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New construction, starting from scratch!

12 years ago

Hi everyone! My first post!

We are currently building a new construction house in Naperville, IL, zone 5. The development is completely naked and so there isn't a single tree in my new yard. We have an interior lot and I'd like to plant privacy trees along my property line.

My house faces south, so the back yard property line is also facing south.

The yard is 46 feet deep and 70 feet wide. Privacy is more important to me than grass.

Who has suggestions for me for trees for zone 5? So far, I was thinking:

Black hills spruce
Aristocrat pear
Paperbark Maple
Dawyck Purple Beech
Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry (not sure on this one, I have one now and it's not a favorite)

Any suggestions? Should I cross any of these off of my list? These trees will be the first "layer" and I'll fill in with shrubs and then flowers.

Also, does the tallest tree go in the east or west part of the property line?

My goal is to walk back there in 10 years and not know that it is an interior lot, even if I have barely any grass.

Thank you!!

This post was edited by NYLACHI on Sun, May 25, 14 at 15:28

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
saying z5... only tells us about one half of the US ... and part of canada ...

give us a big city to narrow it down.. it matters ..

see link regarding the picea glauca var densata ... it has way to much potential for your yard ...

this is the time.. for you to learn latin.. it really.. really matters when talking trees and conifers ...

note age span.. and record holders .. also at the link

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
duluthinbloomz4
12 years ago
46' x 70'. Definitely skip the Picea Glauca var. Densata aka Black Hills Spruce. Maybe not in the time frame you're living with it, but they can have a ground sweep of 25'.

Have you ever gotten close to smell the Aristocrat/Callery pears when in bloom? Beautiful in bloom but they reek. Aristocrat pear has a dominant central trunk and branches that grow at wider angles than those of the Bradford pear, a bit less prone to wind damage than the Bradford - which can (and do) disintegrate in even light breezes.

Serviceberry looks nice and a reasonable mature size - though things keep growing beyond. How about one of the nice crabapple varieties?
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Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
12 years ago
Sugar maple and black gum (nyssa sylvatica). Nyssa is a fussy transplant. Just get a small one, plant it in the fall and expect it to die bacl the first winter then regrow into a tree. There are a couple sugar maple cultivars out there but even if it is a bit on the large size I love that tree.

Oh, how bad is your soil? Did the builder sell off all your top soil or have to do much grading?

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