How large do you mean by "larger?" We've always planted 10-15 foot trees & have only had one die on us, out of about 20, so I consider those odds pretty fair! I've also heard that larger trees are harder to maintain, but so far so good over here. Our Crimson King Maples were planted at 12-15 feet and have SOARED - one is larger than our 2-story house & was planted in 2005. Maybe certain varities do better than others when planted mature. We've also had great luck planting large Douglas Fir, Norweigan Spruce & some deciduous variety of tree called Autumn Gold. We're in the Northeast so where you are could also play into the maintenance.
Well, I'm not good at judging height.
