[Arid_gardener] arizona ash too big for my yard, carolina laurel charry poisonous?

[Clair Spackman]

I am finally putting in my backyard landscape and have researched trees over and over these past few weeks.  On Sunday I went to a nursery and they talked me into an Arizona Ash, not something I had considered or researched, but it looks like a tree (I'm English) but is a native which is fairly important to me.  The tree will go in my patio area.  I want a deciduous tree as its the south side of our house.  The space it has to go in is 12ft wide and 16ft deep before it spreads into neighbors yards.  Our house is 2 stories as is the one opposite however next door is one story as is the house directly behind us.  I am also looking for light shade in the summer as I will have raised planter beds around the edge of the yard and wish things to grow in them, i.e. not too heavy shade.  So I came home and looked up Arizona ash and find that several sites say its grows far bigger than the nursery said and now I'm worried I bought the wrong thing!  I was hoping to find a Mexican redbud but no-one had one.  

Then I need a 2nd tree to shade/hide my AC units.  They suggested a Carolina laurel cherry which I preferred to a ficus as at least it flowers.  I asked if the cherries were a problem for my dog, they said no.  Then again on getting home and looking it up I find they are poisonous and many people say theya re a terrible tree because of volunteers.

Should I cancel my order?  If so, what to buy instead?  

Clair Thunes, PhD.
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