All your selections save Ficus need lots of water. Your water reality soon will mean these will start dying as you cut back on irrigation.

So if I may, let us aim for realistic trees for the future knowing resource limitations will be forthcoming - much more so than now or in the past.

Dan

White Birch and Japanese Maple are really mostly out of their element in hot and dry, mild winter climates. Sunset Western Garden Book (2007, Sunset Publishing, Menlo Park) has special instructions for trying to get a Japanese Maple to make it in areas with hard water and hard summers.

The staining properties of the products of fruiting mulberry trees can be quite a problem on many sites. Elsewhere these may pop up weedily, have a rank growth habit even when not reseeding. It is true that fruitless, small-growing weeping cultivars are fairly easily found at outlets, and the gourmet but rather cold-tender Morus nigra might be possible there. It does stain, however. And the weeping forms are not high-branching shade trees, growing instead into something more like a child's play house.

Weeping willow (except for small-growing kinds) is of course another giant spreading tree that takes over the yard. And it may break up within the time that the original planter is still there, unlike banyan trees.

Numerous trees more suited to the conditions there can be chosen from long-established displays at local public collections. Your list consists almost entirely of common hardy trees grown throughout much of the country.

California has a huge and interesting native flora including many outstanding ornamentals. A typical sized lot could not contain all of the different kinds of these that an interested party might want to try, let alone is it necessary to rely exclusively on thirsty exotics.

Three trees that are especially suited to California are:
1) Olive
2) Fig
3) Persimmon

Yes, they're quite messy, too.

Josh

Let us not forget SelecTree.

Dan

For SoCal, I'd seriously reccomend California White Oak, a/k/a Valley Oak. Not only is it a beautiful, reasonably fast-growing species, it's also considered a threatened native species.

Where do you mean by "southern california"? San Diego? Los Angeles? Palm Springs? Blythe? It'll make a big difference as to what will do best.

Resin

I believe shantung maple is on the recommended list somewhere in California. That would be a good alternative to Japanese maple... Much easier to grow. Can handle full sun and tolerate alkaline soil and drought significantly better.

I appreciate everyone's advise, but my reason for this post was "also" to get everyone's top 5 or 10 trees too. Please feel to comment, but don't forget to offer alternatives too! That was the fun part of my post that I was hoping to see also.

And southern California as in Orange County.

Thanks Everyone!

If you haven't yet you might want to try this one.

Here is a link that might be useful: California Gardening

I did not know about it, Thank you!

By the way, I meant to say Pomegranate...not persimmon!

Josh

I would keep mulberry on the list. I have two mulberry trees in my Santa Clarita yard in hard, alkaline, clay soil, with blistering heat in the summer, and little precipitation, and they do great. Not only do they provide a ton of shade and a place for the kids to play, but the fruit in late spring is incredible! Yes, they are messy, but they aren't like gum trees that leave land mines for years to come and become invasive.

Other favorites:
live oak
manzanita
desert peach
and,although they are not a natural fit in southern California, southern highbush blueberries (in planters or raised beds with plenty of peat moss and humus for alkaline soil)

I will add:

Camphor Tree, if you have enough space, the roots can be expansive. The leaves smell aromatic. This can be a big tree and should not be planted too close to the house or sidewalks.

Pepper Tree

Spanish Cork Oak, they are drought tolerant and don't get too big, and have amazing squishy bark, this is where cork stoppers on wine bottles come from.

Pomegranate grows exceptionally well in this climate. Even if you don't like eating them the fruits can be very decorative hanging from the tree, and the tree also produces pretty fiery orange blossoms. Pomegranate usually grows more like a giant bush-tree though, not really the best for shade.

A lot of people have never tried a truly fresh pomegranate right off the tree, they taste much much better when really fresh. And a lot of people do not know the proper technique for cutting open a pomegranate and removing the arils, so they wrongly think eating pomegranate is too much work and too messy.

When it comes to Mulberry trees, Persian Black is by far the best tasting variety. However, if you're in climate zone 10 Pakistan Mulberry will grow better and is also a good tasting variety, with larger fruit size too. If you go with a fruitless male Mulberry (as some people do to avoid all the messy berries falling), there could be pollen allergy issues (if not you, someone else in the neighborhood). The Black varieties are the best tasting, but the black berries can make a mess on the ground and stain the sidewalk, or get tracked indoors on your shoes on the carpet, so that's something that should be considered. Another little fact, mulberry leaves are not poisonous and can be fed to pigs or goats, a favorite food of silkworms too. Mulberry trees have beautiful shade foliage.

If you're looking for some more exotic choices you might also see this thread: Sacred trees in India

For non-invasive trees, consider: Podocarpus, Carrotwood or Sweetshade. For flowering trees, consider: Strawberry tree, Magnolia grandiflora "Little Gem", and Purple Leaf Plum. For great patio trees (that can also be planted in the yard), consider: Bronze Loquat, Rhaphiolepsis “Majestic Beauty”, or Photonia Standard. For drought tolerant (low fire hazard) trees, consider: Brisbane Box, Western Redbud, or Gold Medallion. If you live in a high fire area you'll want to avoid: California Pepper trees, Eucalyptus, Junipers, Pines and Fir (to name a few)

Mimosa or silk tree (Albizia julibrissin) is a manageable tree with interesting foliage and flowers, umbrella shape, only 25 feet tall

Gold medallion (Cassia leptophylla) is also highly recommended, medium size, stunning flowers and fascinating foot long seed pods

Problem with western redbud (Cercis occidental is) is that it is typically coddled to death. If you want this tree to live more than a few years, never water, prune, or fertilize it

With western redbud, do not remove suckers, just let it be, try to find a multi as opposed to standard or single trunk specimen since trunk will sunburn when unprotected by sucker growth.