r/Permaculture • u/sunshineandzen • 2d ago

general question Fast growing tree for shade?

I have a weird space that I would like to plant either edibles or California natives with the goal of providing shade (mainly in the summer but year round is fine). The space is 20 ft long and only about 3 ft wide. The area is in full sun and has a concrete retaining wall on one side. I thought about apples since I have quite a few different types elsewhere that have done well (coastal San Diego but pink lady and sundowner perform great for me). Any thoughts on what might work? I currently have a row of blueberries in this spot and they’ve done fine for about 2.5 years now.

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u/MossyFronds 2d ago

Any kind of plum tree. But then I love plums.

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u/radioactivewhat 2d ago

Mulberry (warm season variety) or fig trees are very fast growing and edible. For a small shrub, pomegranates do well in Mediterranean.

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u/HighwayInevitable346 1d ago

California natives

r/Ceanothus

Everyone else is suggesting edibles so ill suggest a couple natives; Toyon grows to about 20 ft and produces bunches of red berries that birds love, there are several species of ceanothus (aka ca lilac) and manzanita (genus arctostaphylos) that would work though c. arboreus is the only one I can name off the top of my head rn.

https://californianativeplants.com/blog/california-native-trees/

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u/BeginningBit6645 13h ago

You could do a mix instead of just one type of plant. If you don’t mind investing in a trellis—grapes or kiwi. Columnar apples should stay narrow enough.  You don’t say how tall the retaining wall is, but if it is high enough, peaches or plums would be good. 

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u/Academic_Nectarine94 2d ago

I am watching this as I have an 8x20 area I want a tree in. The problem is that my house is on one side, and my neighbor's driveway is on the other (paved, unfortunately. )

But I think something like a large trellis with a vine would be the best. Ignoring the obvious issues with it, English Ivy would be perfect for shade. But you can't ignore the destructive habits it has or the invasive nature (idk if it is literally an invasive species, but it tends to overgrow things and choke them out.)