As in last week's column, where I was trying to decide whether to overseed my lawn with ryegrass, I have another landscape dilemma: What kind of trees should I plant in my yard?

Almost every day I give advice on what to plant, but when it comes to my own yard, it is hard to decide. I plan to plant four trees in my landscape.

I need to decide soon, because tree planting season is almost here for the Augusta area. Another week or two and we will begin prime time for planting.

Fall is the best time to plant because new trees have late fall, winter and spring to establish roots. Soils are wetter in winter, and temperatures are cooler, while the plants are much less active. These are ideal conditions for getting trees off to a good start.

First, choose a site that is big enough for a tree to develop. A large, mature tree will need 30 to 40 feet of space; smaller trees, 15 to 20 feet.

The former owners of my house planted six Bradford pear trees that became much too large for the area, and I had all of them cut down this summer.

Think of trees as a long-term investment. You need trees that can survive and grow with few problems. Select and plant trees that are cold-hardy, heat and drought tolerant and pest-resistant. An adapted large tree on a good site with a little care should live 50 to 100 years.

Many popular trees, including Bradford pears, cherry, dogwoods and silver maples, won't last as long. Keep in mind that when they reach a certain age (with a few exceptions), you will probably need to cut them down.

You plant trees for your own reasons. You may need some fast shade to cool the house, the driveway, or an air conditioner unit. You may want to improve your landscape with spring flowers or brilliant orange fall color. You may need to screen your neighbor with an evergreen planting. All are good reasons to select a tree to fit the space and need of the site.

Here are suggestions to fill your special needs:

Good trees that grow fairly fast and provide shade include red maple, Shumard oak, willow oak and Chinese elm. There are several cultivars of red maple and Chinese elm from which to choose. Popular red maples include Red Sunset, October Glory and Autumn Blaze. Choices of Chinese elm include Allee, Athena and Bosque.

Smaller trees with rapid growth are trident maple, goldenrain tree and tree-form crape myrtles such as Natchez, Dynamite and Sioux. Crape myrtles give three to four months of summer blooms.

I am planting two small trees on the side of my house (where I had the pears cut down), and I love crape myrtles, but I already have 10 in the front yard, so I feel that planting more is overkill.

Trees with outstanding fall color include Legacy sugar maple, the red maples, Chinese pistache and ginkgo. There is nothing prettier to me than the yellow leaves of the ginkgo tree in the fall, but the downside of them is they are very slow growing.

Look for outstanding spring flowers in redbuds and flowering dogwoods. The Kousa dogwood, cherry trees, and Chinese fringe tree are beautiful small flowering trees. With cherry trees you can choose among Okame, Kwanzan and Yoshino. Okame seems to take our southern heat better so it will be the longer lived out of the three.

I am thinking of planting two Kwanzans. I had two in the backyard of my previous home, and they were gorgeous every year, usually peak blooming just in time for the Masters Tournament.

These trees have a broad range of adaptability and provide great features for the landscape. Select and plant those trees this fall and you'll have them well established before summer's heat.

SID MULLIS IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA EXTENSION SERVICE OFFICE FOR RICHMOND COUNTY. CONTACT HIM AT (706) 821-2349 OR smullis@uga.edu.