Question
QUESTION: Hi
Thanks to people like you, I may be able to sleep better tonight without worrying about spacing.We live in houston area. We have a ugly looking water motor unit behind our backyard and would like to cover the views to it from the house with a line of trees. We found a good deal on live oaks and our landscaper suggested planting the oaks 8 ft apart to get a canopy. We are planning to plant 6 of them of 65 Gallons(3.5" dia). My question is is it too close? We have power lines above them (about 20 ft high). Is this a good idea at all. After how many years will we have to start trimming so tree will not hinder the power lines?
Another question is is 45 G(at 115$) or 65 G(at 150$) better
ANSWER: My father lives near Conroe, so I know that some areas of Houston are plagued with heavy clay soils that can literally drown trees by retaining the water in a clay 揵owl?at the roots.  Consequently, there are a limited number of options for species that can stand this kind of treatment and sometimes special planting methods are needed ?literally lifting the tree out of the ground by using a 搈ound?  Maybe not your case, but a caution to be aware of.  

The Texas Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis) can live for hundreds of years with branches that can span an average of 60-100 feet across at about 15-20 years old卆nd get over 40 feet tall.  

So, NO; especially not under power lines, unless you plan on hacking these trees into a large hedge for the next 100 years!  (I抳e seen this done with our west coast giant, the evergreen Sequoia)   

The Live Oak will drop a lot of their leaves in the fall even thought they are called "evergreen", defeating the purpose of a 搒creen?effect.  So unless it is a ranch-like setting, 6 is way too many trees for one yard.  I don抰 know how big this water pump of yours is, but it would have to be enormous to justify such a large tree?br>
If you want a screening tree for the Houston area, may I suggest Yew, Yaupon (a holly relative) or another evergreen that won抰 get so enormous ?maybe only 20 feet, max.  

If you insist on a deciduous-type of tree, here is a website with loads of other recommendations for the Houston area, plus WHERE to plant it (distances from structures, power lines, septic fields, etc.):
http://www.treesforhouston.org/Tree_Planting_Guide/What_to_Plant.aqf

If you want to see pictures of some of your tree options, here is another great link:
http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/ViewAllTrees.aspx

Here are some lovely Live Oak images (to give you an idea as to how BIG they will get!):

http://www.championtrees.org/champions/oaktexaslive.htm

And, here are some Live Oaks planted about 50 feet apart in the Louisiana area (probably 150 yrs old or so):

http://www.bergoiata.org/fe/trees/Live%20Oaks,%20Oak%20Alley%20Plantation,%20Vac

As to price, I抦 not certain, as it really depends on your area.  Go to a nursery and see for yourself by shopping around, locally.  

As to tree container sizes, they are usually measured in 揼allon?containers (up to about 20 gal.), trunk caliper size (diameter of the trunk at about 6-inches above the root ball - no larger than 4-inches), or wooden crates(called a 揵ox?& usually measured in inches - these can get HUGE).  

I抦 not familiar with the sizes you mentioned.  A 20-gallon, or 1&1/2-inch caliper, or 24-inch box deciduous tree retails for about $100, here.

Finally, sorry for all the links (which I hope work for your computer); I get excited about this stuff!

-Marc


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanx a lot Marc for all that info. All the links worked great. The pictures of live oak scares me. I have been thinking oak is too big for the yard. But my husband thinks we can keep on trimming it. he just hates the look of the motor. From the ground level, the motor unit is abt 9 ft tall. But since we have no screens it is visible from every window in second floor. It is a beautiful house, but sudden building of this unit has become a killer for us. We thought about Yaupon holly. But I couldnt find a decent sized holly shrub. All we saw was 2 gallon containers in Nursery. Any idea where I can find them. We live in Katy Houston.

Thanks again for your expertise. The world of internet is great.
Smitha

Answer
Here are some others to consider,since you're having trouble finding a bigger Yaupon Holly (all are good in a zone 8/Houston area) - Bufford Holly, Florida Anise, California Privet, Wax Myrtle, Osmanthus, Photinia, Cleyera, Sweet Vibernum, Southern Red Cedar, Podocarpus,or maybe a Thuja.

The overhead powerlines really limit you to the screening tree type you can use, and as seen from the second story!

~Marc