Goodbye/Hello

Our big oak isn't gone yet but it's days are numbered (literally, since they are coming to cut it down in about 2 weeks). In the meantime, we've been trying to decide what else to plant in its place. The new tree won't go where the old one was, for a few reasons. The first reason is that given the root rot, the arborists suggest waiting about a year to replant in the same hole. The second reason is that it's right below power lines, so a new tree would quickly grow to be a nuisance. The third reason is that it will be nice to pull into and out of the driveway without a small but persistent worry that I'm going to hit a tree.

So the new spot will be a few feet away on the other side of the driveway, between the two holly trees (which are our neighbor's). Between the power lines that run to our house and the ones that run to our neighbor us and hopefully far enough away from the driveway to avoid having the roots cause damage (but still close enough to the driveway to be on "our" property).

Which bring us to the next big decision - what tree to plant. Our neighborhood prides itself on having big leafy trees that create a shady canopy, so we want to help by replacing what we take down. However, our arborist suggested that the new location (and indeed, probably the old location, if we start from scratch there) should not have quite such a giant tree. I am in love with sycamores but even our town recommendation is that they are too big and unmanageable. And I will be happy to not have the annoying acorns that drop yearly from our white oak. We briefly considered a gum tree per our arborist's suggestion, but learned that they drop even more annoying sticky "gum balls" all over.

The arborist thought our best bet would be a Zelkova serrata and we are about to bite the bullet and say yes. It grows pretty quickly and seems to grow up (rather than "out" - which was the landscaper's concern because it would be over the driveway). It can sometimes have exfoliating bark - something I really love about sycamores, so that's good. It won't get as high as the oak, which is disappointing, but that's almost not our problem as the time frame for it reaching its max height is likely well after this house gets new owners (no imminent move planned, but still we are talking about 20 years out or more so its unlikely we will still be here). Here are some pictures of a Zelkova from the web:

Close up of the leaves:

We asked around the neighborhood and people seem to like them, so hopefully we will too. What do you think? We're about to tell the arborist "yes" so if you have any opinions about Zelkovas, please comment right away.