My neighbor and I just had an old water oak removed from our front yard. It was at least 80 years old and had started dropping some big limbs. One almost landed on my roof last week. 8"-10" dia.

We're in spring branch neighborhood in Houston. Lots of mature trees in our neighborhood.(water/red oaks, live oaks, a few magnolia and pines.
Tree guy suggested a live oak. Said it should be good if we plant it in the middle not to close to any house, driveway or street.
Neighbors are in their 80's but I plan on being here a while.

I grew up there, near St Jerome's!

Unfortunately, a whole lot of our neighbors had Arizona Ashes. (Avoid!)

Dad planted a Live Oak, and by the time they sold the house, it towered over it. Magnificent tree! I don't know if Oak Wilt is a thing in Houston?! If not, that's your ticket. If so, something similar but resistant would be good.

A few neighbors had huge pine trees. I moved away and have never lived anywhere since that was conducive to pines, so I know nothing about them. But they do grow well in that area, if you like those.

City of spring valley is losing a lot of large trees. They have a tree ordinance but have no one monitoring new home construction. Drive around the city-very few mature trees left around houses 5-8 years old and newer. I've done a lot of tree preservation plans with civil engineers there for past 30 years or so-a lot of change in that part of town. Bur oak will do well there. Live oak too-a few hot spots of oak wilt in Katy and a big live in river oaks-not much beyond that im aware of. A tough native tree for your part of the world is cedar elm. More apical dominant and won't outgrow space as fast as live oak will. Live oak will do well there as well. Swamp chestnut oak is another option.

Queso1 said:

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Can you go wrong with a live oak?

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No, as long as it's watered and cared for. I have a lot that have come up on their own here in the hill country. When left to survive on their own, mine take about 13 years to get 3 feet tall. Not fast at all. The ones I have that are fully mature have been on our place for hundreds of years.

Caliber said:

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Consider a Mexican Sycamore if you want something different.

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That or a cotton less cottonwood, which also grows fast.

Cedar Elm.

I had never heard of Burr oaks before. After doing a little research, they sound like they might be the right pick.
I knew the OB would have good ideas on this.

I didn't really want a live oak either.
Is there any rule of thumb for how far away to plant from the old tree stump? We're having it ground down as well.

The arborist who took our tree down lives in the neighborhood as well. He said that live oak in front of st Jerome's is over 300 years old.

SteveBott said:

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Oh f..k Bradford Pears.

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Quoted for truth, new developments like these craptastic trees due to how fast they grow.

A family in our hood planted a nice red oak and it has grown really fast for an oak, taking up most of their corner they planted it in over about 5-6 years.

rancher1953 said:

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Monterrey Oak is a good one, like a live oak but faster growing.

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The Monterrey Oak will keep leaves most of the year (like a Live Oak), but is a member of the white oak family (much more resistant to oak wilt). They'll get good-sized, but not outrageous.

Bur Oaks are nice, but are slow growing, get HUGE, and the acorns are the size of golf balls….

lb sand said:

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I had never heard of Burr oaks before. After doing a little research, they sound like they might be the right pick.
I knew the OB would have good ideas on this.

I didn't really want a live oak either.
Is there any rule of thumb for how far away to plant from the old tree stump? We're having it ground down as well.

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As some have already stated Burr oaks drop large acorns which can cause some issues if you mow grass or park vehicles under them. Burr oaks will also shed it's large leaves in the fall so be prepared to rake leaves. Live oaks are basically evergreen and shed leaves in the spring but they are small and can usually be mulched over with a lawnmower instead of having to rake them. Both will produce a lot of pollen once they get big. Can't go wrong with either of them though.

Huh, that's funny. My first paid job ever was painting the house (inside and out) on the St Jerome's side of the corner at Friendship and Hollister. It was going to be used as a rectory. I specifically remember the large pine trees around that house and around the St J's school buildings, but I don't remember a specific oak tree. Of course, the house I painted is no longer there.

I haven't been by there in 30+ years, but I just took a Google Street View "drive" around the church. Sure is different from when I lived there!

Live Oaks are great and the prettiest of the oaks IMO, BUT they grow slow

My Monterrey Oaks have grown enormous...to the point I cant keep up with them. They are way too large for my lot at this point.

They also drop more acorns than I thought possible.

But all that said, if you have a nice sized area, and dont mind picking up your Trees' weight in acorns...it's a good tree.

I planted a Monterrey in my front yard. While looking for the Monterrey, found a "Sierra Oak" (I am not sure if that is the real name), which is supposed to be a Mexican Red Oak and planted that one as well. I am eager to see how they compare after some years.

AgGrad99 said:

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My Monterrey Oaks have grown enormous...to the point I cant keep up with them. They are way too large for my lot at this point.

They also drop more acorns than I thought possible.

But all that said, if you have a nice sized area, and dont mind picking up your Trees' weight in acorns...it's a good tree.

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Kinda disappointed to hear this. One of the "selling points" of the Monterrey is that it's more medium-sized, and maintains a rounder shape. The thought was they topped out at about 40-50 feet, and maybe 40 across. Maybe you're those "ideal conditions" where they ssy they can reach 70-80….

Curious, how big would you say yours are???

fburgtx said:

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AgGrad99 said:

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My Monterrey Oaks have grown enormous...to the point I cant keep up with them. They are way too large for my lot at this point.

They also drop more acorns than I thought possible.

But all that said, if you have a nice sized area, and dont mind picking up your Trees' weight in acorns...it's a good tree.

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Kinda disappointed to hear this. One of the "selling points" of the Monterrey is that it's more medium-sized, and maintains a rounder shape. The thought was they topped out at about 40-50 feet, and maybe 40 across.

Curious, how big would you say yours are???

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They are all of that if not more. But I have two of them in way too small of an area...thanks to the builder and HOa requirements.

I like the tree. But I am astounded at the amount of acorns it produces.

Lots of good options, and everyone has different preferences, but here are some of my favorites:

Live Oak - huge, slow growing, amazing trees
Shumard Oak - Huge when full grown, beautiful, faster growing
Bur Oak - incredible tree
Monterrey Oak - semi evergreen, more medium growth, beautiful leaves

October Glory or Autumn Blaze Maple - slow to get started in our heat, but great fall cover. Large shade tree
Bald Cypress - nice large shade tree, fast growing, can tolerate very wet soil conditions

Other fast growing varieties - cottonless cottonwood, either American or Mexican Sycamore

Pecan - beautiful, long-lasting trees and you get the benefit of eating the pecans.

Lots of good choices - you can never go wrong with an oak tree.

"Pecan - beautiful, long-lasting trees and you get the benefit of eating the pecans."

Every squirrel within a quarter mile of my pecan tree says "hold my beer". I haven't had a single pecan hit my grass in 15 years.

TreeFarmer said:

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Lots of good options, and everyone has different preferences, but here are some of my favorites:

Live Oak - huge, slow growing, amazing trees
Shumard Oak - Huge when full grown, beautiful, faster growing
Bur Oak - incredible tree
Monterrey Oak - semi evergreen, more medium growth, beautiful leaves

October Glory or Autumn Blaze Maple - slow to get started in our heat, but great fall cover. Large shade tree
Bald Cypress - nice large shade tree, fast growing, can tolerate very wet soil conditions

Other fast growing varieties - cottonless cottonwood, either American or Mexican Sycamore

Pecan - beautiful, long-lasting trees and you get the benefit of eating the pecans.

Lots of good choices - you can never go wrong with an oak tree.

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Username checks out!

SteveBott said:

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"Pecan - beautiful, long-lasting trees and you get the benefit of eating the pecans."

Every squirrel within a quarter mile of my pecan tree says "hold my beer". I haven't had a single pecan hit my grass in 15 years.

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Pretty much my experience as well. Between disease, insects, and vermin, I rarely get pecans off my three trees.

Ag83 said:

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SteveBott said:

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"Pecan - beautiful, long-lasting trees and you get the benefit of eating the pecans."

Every squirrel within a quarter mile of my pecan tree says "hold my beer". I haven't had a single pecan hit my grass in 15 years.

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Pretty much my experience as well. Between disease, insects, and vermin, I rarely get pecans off my three trees.

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Having lived on the river in Seguin in the past, I had a ton of pecans.

beautiful, okay. possibly. see next point.

pecans attract webworms like no other. Unless you want to pay someone to spray with Bt every year, expect a ton of webs. not so beautiful then.

long lasting. okay, maybe so, but they drop a ton of limbs, so seem kinda "weak wood" trees.

pecans are a nice benefit, but the more pecan trees you have, the more squirrels you'll have. they can become destructive little terrors if you have outdoor furniture. and unless you have one of the Indian named varieties, the pecans can be pretty small and hardly worth the effort. if you get them before the tree rats, that is.

Hey, Pecan is the state tree of Texas. I'm not anti-Pecan. My lot was 3/4 of an acre, and they were great in that place. Not sure I'd really want one on a city lot.

As long as I'm being the wet blanket here (not trying to do that, it's just working out that way) I'll add a negative comment about Cedar Elm, which was recommended earlier. I have ONE cedar elm in my back yard and it is a pool owner's nightmare. It drops SO much crap (small leaves and winged seeds (samaras) that sprout thousands of volunteer seedlings). I never had one before this house, and I sometimes fantasize about having it cut down, although I'd never actually do it.

Yeah, I hear ya. Especially on a year like this when all the other forage is gone. We have two huge pecan trees in our front yard and the squirrels have been feasting.

I'll start off by saying no tree is perfect & any tree can be a problem if you plant it in the wrong spot (too close to a house, over a pool, near septic fields etc.)

Dumbass HOA's & Builders often spec two "shade trees" per front yard on lots as small as 40' wide which creates a ton of problems.

Live & Red Oaks: I love them, but so does everyone else & they get overplanted and that's why Oak Wilt is such a problem. Campus has had lots of issues because of overplanting Live Oaks. The roots of Live Oaks will fuse together & the fungus spreads from infected to healthy trees at an alarming rate... 100 feet per year or more.

Bur Oaks are great, but give them plenty of room & be ready for leaves & acorns.

Monterrey Oaks are another favorite & evergreen through a lot of winters though they will drop if temps get low enough. Generally they drop & regrow like live oaks. They can still get oak wilt but are in the white oak family which gets damage but generally will live.

Stay away from Pecan trees anywhere near a house unless you like limbs, squirrels, nuts, aphids/honeydew, webworms, etc. Very messy!!

Mexican Sycamores are great, but many of those sold in nurseries are hybridized (or even mislabeled American species) & some of the benefits are being lost. Look for silver/white on the underside of the leaves, that's a pretty good indicator. American sycamores are more of a lime green. Be ready for lots of leaves & their seed pods for clean up.

Cedar Elms are great, but as other mentioned the samaras/seeds can be messy. Some fall color which is nice.

Cottonless Cottenwoods? Oof. It ain't the cotton that bothers me, it's the bushels of leaves & weak wood. They grow huge and are too big for most residential lots.

Bald Cypress: Great trees, but the knees will pop up in your lawn making mowing tough & use of that area of yard for running/playing dangerous. Montezuma Cypress tend to have fewer knees.

A couple of other options:
Chinquapin Oak: Big serrated leaves, a white oak so some wilt resistance. One of my favorites. Can get very large (80'+) so give it room. A seldom planted tree that's great in Central Texas.

Lacey Oak: This one grows all over Lost Maples, doesn't get as big & perfect for small lots. Soil/Climate are probably not right in Houston area. This one needs to be planted more in Central Texas.

Drummond Red Maple: I've planted this a few times with good results in Central Texas. Native to the SE US, so it should be a good fit for Houston area. I'd ask your local nursery about it. Make sure you ask them what the negatives of the tree are. Places like Moon Valley will sell you on the benefits of a Chinese Tallow if it means getting a sale!!!

Caliber said:

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Consider a Mexican Sycamore if you want something different.

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We planted a Mexican sycamore in our front yard last November. We are also in Houston. This tree has grown 5 - 6 ft in the last 10 months. I cant wait to see what it does next year.