I'm replacing a small dead tree in my front yard that I "inherited" when I recently bought my home. Does anyone have suggestions for the hardiest/easiest type of tree to plant?

live oak

Live oak. hardy, hard to kill, EXTREMELY slow growing, long life span.

ash. not as hardy, fairly hard to kill, EXTREMELY fast growing, short life span(like 50 years, IIRC

While live oaks are tough to kill, I don't really like them. I would recommend a water oak or a cedar elm. It seems like every new house in every new development has a live oak and I wanted something different. I planted a texas red oak two winters ago that I got from Producers Coop and it is doing great! I know the red oaks can get a little finiky with our salty water, but mine is doing just fine. Whatever you choose, get the fertilizing program from Producers and it will help jump start the growth and keep it looking great!

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Does anyone have suggestions for the hardiest/easiest type of tree to plant?

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Live Oak.

For a nice change of pace, Bur Oak.

Red oaks are VERY susceptible to the disease that kills posts oaks by the acres, Live oaks are not. Not saying do not plant a red oak, as tehy are pretty, especially during the fall.

Agree there are a ton of live oaks and crepe myrtles in BCS

Live oak

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I would stay away from a water oak, they just don't do as good long term in an upland setting. See older ones all over town dying. I mean ones over 20 years old.

I have a beautiful, huge water oak in my yard. I'm planting several more this fall because everyone always compliments us on that tree. It really is impressive.

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I have a beautiful, huge water oak in my yard......It really is impressive.

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I really like them also, but just a heads-up to potential tree buyers, unlike a live oak which will grow in practically any soil the water oak is much more picky.

Depending on what you want. Live oak is very good and is surprisingly fast growing relatively if care for.

Don't plant an ash tree. You can go 5 to 10 years with no issues, get the ash borer and the tree is dead in six months.

Here are the comments of Neil Sperry a resident of CS for many years and horticulturist of Radio and TV fame. He planted all of the live oaks along George Bush when he was a teenager working for Ms. Redmond (Redmond Terrace fame). He also has a facebook site where he will answer any of your questions.

Neil says, "There is no good, fast-growing shade tree. Speedy growth is a very poor criterion for choosing a shade tree. Durability, attractiveness, pest-resistance and property value appreciation are all far more important. All racehorse trees have some type of fatal flaw, whether it's insects, diseases, weak wood or bad form. Trees such as willows, cottonwoods, catalpas, Siberian elms, Arizona ash, silver maples, Chinese tallows, boxelders, sycamores, fruitless mulberries, purple plums and mimosas all have very short life expectancies. You're far better off planting a moderate-growing tree and caring for it regularly. Best candidates for most of Texas include cedar elms, live oaks, Shumard red oaks, chinquapin oaks and bur oaks, also pecans and even Chinese pistachios."

CoCS Parks Department has (had?) a poster of trees suitable to our area, trees that work in our soil, with our water, etc.

Well, for a tree that will never die (until felled and the roots dug up), hackberry is the answer.
Chinaberry has bid fat heart-shape leaves that go red to maroon in the fall.

Only problem is that both of those are invasive "weed" trees, and very often specifically excluded as "suitable" for municipal landscaping ordinances.

Cedar Elm is a stout tree, and good here. Japanese Maple is not bad, either. Cedars seem to survive here, too.

Having experimented with over 100 species/varieties of trees in this area, I can safely say that several are almost bulletproof IN MY EXPERIENCE:

1) Willow Oak (but keep weed eaters away from bark, which is susceptible to damage moreso than other oaks
2) Chinese Pistache
3) Bald Cypress
4) Water Oak
5) Cedar Elm

These all survived harsh tests more than 25 years ago and I have had a 100% success rate with the ones I have planted. The Willow oaks grow faster than a water oak in my landscape! I have large areas of native cedar elms and transplanted several 6-8" caliper trees with a 104" spade and none of them missed a lick. BTW, I have grown all of the above trees from bare root saplings and can attest to their ability to survive. I once had a bald cypress lose all of its 'leaves' one summer. It did not come out the next spring and showed no visible signs of life for the entire year, then the following spring, it came back.....that was 11 years ago and although smaller than its twin, it is a very perfect shape and a great tree today.
EDIT ESCAPE CLAUSE:
I should note that my soils range from sandy loam with thin layers of red clay to fairly heavy clay soils in the bottom lands, but no 'gumbo'. I have heard horror stories of the soils around Wellborn (uh, south CS), so if you are really concerned about the quality of your soil, best to have somebody look at it before you go hog wild planting something that might struggle.....

[This message has been edited by Yuccadoo (edited 4/26/2011 6:36p).]

Mexican Live Oak/Monterrey Oak

are you looking for a big tree or a large attractive bush? I'm a fan of chinese vitek (I think that's the name- they have them planted at cotton patch in Bryan.) They have deeply lobed, finger like leaves, have a fairly compact growning habit, spikes of purple/white flowers, and the leaves themselves are fragrant. definitely on my list of to-gets.

Many forms of Vitex with different colors. They can spread quickly. I have quite a few and they are a nice piece of shrubbery (sorry, Monty Python fans).

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I have quite a few and they are a nice piece of shrubbery (sorry, Monty Python fans).

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Awe, man, where is Duffelpud? He has a fine image to go with this.

Japanese Maple is not bad, either.

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Japanese maple is not used as a shade tree in Texas. In Texas it is an understory tree and will only survive in almost full shade or very minimum of sun after 10 am. Think Redbud when you consider Japanese Maple.

Red Oaks are awesome!

Live Oaks are great, too.

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Japanese maple is not used as a shade tree in Texas. In Texas it is an understory tree and will only survive in almost full shade or very minimum of sun after 10 am. Think Redbud when you consider Japanese Maple.

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Indeed. It to me, is a fascinating tree with its little red hands, but it has no tolerance whatsoever for direct Texas sun. I enjoyed mine immensely during its very brief life at my home.

Drake Elm.

Redid all the trees in my front yard when I moved in (red oak, burr oak, live oak, red bud, magnolia). A year later I replaced the struggling magnolia with a drake. It has already caught up with the rest.

I have live oaks and a water oak in my yard. You can have the water oak. It get massive in size. Produces way too many leaves to rake and drops branches all the time. I hate it.

If raking leaves and acorns is not your bag, definitely avoid the water oak. The burr oaks make HUGE acorns (as in 2-3" dia) that are really beautiful, but are much slower growing in comparison to a water oak.

I like pecan trees too, but they have their share of issues. And slow growing.

All of my water oaks have either died or headed that way. I took out 7 of them last as they all died from Hypoxylon Canker. I have one dead in my front yard and one half dead in my front yard also due to the fungus. For some reason it hasn't effected our post oaks yet which are still going strong.

Two beautiful trees that I have grown in Texas successfully are the Ginkgo and the Golden Raintree. Both have great color, the Raintree in the blooms and the Ginkgo in the yellow foliage in the Fall is we get some night chilling hours.

BTW, If you grow a Ginkgo, make sure you get a male tree as the fruit when it drops to the ground and decays has a horrible smell.

Live oak is hardy although they are subject to that fungus and the ones on campus don't look to healthy. And they are very slow growing. But if you keep them well watered with a soaker hose they will grow better. I would suggest getting as big a one as you can afford so before retirement you might actually sit under its shade. They lose leaves a little year round. So if shade is what you want good choice. Not much but oak do well in our soil. Ashe is a good choice too. If you want color, get a red oak or chinese pistache. They are desiduous but have nice fall color. And... shade isn't as important winter any how.

Bear in mind an oak tree has to be 15-20 years old to bear acorns.

Mimosa's grow well here, so do magnolias if you bring in iron.

Live oak is hardy although they are subject to that fungus and the ones on campus don't look to healthy. And they are very slow growing. But if you keep them well watered with a soaker hose they will grow better. I would suggest getting as big a one as you can afford so before retirement you might actually sit under its shade. They lose leaves a little year round. So if shade is what you want good choice. Not much but oak do well in our soil. Ashe is a good choice too. If you want color, get a red oak or chinese pistache. They are desiduous but have nice fall color. And... shade isn't as important winter any how.

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If you have a live oak that loses its leaves year-around, you have a tree under stress. Live Oaks lose their leaves in the early spring when the new leaves emerge and the old drop.

Also, ash trees are not wise choices as you can have one grow well for many years and then the ash borer gets into it and burrows out the cambium layer and the tree's gone in six months.

Mimiosa is a fast growing tree but the wood is very brittle and you will have breakage with strong winds and it also is very short lived.

One tree I miss (down here in oak country) is the cottonwood. Yes I know they can drop a lot of seeds in the spring and their wood is not usable, but in the fall when they turn yellow.

Speaking of which, I also miss the Aspens. Prettiest tree God ever grew.

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Bear in mind an oak tree has to be 15-20 years old to bear acorns.

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this is not exactly true. there are great variations in acorn production amongst different types of oaks

One tree I miss (down here in oak country) is the cottonwood. Yes I know they can drop a lot of seeds in the spring and their wood is not usable, but in the fall when they turn yellow.

Speaking of which, I also miss the Aspens. Prettiest tree God ever grew.


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there are cottonwoods in most every creek and around most every stock tank and river in East and Central Texas. They just don't turn the yellow due to the lack of night chilling in the fall of the year.

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Bear in mind an oak tree has to be 15-20 years old to bear acorns.
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this is not exactly true. there are great variations in acorn production amongst different types of oaks

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There are some bur oaks on campus that are 7 years old that have acorns, not a lot of them, but a few.

Oh yeah, I have had very good fortunes with Redbud trees....

How about a Post Oak? We are after all in the heart of the Post Oak Savannah region.