Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

It's not so much a question of where you can buy one, as whether such a tree even exists. A fast-growing tree is often short-lived and susceptible to breakage and disease. There are not nearly as many evergreen trees as there are deciduous, and every tree is going to have a root system at least as far-reaching as its crown and usually much more. Since we don't know what kind of soil you have, whether you are planning on providing shade or privacy or what with your tree, that makes our recommendations even more difficult. You would have more luck controlling the invasiveness of the roots if you chose a shrub instead of a tree. There are shrubs that will grow fairly quickly but not get as big as a standard tree. You wouldn't get much shade from that, but you would get some amount of privacy. And there is no such thing as a truly evergreen shrub or tree-all plants will shed some leaves, twigs, seeds and so forth throughout the year.

Next we need to determine what plant native to North America and California will come closest to satisfying your requirements. El Dorado County appears to be in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b, with narrow bands of warmer climate to the west of your area. We are going to go to our Recommended Species section and click on Northern California on the map. On the sidebar on the right side of the Recommended Species for Northern California page we will select "Tree" under General Appearance, and click on Narrow Your Search. You can repeat this search indicating your soil moisture and the amount of sun available in the area where you wish to plant, as well as to try "Shrub" in the General Appearance selection. From the resulting lists, follow each plant link to our page on that plant to determine its expected size, speed of growth and whether it is deciduous or evergreen. We will look at a few samples of each, check to see if our selections are native in your area, and you can take it from there.

Trees for El Dorado County, CA:

Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber (Birch-leaf mountain-mahogany) - semi-evergreen, 8 to 20 ft.

Cercis orbiculata (California redbud) - deciduous, 10-20 ft.

Shrubs for El Dorado County, CA:

Arctostaphylos patula (Greenleaf manzanita) - evergreen, 3-6 ft.

Heteromeles arbutifolia (Toyon) - evergreen, 10-20 ft.

When you have located some trees and/or shrubs that most closely fit what you are looking for, go to our National Suppliers Directory, type your town and state in the "Enter Search Location" box and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed suppliers and landscape consultants in your general area. All have contact information so you can check on availability and growing requirements.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber

Cercis orbiculata

Arctostaphylos patula

Heteromeles arbutifolia