Marina Tree List

Marina Suggested Tree List

Marina Trees — pick the right tree for the right spot!

Welcome to the updated Marina tree page! Our community needs more healthy trees to provide beauty, character and identitify a sense of place. Our club wants to help by providing our collective observations regarding trees in Marina to encourage planting “the right tree for the spot.”

New Tree List – downloadable pdf here

This list reflect some of the hardiest trees observed historically growing in Marina. The parameters for selection include wind and drought tolerance, affinity to poor sandy soils and marine salt air conditions. Other considerations include maintenance, sidewalk lifting, power line interference, sidewalk strip suitability and leaf litter. There are many other species that will grow here that may not meet all of the critera and may grow well with more care in a protected spot. The historical tree list can be explored further down the page.

SMALL TREES/SHRUBS

Less than 20’ tall at maturity. Suitable for sidewalk strips and 36” openings in concrete. Will not lift sidewalks.

Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ California Wild Lilac
Laurus ‘Saratoga’ Saratoga Bay Laurel
Heteromeles arbutifolia Toyon
Magnolia grandiflora “Little Gem” Little Gem Magnolia
Rhamnus alaternus Italian Buckthorn

Oak tree in prevailing wind — Oak tree bent by prevailing wind out at the Marina airport. Most likely this tree was planted from a 15 gallon pot—already too tall and spindly to adapt to windy conditions. A better approach would have been to plant a small multi-trunk 1 to 5 gallon tree that would have had time to adapt to the extreme wind conditions.

MEDIUM TREES

20’-35’ tall at maturity. Suitable for street strips, wide medians, yards and areas away from power lines. This list reflect trees that have well behaved roots (generally).

Allocasuarina verticillate (Casuarina stricta) Mountain She-Oak, Beefwood,
coast beefwood
Arbutus “Marina” Strawberry tree
Arbutus unedo Strawberry tree
Callistemon citrinus (Melaleuca citirinus) Lemon Bottlebrush
Casaurina stricta (see Allocasuarina verticillate) Coast Beefwood, Drooping She-Oak
Corynocarpus laevigatus New Zealand Laurel
Eriobotrya japonica Loquat
Ilex aquifolium English Holly
Melaleuca ericifolia Heath Melaleuca, Swamp paperbark
Melaleuca linariifolia Flaxleaf Paperbark
Melaleuca quinquenervia Cajeput Tree
Melaleuca styphelioides Black Tea Tree, Prickly Leaf Paperbark
Pittosporum crassifolium Karo Tree
Podocarpus gracilior Fern Pine
Prunus ilicifolia ssp lyonii Catalina Cherry
Tristaniopsis laurina Small-Leaf Tristania, Water gum
Searsia lancea (Rhus lancea) African Sumac

Arbutus ‘Marina’ is a very popular street tree that grows well with little maintenance

LARGE TREES – Evergreen

More than 35’ tall at maturity. Not suitable under or near power lines, or, small street/sidewalk openings. Larger trees will have more issues with roots lifting sidewalks and causing damage. It is recommended that these trees be given plenty of room to grow!

Cupressus macrocarpa Monterey Cypress
Cinnamomum camphora Camphor Tree
Geijera parvifiora Australian Willow
Corymbia ficifolia Red flowering gum
Eucalyptus nicholii Willow-leaf peppermint
Eucalyptus polyanthemos Silver Dollar gum
Lophostemon confertus Brisbane Box
Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius Catalina Ironwood
Pinus canariensus Canary Island Pine
Pinus halepensis Allepo Pine
Pinus pinea Italian Stone Pine
Pinus radiate Monterey Pine
Pinus Torreyana Torrey Pine
Quercus tomentella Island Oak
Quercus agrifolia Coast Live Oak

Beach Street Legacy trees – eucalyptus trees can get very large over time!

LARGE TREES – Deciduous

A deciduous tree can add lovely autumn colors to a landscape. Remember that any tree that loses its leaves will drop copious amounts of litter in the fall.

Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold,’ ‘Princeton Sentry,’ ‘Saratoga’ Maidenhair tree, Ginkgo
Platanus x acerifolia ‘Columbia’ London plane, sycamore

PALM TREES

Please Note: Palms are long lived at 50-100+ years and some get very large. Not suitable under power lines or small street/sidewalk openings because of mature size. A mature palm can require costly maintenance to remove dead material at the crown.

Chamaerops humilis Mediterranean Fan Palm
Cordyline australis Dracaena Palm
Phoenix canariensis Canary Island Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera Date Palm
Washingtonia filifera California Fan Palm
Washingtonia robusta Mexican Fan Palm

For further information on each tree visit the Cal Poly Select-a-Tree list

Lyonothamnos asplenifolium — Catalina Ironwood grove with Heuchera and Sticky Monkey Flower. *Photo: Juli Hofmann*

Updates to the Old Tree List

PLEASE NOTE: Some trees on our historical list are no longer recommended. Although these trees may grow very well in Marina – considerations are now given to:

Allergen Species
Cold intolerance
Disease
Invasive Species

Allergen Species

There are tree tree species that can cause severe to moderate reactions for some people. We suggest visiting the following site to get more information on trees and plants that cause allergies before planting. www.pollenlibrary.com

Cold Intolerance

Metrosideros excelsus – New Zealand Christmas Tree has been removed from the recommended tree list.

The 2007 cold snap devastated many newly planted New Zealand Christmas trees and many did not recover. An older established tree can withstand sustained cold snaps with only topical burning and regrowth from an established root, but this is generally a cold sensitive tree. There are more cold tolerant tree choices that we would rather recommend

Myoporum Thrip — More information on how to ID thrips can be found on the MT&GC In the Garden page

Disease

Myoporum laetum – Lollypop tree has been removed from the recommended tree list.

Myoporum laetum was THE main street tree in Marina for decades. It seemingly thrived in the wind and sand without any summer water and managed to look glossy all year round. This all changed when the Myoporum Thrip was introduced in to Southern California and worked its way up to the central coast about 10 years ago. Now every Myoporum that is still living shows some degree of infection and stress. It is only a matter of time before no healthy species will be found on our streets. For more information on the thrip and possible solutions for infected trees

Invasive Species

All of the following have been removed from the recommended tree list.
Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’ – Purple Acacia (freely reseeds everywhere)
Acacia salicina – WIllow Acacia (freely reseeds everywhere)
Leptospermum laevigatum – Australian Tea Tree (all over Fort Ord!)
Maytenus boaria – Mayten Tree (suckers freely & invasive roots)

These trees grow GREAT in our area, but sadly they will reseed freely and plant themselves in many locations causing long term maintenance problems. Although there may be specific situations in which – say for example an Acacia baileyana – would be preferred over other less invasive species – we caution for careful consideration before planting. For more information on invasive plant species in general visit www.invasiveplantatlas.org

Coast Live oak, Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’, Mexican sage and Roldana petasitis in full bloom

For more information on Arborists, Fruit Trees, Plant Nurseries and local informational links visit our links page.