PITA...and have to go around your garden pulling up baby maple trees every so often....lol.....but most trees have 1 or 2 nuisances about them. The pros outweigh the cons on maples, IMHO. Save the oaks for a back treeline of a half acre lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 BTW, Oak trees == lots of squirrels +1000 Little f'ers are all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I'd look at maples if I were building a new house. They still shade the house nicely in summer, but have better color in the fall and the leaves drop mostly at the same time. The root systems are generally a bit deeper so you can still have a nice yard underneath them. You'll get the whirlygigs...PITA...and have to go around your garden pulling up baby maple trees every so often....lol.....but most trees have 1 or 2 nuisances about them. The pros outweigh the cons on maples, IMHO. Save the oaks for a back treeline of a half acre lot. plus maples grow a fair amount faster, so you'll have something that resembles an actual tree a lot sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 plus maples grow a fair amount faster, so you'll have something that resembles an actual tree a lot sooner. And tons of leaves to rake every year. Great shade but lots of leaves and whirley bird maple seeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 A nice sugar maple is the way to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 personally, I'd rather pay a couple hundred bucks for a tree that already has a little height and a couple inch thick trunk. you'll be waiting YEARS for a $10 seedling to look like anything more than a little twig sticking out of the ground. oaks are cool trees though if you like them, and are willing to live with the slow growth and acorns (eventually). I can't speak about specific types of oak trees, but I can say that if I could get the Oak trees out of my yard I would choose to do so. They make the soil acidic (tougher to grow grass), and the leaves hang on forever...and ever....and you clean up all fall. Oaks are also messy. they drop acorns and twigs like nobody's business. I have HUGH Oak trees in my backyard. Beautiful trees but the acorns are a bitch and trimming them can be very expensive. Luckily, you'll be dead by the time they get to the height that mine are at right now. All good info above as well as Bunz's reply Oaks are not the way to go for a new construction. If you do want one it's best to plant it away from your house where you are not expecting to have any shade from it any time soon... and by soon I mean by the time your grandkids are old enough to enjoy it. In all I have about 6 Oaks in my front yard & 1 in the back. nearly my entire front yard is shaded by them. The leaves drop year-round, but are worse from fall to spring where I live. Every Spring I rake & pick up about 60 large yard bags of oak leaves and that is just in the front yard. But I have to do it if I want the grass to grow. Then they flower & the pollen gets so heavy my white truck turns a greenish yellow. Don't get me wrong, I really love the trees & they make the place look great. But they are a lot of work to maintain. What I would suggest is to first find out what grows well in your area and take into account coverage, growth time and what they may drop or produce. Then make a list of what you would like to see in your yard (flowering trees, fruit trees, deciduous, evergreens) and plan out where you want the trees located keeping in mind what it will look like full grown. Maples are very nice as suggested and grow pretty fast, but if you want some real pop in your front yard a red bud or flowering dogwood are outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I've got white oak trees all over but not because I'm a racist. Leaves everywhere, but I'm guessing these trees are a 100 years old so like the others said, your grandkids might have to worry about them. I just planted a few Maple trees because I want to see them get higher than 10 feet in my lifetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I would choose a bur oak over any other species. They have giant acorns and beautiful branching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 Thanks everybody. I'm gonna show the wife your replies. We have more research to do. From your replies we'll certainly be looking into maples. Thanks again. You all have been a great help (except for you seminoles...you little oil and vinegar bag). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 meh, sugar maples are soft wood. great fun for bugs and critters. Try a Tulip Poplar (aka Yellow Poplar), good tree and nice yellow-gold fall color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Stay away from pear trees too. They look nice in the spring when they bloom but they're soft and require a bit of trimming when they get pretty big. I had one next to my driveway and a week before it was to be trimmed it split in a storm and landed on my Rover. Yeah, that sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seminoles Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 (edited) You all have been a great help (except for you seminoles...you little oil and vinegar bag). Oh shucks mister, that's awfully gracious of ya Edited April 23, 2008 by seminoles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 soft maples, pin oaks hard maples Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 BTW, Oak trees == lots of squirrels yup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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