With our crazy weather recently we have many damaged trees in the area. For those of us in Crawford Farms, the HOA Board has extended the time to replace dead or damaged trees until October, a more favorable time for planting trees. The Landscape Committee would like to encourage our residents who have to replace trees to consider trees that are less likely to split, break or be uprooted. The governing documents of our HOA state that any lot 60’, 70’ or 75’ in width requires two trees between the house and sidewalk. Lots of 55’ or Duplexes require only one tree in the front yard.

Oaks are very common in our area and come in many varieties like the evergreen Live Oak. Others lose their leaves after turning different shades of red and brown in the fall. They all produce acorns that can be a nuisance in the fall. Some grow very slowly and others more quickly.

Pecan, the State Tree of Texas, has a very long taproot and can be difficult to plant, but makes a nice tree if you can get it established. It too produces nuts in the fall. It is very difficult to find and plant these trees in our area due to the white rock that is so prolific in our soil.

Magnolias do well in our area and the dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are very popular. Like pine trees these trees shed their leaves continuously throughout the year, particularly in the spring and fall and the leaves are slow to break down once they fall. The fact that they bloom during the spring and summer is one advantage to this tree.

Cypress trees, bald and pond, are excellent trees that grow upright and have an open airy look to them.

Smaller trees that do well in this area are crape myrtles, Chinese Tallows, Pistachios and Vitex. If you have a large tree in your yard that was not damaged in the recent storms and another one that was, you might want to consider one of the smaller growing trees when replacing the damaged one.

Please note that the tree size requirement in the front yard is three (3) caliper inch single stem trunk. That means that the trunk of your single stem tree must measure three inches in diameter, when measured one foot up the trunk from the ground.

If you have questions about suitable trees and their advantages and disadvantages you can call the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service for Fort Worth at 817-884-1945, Mon. - Fri. 8am - 5pm.

If you want to join the landscape committee, please email landscape@crawfordfarmshoa.com.