In my opinion the almost perfect tree is an arbutus “marina.” Has the look of a deciduous tree but keeps its leaves year round. Has jewel like “strawberries” (hence the other name it is known by – the strawberry tree), and clusters of hanging pink bell-like flowers. As if that weren’t enough it has an absolutely beautiful cinnamon colored bark. It can be grown as a single or multi-trunk and the roots are not invasive. It is native to northern Europe but we grow it here successfully in Southern California. (Not to be confused with the similar arbutus “undo” – similar but nowhere near as attractive.
I appreciate your imput on this tree. I am getting too old to keep cleaning up leaves in the fall and looking to replace a birch tree. We have a corner lot so I have 5 trees plus 1 that our neighbor has. It is a Shamel Ash and what a mess with all the seeds and leaves that blow into our yard.
We need some shade for the driveway for our cars since it gets pretty warm here in Southern California in the summer.
Thank you, I will look for this tree at our nursery.
In my opinion the almost perfect tree is an arbutus “marina.” Has the look of a deciduous tree but keeps its leaves year round. Has jewel like “strawberries” (hence the other name it is known by – the strawberry tree), and clusters of hanging pink bell-like flowers. As if that weren’t enough it has an absolutely beautiful cinnamon colored bark. It can be grown as a single or multi-trunk and the roots are not invasive. It is native to northern Europe but we grow it here successfully in Southern California. (Not to be confused with the similar arbutus “undo” – similar but nowhere near as attractive.
I appreciate your imput on this tree. I am getting too old to keep cleaning up leaves in the fall and looking to replace a birch tree. We have a corner lot so I have 5 trees plus 1 that our neighbor has. It is a Shamel Ash and what a mess with all the seeds and leaves that blow into our yard.
We need some shade for the driveway for our cars since it gets pretty warm here in Southern California in the summer.
Thank you, I will look for this tree at our nursery.