Fruiting Shade Tree for So Cal

[gtw7983]

I have an area facing the southwest in my yard that I put all my potted plants at. I want to plant some shade trees there to provide shades in the hot So Cal sun. It is great if the tree can fruit, but no fruiting shade trees are ok too if they grow fast. Actually fast growth in So Cal is a must since my potted trees are getting sunburns now already. My local Home Depot in Corona, CA has Mimosa trees now that seem like interesting; I am also considering Pakisyan mulberry and maybe queen palms. Any better options?
Any opinions will be appreciated.

** mod edit:  corrected "shade" **

[gtw7983]

Sorry, the title should be Fruitng Shade Tree for So Cal!

[nullzero]

Mulberry is great for shade, fast growing in SoCal.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

tamarind?

[Tim]

Mulberry makes great shade tree that seems to grow fairly fast in Socal, it'll completely block the sun from all that's under it ... oh wait, nullzero said that already 
Well if you do decide on a fruiting mulberry, keep in mind that excess fruits will stain falling off the tree.  Looks very messy.

[fruitlovers]

Ice cream bean is very fast growing, but gets to be a very large tree. So will depend on how much room you have?

[nullzero]

I like mulberry a lot because it defoliates in the winter, when the sun is needed.

[fruitlovers]

I like mulberry a lot because it defoliates in the winter, when the sun is needed.

Don't consider mulberry to be a good shade tree. I guess it depends what you mean by shade tree? To me a shade tree is one you can sit under. Wouldn't want to do that with mulberries dropping down. Also for a patio mulberry would make a lot of stains. Also the shade from mulberry is very light, not a deep shade, like i think of when thinking about shade trees. But i do love mulberry fruits!

[nullzero]

I like mulberry a lot because it defoliates in the winter, when the sun is needed.

Don't consider mulberry to be a good shade tree. I guess it depends what you mean by shade tree? To me a shade tree is one you can sit under. Wouldn't want to do that with mulberries dropping down. Also for a patio mulberry would make a lot of stains. Also the shade from mulberry is very light, not a deep shade, like i think of when thinking about shade trees. But i do love mulberry fruits!

Yeah staining fruit is not good to sit under, I know what you mean. I mainly love the fruits from the tree. I always have my dark jeans and throw away plain white tee shirts on when I am looking to pick fruits , no shirt works well too. Mulberry is a good out of the way shade tree.

[NewGen]

Do you want shade in the winter time? If the answer is no, then I suggest a fruitless mulberry or fig. Both of mine grow very fast, but totally defoliate in the winter. The fig is a really fast grower, lots of fruits too, but those don't have a chance to drop, I and the birds are in a constant race to get them before they hit the ground. 

If you do want shade in the winter, plant some bananas. Very fast grower as well.

[simon_grow]

Like everyone said, mulberries can stain and attract lot of birds that drop staining poop. What about a nice cherimoya, loquat or an avocado? These are decently fast growers but I don't know if the shade will be acceptable for your needs.
Simon

[gtw7983]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I will probably go with the bananas since they grow pretty fast in my yard and they look good too. Thanks again!

[barath]

Reviving this thread -- any thoughts on fruiting shade trees for SoCal that don't make a mess?  Here are the candidates I can think of (including ones above):

Mulberry -- deciduous (+), messy (-), too small (-)
Avocado -- evergreen (-), not mess, big enough (+)
Citrus -- evergreen (-), not messy (+), usually too small to shade a house (-)
Persimmon -- deciduous (+), not messy (+ if Fuyu type), usually too small to shade a house (-)
Stone fruit -- deciduous (+), messy (-), big enough if on standard rootstock (+)
Fig -- deciduous (+), messy (-), big enough (+)

I couldn't think of anything that was deciduous, not messy, and big enough.  Any thoughts?

[fyliu]

Carob, ice cream bean.

[barath]

Carob, ice cream bean.

Good ideas -- but both are evergreen, right?

[Mugenia]

I have a big backyard so I am going the mango tree route. I will try to keep it under 20' tall.

[fruitlovers]

What about white sapote? Large, deciduous. Only messy if you don't harvest the fruits. It is very productive, but can be a really great fruit.
BTW, why do you want the tree to be deciduous? That seems to be counter to it giving shade all year and not being messy.

[barath]

What about white sapote? Large, deciduous. Only messy if you don't harvest the fruits. It is very productive, but can be a really great fruit.
BTW, why do you want the tree to be deciduous? That seems to be counter to it giving shade all year and not being messy.

It's not deciduous here, or rather, it's only very rarely deciduous here, when very stressed.

The reason for choosing something deciduous is that there are a couple months of winter in SoCal that are somewhat cold when having some sun to warm the house is actually nice.  (At least that was true when I lived in San Diego, and I assume it's true elsewhere in SoCal.)

[fyliu]

So grapes and figs then. Jujube is deciduous, but i'm not sure how big they get. White fruited mulberries don't stain much. Kei apple is more of a bush.

Grapes are probably best to shade the house since you can put them close to the walls. The fruits can be kept low so that it's all leaves up high. Easy harvest and no fruit drop from top. You prune off most of the vines each year to restart the cycle.

[ricshaw]

Grapes are probably best to shade the house since you can put them close to the walls. The fruits can be kept low so that it's all leaves up high. Easy harvest and no fruit drop from top. You prune off most of the vines each year to restart the cycle.

My father had a Concord grape arbor next to our house. It was the messy, sometimes most stinky (rotting grapes), part of the yard.

[fyliu]

Grapes are probably best to shade the house since you can put them close to the walls. The fruits can be kept low so that it's all leaves up high. Easy harvest and no fruit drop from top. You prune off most of the vines each year to restart the cycle.

My father had a Concord grape arbor next to our house. It was the messy, sometimes most stinky (rotting grapes), part of the yard.

Good point. That's because it was on an arbor where people like to see the grapes dangle down from the top. Prune it like a vineyard and all the fruits would be at chest height and all the current season leaves would be up top. Well, that's my plan anyway. Currently, I have a dozen grapes at a 2 ft spacing in my parents' west wall. I might need to remove every other one later depending on how dense the canopy gets each year.

[WaterFowler]

Moringa trees jump out of the ground like crazy and are much easier to shape than Mulberries but they are a health benefits type tree rather than a fruit to eat out of hand type tree. They can go from seed to 10 feet easily in a single year here. But mine are out in the open rather up against structure so when it got down to 28 degrees the winter before last, it killed the top half of the trees. They are a nice looking tree that flowers profusely most of the year attracting lots of pollenators to your yard.

[barath]

Moringa trees jump out of the ground like crazy and are much easier to shape than Mulberries but they are a health benefits type tree rather than a fruit to eat out of hand type tree. They can go from seed to 10 feet easily in a single year here. But mine are out in the open rather up against structure so when it got down to 28 degrees the winter before last, it killed the top half of the trees. They are a nice looking tree that flowers profusely most of the year attracting lots of pollenators to your yard.

Oh, that's a nice idea.  I have heard folks prune them back hard in the winter.  How tall can they get in SoCal if allowed to grow?

[fyliu]

Moringa trees jump out of the ground like crazy and are much easier to shape than Mulberries but they are a health benefits type tree rather than a fruit to eat out of hand type tree. They can go from seed to 10 feet easily in a single year here. But mine are out in the open rather up against structure so when it got down to 28 degrees the winter before last, it killed the top half of the trees. They are a nice looking tree that flowers profusely most of the year attracting lots of pollenators to your yard.

Do you direct sow the seeds in the ground or start them in pots first? How often do you water the small ones and big ones? I have 3 year olds from seeds that are kind of slow to grow and I seeded the ground near my grapes this year since there's more sun there. Moringa doesn't seem to provide a lot of shade though, which is what I'm counting on since there are other plants behind them that I don't want to block out.

[WaterFowler]

Moringa trees jump out of the ground like crazy and are much easier to shape than Mulberries but they are a health benefits type tree rather than a fruit to eat out of hand type tree. They can go from seed to 10 feet easily in a single year here. But mine are out in the open rather up against structure so when it got down to 28 degrees the winter before last, it killed the top half of the trees. They are a nice looking tree that flowers profusely most of the year attracting lots of pollenators to your yard.

Oh, that's a nice idea.  I have heard folks prune them back hard in the winter.  How tall can they get in SoCal if allowed to grow?

The tallest I've seen here is around 20 feet but that's because the winters here keep them in check. They will probably get bigger along the coastal areas. One downside is that they don't have a huge spread, so you might have to plant more than one depending on how much shade you need. On the plus side, they lose a lot of their leaves during the winter, leaving sparse leaves, bare limbs and hanging drumsticks all the way until late spring allowing lots of light in when you need it most. The leaves and drumsticks are packed full of nutrients, so I imagine they are fantastic for compost and mulch.