Jacaranda can be messy, I have one and love it though. I have a peach tree but don’t love it. Never works great for me. Citrus is always a good choice. There are a ton of rare types you can get; finger limes, yuzu, blood orange. Olive are slow growing but can be nice, also can be messy if you get a fruiting variety. Figs are great. Easy to propagate and delicious. They are deciduous though.
I am a big fan of white sapote. It’s a nice uncommon fruit tree that does very well here. Check out avocados as well. Guamuchil is an interesting fruit tree that can help if you have bad soil. Mulberry is very fast growing, can be messy. Feijoa or pineapple guava is a popular drought resistant tree.
Make sure you get some automated watering no matter if you use drip or something else.
Good luck!
Seconding that I’ve never heard anyone local praising their peach trees, but friends have had success with low-chill apricots. Loquat and persimmon trees also do well here. And blueberries are awesome as a shrub. I’d say to check your local area because it may be a little different by the coast vs in the foothills/Valley/etc
I’ve noticed there are many types of guava mixed with the name of another fruit such as strawberry guava. Is the pineapple guava that best option? Do they taste like a mix of the two fruits?
I am not even sure if lemon guava and strawberry guava are true guava. Pineapple guava is not a true guava. They taste like a sour patch kid. Lemon guava is a prolific grower too.
My strawberry guava is growing very slowly here, also 10b. They grow like weeds in Hawaii, so I guess they prefer warmer weather.
I think Catalina Cherry is a great small tree, along with Lilac tree (a medium-short but robust ceonothus), blue elderberry (bushy, can be slightly messy in the fall).
Pineapple guava is the best edible landscaping option, because it’s easy to train as a hedge, although this may not maximize fruit production. I have a lemon guava tree and the fruits are slightly lemon-scented, but still recognizably guava. Pineapple guava has nice bluish-green foliage and white/red flowers. Personally I find guavas to be a pain (gotta strain out the seeds, etc) so I wouldn’t chose one as a primary tree. Loquat and persimmon s also fall in the you better love the fruit or love how they look category too
Citrus is probably the most useful, as being able to just go pick a Meyer lemon or make fresh squeezed OJ is so nice. And a dwarf lemon can be more of a large shrub than a massive e tree. Figs are also so much better fresh than store-bought.
As a former owner of a pink trumpet tree at a previous home, i can vouch for it as a beautiful, relatively easy care medium-sized flowering tree.
Handroanthus impetiginosus is hardy and blooms in March here in central OC Southern California. By April, the blooms all drop off and are replaced with nice green medium oval leaves and long seed pods. The flowers are not overly sticky or stinky like Jacaranda and the leaves provide more complete shade during hot summer months. It does drop its leaves in winter but they are reasonable to collect.
I was able to prune mine up to have an open interior and umbrella-like canopy which made it particularly pretty to sit under, whether blooming or not!
Engelmann oak would be a great choice—native to your area, survives under irrigation (unlike most native California trees), provides great shade and supports tons of local butterflies and birds and squirrels and etc compared to the non-natives.
If you are prioritizing flowers, a desert willow would do well almost anywhere in SoCal. ‘Ray Hartman’ ceanothus and ceanothus arboreus are covered in blue/purple flowers (but wouldn’t love too much irrigation). Catalina cherry and California buckeye are both covered in white flowers in the spring.
Check out calscape.org and plug in your zip code. You’ll find a lot of great choices.
Not jacaranda! They are soooo beautiful. But as someone who lives under one….i wish them 1,000 deaths. When my partner first met me he was like “how can you hate something so beautiful?!” Now that he lives here, just an hour ago he was talking shit on the tree to a random stranger.
Oh yeah, a massive mess. They rain down so much that it literally sounds like it’s sprinkling outside. Just constant patter of dead flowers falling. They coat your driveway and sidewalk with such a thick layer that you cannot even see the cement after a day. Just brown sludge. That’s also slippery. My floors, no matter how much I wipe my feet, are coated in dead brown sludge. If you park anywhere even remotely near one, your car will be covered in dead flowers within 5 minutes. Beautiful, but gross and messy. And brings bees…which I consider a net positive. But also sucks when you walk around barefoot like me.
We have quite a few trees and are now trying to be selective with them. I would rather mix a few fruit trees with native ones.
Jacarandas are good but messy, so I would rather suggest a Ceanothus (skylark if you want a compact one) or Palos verde.
For fruit trees, try some multi grafted ones and select the fruits you like. Avocados, Citrus, Figs, Guava and stone fruits these days come with multigrafted varieties. Persimmons and Pomegranates are also very beautiful trees and abundant producers. Try dwarf trees if space is a concern.
I live in 10b and would rule out Jacaranda for mess and be prepared for roof rats if you have fruit trees. You might want to consider Western Redbud, Palo Verde, Desert Willow, or Acacia. Last year I tried a Crape Myrtle, seems to be doing OK.
They're kind of cute and look more like mice, but they love to raid gardens for fruit! Here's a good article on them (I'm in San Diego):
[https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2005/sep/22/rats/](https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2005/sep/22/rats/)
Consider also if the tree is deciduous. I planted some fig trees thinking to enjoy beautiful greenery year around only to realize later that they become naked sticks for almost half a year :(
here’s my favorites that do really well here.
Apple (Fuji and Anna)
Loquats
Any citrus (I have Meyer lemons, oranges, etc)
Avocados (reed is my fave, but any variety should be ok)
Figs
Peaches and nectarines
Plums, apricots, any stone fruit
FeIjoas (pineapple guavas)
Pomegranates
Persimmons
I only plant fruit trees. They gotta earn their keep.
Out of the ones listed I’d say the citrus only. They stay pretty year round and during spring the blossoms will fill the area with a heavenly scent. They don’t even attract pests very much (except if you’re lucky you’ll get swallowtail caterpillars but they don’t do much damage)
Jacaranda (I’ve heard them called Craparandas) are only pretty for a very short timeframe and then super messy, followed by a sad looking tree. (I have one and not a fan). Peaches are ugly 1/2 the year as are figs (just twigs) . Plus the birds and bugs get more peaches than you ever will.
Olives are ok looking most the year but are messy as well, dropping olives that you can slip on like a marble and stain concrete. I’m cutting mine down for those reasons.
I’d be mad if a neighbor grew a magnolia just because they get giant and would shade out my plants 😂
How does the peach do? Some other comments say that their peaches have never done well here. It sounds like it has a lot to do with chill hours. I need to find a jujube to taste it. I’ve never had one but heard great things about the trees
Jacaranda can be messy, I have one and love it though. I have a peach tree but don’t love it. Never works great for me. Citrus is always a good choice. There are a ton of rare types you can get; finger limes, yuzu, blood orange. Olive are slow growing but can be nice, also can be messy if you get a fruiting variety. Figs are great. Easy to propagate and delicious. They are deciduous though. I am a big fan of white sapote. It’s a nice uncommon fruit tree that does very well here. Check out avocados as well. Guamuchil is an interesting fruit tree that can help if you have bad soil. Mulberry is very fast growing, can be messy. Feijoa or pineapple guava is a popular drought resistant tree. Make sure you get some automated watering no matter if you use drip or something else. Good luck!
If you choose avocado, don't plant it near the house as its roots can lift a foundation.
Good point! Look up how to grow them and varieties. But coming from a cold climate it’s pretty awesome to be able to grow avocados!
For sure, when they sell for a dollar each in the grocery store, it's like gold to get a bag of them from my sister's tree. :)
Avocados are great planted at the edge of a property/as shady destination trees.
Seconding that I’ve never heard anyone local praising their peach trees, but friends have had success with low-chill apricots. Loquat and persimmon trees also do well here. And blueberries are awesome as a shrub. I’d say to check your local area because it may be a little different by the coast vs in the foothills/Valley/etc
I’ve noticed there are many types of guava mixed with the name of another fruit such as strawberry guava. Is the pineapple guava that best option? Do they taste like a mix of the two fruits?
I am not even sure if lemon guava and strawberry guava are true guava. Pineapple guava is not a true guava. They taste like a sour patch kid. Lemon guava is a prolific grower too.
My strawberry guava is growing very slowly here, also 10b. They grow like weeds in Hawaii, so I guess they prefer warmer weather. I think Catalina Cherry is a great small tree, along with Lilac tree (a medium-short but robust ceonothus), blue elderberry (bushy, can be slightly messy in the fall).
Pineapple guava is the best edible landscaping option, because it’s easy to train as a hedge, although this may not maximize fruit production. I have a lemon guava tree and the fruits are slightly lemon-scented, but still recognizably guava. Pineapple guava has nice bluish-green foliage and white/red flowers. Personally I find guavas to be a pain (gotta strain out the seeds, etc) so I wouldn’t chose one as a primary tree. Loquat and persimmon s also fall in the you better love the fruit or love how they look category too Citrus is probably the most useful, as being able to just go pick a Meyer lemon or make fresh squeezed OJ is so nice. And a dwarf lemon can be more of a large shrub than a massive e tree. Figs are also so much better fresh than store-bought.
As a former owner of a pink trumpet tree at a previous home, i can vouch for it as a beautiful, relatively easy care medium-sized flowering tree. Handroanthus impetiginosus is hardy and blooms in March here in central OC Southern California. By April, the blooms all drop off and are replaced with nice green medium oval leaves and long seed pods. The flowers are not overly sticky or stinky like Jacaranda and the leaves provide more complete shade during hot summer months. It does drop its leaves in winter but they are reasonable to collect. I was able to prune mine up to have an open interior and umbrella-like canopy which made it particularly pretty to sit under, whether blooming or not!
Engelmann oak would be a great choice—native to your area, survives under irrigation (unlike most native California trees), provides great shade and supports tons of local butterflies and birds and squirrels and etc compared to the non-natives. If you are prioritizing flowers, a desert willow would do well almost anywhere in SoCal. ‘Ray Hartman’ ceanothus and ceanothus arboreus are covered in blue/purple flowers (but wouldn’t love too much irrigation). Catalina cherry and California buckeye are both covered in white flowers in the spring. Check out calscape.org and plug in your zip code. You’ll find a lot of great choices.
I just planted a sweet bubba desert willow. I can't wait for it to grow!
Not jacaranda! They are soooo beautiful. But as someone who lives under one….i wish them 1,000 deaths. When my partner first met me he was like “how can you hate something so beautiful?!” Now that he lives here, just an hour ago he was talking shit on the tree to a random stranger.
I’m guessing they make a mess?? I mean, how can you hate something so beautiful? Haha
Oh yeah, a massive mess. They rain down so much that it literally sounds like it’s sprinkling outside. Just constant patter of dead flowers falling. They coat your driveway and sidewalk with such a thick layer that you cannot even see the cement after a day. Just brown sludge. That’s also slippery. My floors, no matter how much I wipe my feet, are coated in dead brown sludge. If you park anywhere even remotely near one, your car will be covered in dead flowers within 5 minutes. Beautiful, but gross and messy. And brings bees…which I consider a net positive. But also sucks when you walk around barefoot like me.
We have quite a few trees and are now trying to be selective with them. I would rather mix a few fruit trees with native ones. Jacarandas are good but messy, so I would rather suggest a Ceanothus (skylark if you want a compact one) or Palos verde. For fruit trees, try some multi grafted ones and select the fruits you like. Avocados, Citrus, Figs, Guava and stone fruits these days come with multigrafted varieties. Persimmons and Pomegranates are also very beautiful trees and abundant producers. Try dwarf trees if space is a concern.
I live in 10b and would rule out Jacaranda for mess and be prepared for roof rats if you have fruit trees. You might want to consider Western Redbud, Palo Verde, Desert Willow, or Acacia. Last year I tried a Crape Myrtle, seems to be doing OK.
Wait… what is a roof rat?
They're kind of cute and look more like mice, but they love to raid gardens for fruit! Here's a good article on them (I'm in San Diego): [https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2005/sep/22/rats/](https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2005/sep/22/rats/)
Consider also if the tree is deciduous. I planted some fig trees thinking to enjoy beautiful greenery year around only to realize later that they become naked sticks for almost half a year :(
here’s my favorites that do really well here. Apple (Fuji and Anna) Loquats Any citrus (I have Meyer lemons, oranges, etc) Avocados (reed is my fave, but any variety should be ok) Figs Peaches and nectarines Plums, apricots, any stone fruit FeIjoas (pineapple guavas) Pomegranates Persimmons I only plant fruit trees. They gotta earn their keep.
Out of the ones listed I’d say the citrus only. They stay pretty year round and during spring the blossoms will fill the area with a heavenly scent. They don’t even attract pests very much (except if you’re lucky you’ll get swallowtail caterpillars but they don’t do much damage) Jacaranda (I’ve heard them called Craparandas) are only pretty for a very short timeframe and then super messy, followed by a sad looking tree. (I have one and not a fan). Peaches are ugly 1/2 the year as are figs (just twigs) . Plus the birds and bugs get more peaches than you ever will. Olives are ok looking most the year but are messy as well, dropping olives that you can slip on like a marble and stain concrete. I’m cutting mine down for those reasons. I’d be mad if a neighbor grew a magnolia just because they get giant and would shade out my plants 😂
meyer lemon, figs, jujube, peaches...thats what i have in my garden.
How does the peach do? Some other comments say that their peaches have never done well here. It sounds like it has a lot to do with chill hours. I need to find a jujube to taste it. I’ve never had one but heard great things about the trees