Hi everyone! I’d appreciate your suggestions… I am looking for an edible tree, doesn’t have to be fruit… ie. Magnolia would work. Here’s my requirements:
Thank You!
Shipova Pear on a standard size rootstock. It’s a cross between a European pear and a mountain ash. I haven’t had fruit on mine yet and they take a notoriously long time to start bearing, but the leaves are really striking. Not like any pear I’ve ever seen. Quite a beautiful tree.
Oh, and Chinese Chestnut is another one that would meet your requirements. My sister had one at an old house and it was a beautiful shade tree. It was near impossible to beat the squirrels to the nuts, but if you can they are definitely edible.
Flat Wonderful peach. Search this forum to see pictures. I believe it checks all your points.
Thank you! I have never heard of this tree and it sounds great!
Thank you for the great suggestion, I will search for some photos!
What about a mimosa tree, it’s a great beautiful shade tree, and also edible (although I’ve never used it for that purpose). If I had more room I’d grow one for its beauty and hummingbird attraction.
Illinois everbearing mulberry.
Morus Rubra… bulletproof for probably 100 years… this tree has seen nothing but road salt, roundup and lives in a refuse pile of bricks and cinderblocks and landfill… soil around it is eroded and pure garbage. It grows better each year and bears heavily.
I have one in my front yard that i have cut down to a stump, then cut every feeder root then hacked on all the new sprouts for 3 years and it keeps coming back stronger…
It has given about 10 seedlings and they all can stay (amazing tree)… but this one in particular was going into my powerlines and shading out all of my other things.
Catalpa is also worth growing for what the OP wants… It is good for eating (use the catalpa worms to catch catfish). Flowers are good for pollinators and the pods are good for smoking 
Excellent shade trees that seem to live forever with no care.
Yeah luckily one is across the street so I can enjoy it still, and growing up my parents house had one. I’d climb in it and watch the hummingbirds. My dad still complains about how they spread but now I tell him they are a nitrogen fixer and are improving the soil everywhere they go haha
Our Drake Elm is a wonderful source of shade sticking somewhat in that size. Ours usually is a nest site for numerous birds. Especially hummingbirds.
I can attest to the Flat Wonderful peach being beautiful and delicious and grows well in zone 6a at about 4500ft elevation. However, I don’t know if it would exceed 20’ in height unless it was on a very vigorous rootstock. One of the most beautiful trees in my orchard with its lovely pink flowers in the spring and maroon and dark green leaves.
Mine ripened in late July, before any of my other peaches. The Fruit is clingstone and on the small side, but very delicious. It would have been larger and sweeter if we’d fertilized it and thinned the fruit more. We had other peaches and beehives nearby, so the fruit set was excessive 
I don’t have much personal experience with them, but it seems like mulberry would be a really good choice to meet your requirements.
A cherry tree on full size rootstock might be something to consider.
Japanese raisin tree (Hovenia dulcis) fits your criteria. The peduncles are edible. Personally, I’m not that fond of them, but I love my tree for shade, beauty, and ease of care. Also, it’s my daughter’s favorite climbing tree.
I have dunstan chestnut and you would not want to walk under it - at least barefoot. I have a mulberry and it is a great tree - except for the bird droppings under the tree when the fruit is ripe. I dont know where you live - but understand what trees - like elm and ash might die from diseases or bugs moving across the country. Some trees need another variety for pollination.
It’s been a year and not sure if OP made a choice, but for the sake of the thread and the bump…I’d lean disease resistant since you don’t want something over 20ft that is disease prone…
Sugar maple
Black walnut
Hickory
Tulip poplar (good for pollinators)
We built a new home in 2001… i dug up 2 sugar maples out of my woods and planted them in our yard.
They are nice trees, great shade, awesome fall color… and the leaves are a good add to the compost pile… or just layer them down under fruit trees. I add a layer of maple leaves to my fruit trees in the fall… then wood chips in the spring… and chop and drop grass and other green leaf plants in the summer.
For something that produces fruit… i would stay away from anything that requires spray… to produce good fruit.
Instead go with Mulberry or Persimmon.
I have heard others here say that they collect 35 lbs of mulberry fruit from one illinois everbearing mulberry.
1200 persimmons from one persimmon tree.
If you had room for two trees… one persimmon and one mulberry.
Mulberries produce late spring into summer… and persimmons in the fall.
TNHunter
Red and Southern Sugar Maples are my favorite trees here. Some years the whole property buzzes with swarms of bees feeding off them. Our barn is built at the base of a Red Maple that measured 88.5 foot a few years back by the foresters at the regional Lumber mill forest properties. Great for they nutrient poor sandy loam. Had to wonder if having goats, horses and cows back there gave it a big boost…lol
@Meghan1 Which area zone 6a are you in? some trees will grow in the west or east or south but not the others.
I’m in VA 6b (but with alkaline soil unlike most of VA) so these are my experiences related to that.
My flat wonderful is over 20 feet tall, you can walk under it, but it isn’t the greatest shade tree. However, it is my favorite tree for beauty. I would get one and plant it just because I like to look at it. If peach will grow in your area, put one in just for kicks when you put in your perfect tree.
I don’t think mulberry is particularly pretty (sorry all). Mine are much larger than @krismoriah’s, but his is much prettier. Mine leaf out late and always look a bit scraggly. It might just be the type I have but the branches are thin and just pop out everywhere. However, I have multiple mulberry trees that are 20+ feet tall, could be driven/walked under, produce fruit (most of which the birds get!), provide shade, and are not ugly - so they’re pretty good for your criteria.
I think pears grow too upright - I have some really old pear trees that are good shade, but I think you don’t want wait 40 years.
I think nothing beats an apple or crabapple for shade and IF MAINTAINED they are pretty. They get to 20 feet on the right rootstock, but that’s kind of the upper end - they can have a nice wide canopy though and you can walk under them. If you want fruit you may have to spray for CAR if it’s in your area, get a second tree as a pollinator (mostly), etc. so they might be more maintenance than you want. They aren’t super fast growing but they aren’t horribly slow either. My friend has two apples trees that are OLD and produce and they’re never sprayed and they are more like 30 feet tall - but I think that’s not so common in the places I’ve lived- just saying it can happen.
I love the red maple suggestion. In my area, sugar maple doesn’t grow as well as red maple. Red maple is very pretty, great for shade, walking under, hanging a swing on, etc and you can tap it for maple syrup. I did tap mine this year and it was good fun. It grows reasonably quickly and has a nice canopy.
Persimmon trees are pretty great too. I think they’re pretty. The bark is a really cool color. Mine grow well. I don’t ever have to spray them. The biggest I have is a little less than 20 feet tall. The variety I have isn’t my favorite taste wise, but I hear there are lots of good choices. The downside is that they do leaf out late - though they seem to have leaves than hang on longer than other things.
I also liked the suggestion of black walnut. I didn’t think of planting one since where I am they are literally weeds! They do produce edible nuts which I think taste good, but are such a pain to clean, store, and crack open that I don’t bother. They’ll easily get 20+ feet tall and become walkable under. They give good shade and grow quickly. They are reasonably pretty - bright green leaves in cascading long leaflets.
Maybe some of the people who grow nuts could suggest nut trees if that is of interest… @Fusion_power I think chimed in on some nut discussions and may have some ideas. I would be interested in hearing about other nut trees to plant for both eating and beauty purposes.
As an aside, since people were discussing climbing. My most climbable trees are the peach trees, followed by the apple/crabapple. The best for hanging swings and ninja course obstacles are the red maple, black walnut, and apple/crabapple.
