Good Treehouse Timber

These trees are good treehouse choices, say arborists Alden Kelley and James Barry, who are often contacted by homeowners to determine if a specific tree is structurally sound for a treehouse.

Before building the treehouse, consider getting a civil engineer to draw up plans and see if the city you live in requires a permit.

* Avocado

* California sycamore (Platanus racemosa)

* Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)

* Cape chestnut (Calodendrum capense)

* Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides or C. speciosa)

* Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia)

* Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)

* Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii)

* Holly oak (Quercus ilex)

* Lemon (large-sized)

* Lily-of-the-valley tree (Crinodendron patagua)

* Modesto ash (Fraxinus velutina ‘Modesto’)

* Mulberry (Morus alba, fruitless varieties)

* Olive (Olea europaea)

* Pecan (Carya illinoensis)

* Sawleaf zelkova (Zelkova serrata)

* Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica)

* Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Julie Bawden-Davis

Julie Bawden-Davis is a bestselling journalist, blogger, speaker and novelist. Widely published, she has written 25 books and more than 4,000 articles for a wide variety of national and international publications. For many years, Julie was a columnist with the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and Parade.com. In nonfiction, Julie specializes in home and garden, small business, personal finance, food, health and fitness, inspirational profiles and memoirs. She is founder and publisher of HealthyHouseplants.com and the YouTube channel Healthy Houseplants. Julie is also a prolific novelist who has penned two fiction series.