Re: Small, urban-tree recommendations

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I live a few miles north of Monterey in the town of Marina in a bit of a "bowl", so we get a little more frost than places located on the sides of the hills here (my city as built atop old, stabilized sand dunes) So conditions are a bit different than yours, but still fairly mild.

 

I have the variety "Thundercloud" which has remained quite small after probably 12 years, and only this year have I noticed any fruit. I ended up with a grand total of two. I can't recall seeing them fruit much here, and they get plenty of bees and the flowers are definitely single, not double. I tend to keep it on the dry side, so that may slow down its growth a bit.  To be honest, if I were to re-plant a tree in the same spot, I'd have picked something a bit more exotic and less common.

These are not trees that are growing in my exact neighborhood but they are planted here. I've seen Cupaniopsis anacardioides planted in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center, as well as near the Monterey Plaza Hotel and they seem to do OK. Prone to wind damage it seems and they seem to not really enjoy the cold sea winds they get (the shopping center is located on the other side of the sand dunes, so probably 1/4 mile from the sea). It could just be the general neglect they get there. However, I do know they tolerate salt air and saline conditions so it may just be the constant cold wind they don't enjoy. The ones growing protected from the wind seem to look much better.

Tristaniopsis laurina is not common, but I've seen it in a commercial setting as well as along the fence for a nearby elementary school. They seem to do quite well and after about 10 years are not massive (I'd say less than 20 feet tall). They do get some neglect so I suppose with more water they may be bigger and faster growing, but they look consistently good (especially as these grow along rivers and streams in Australia). Not particularly showy while in flower but up close they have pretty golden yellow flowers that look like Leptospermum flowers hidden among the leaves close to the branches. Personally, I find them charming, attractive and fresh looking trees.