We recently lost our beloved maple to verticillium wilt and are looking for another specimen tree to replace it. We wanted to put in a redbud tree, since we have one at the back of our house that is beautiful, but unfortunately redbuds are not resistant to verticillium wilt. We live in a Zone 5 area (central WA), the soil is slightly alkaline, this site gets morning light only (until the tree gets larger than the house). The main criteria for the tree I am looking for is the beauty and shape of the tree and way the foliage looks against the house, which is why the purple/red maple was such a good choice . I don't really care much about shade, flowers, etc.

I contacted a nursery, which suggested the following verticillium wilt resistant choices, which I have annotated with potential issues (but then may not since I have little experience):

Cercidiphyllum Heronswood Globe - size

Sorbus aucuparia - size, flowers malodorous, likes acidic soil

Betula nigra Fox Valley/Little King - likes moist acidic soil, more shrub-like

Malus Velvet Pillar - highly susceptible to apple scab, potentially messy, does best in full sun.

We would really appreciate any feedback or any other suggestions for a specimen tree. We tried a larch in this spot, but that didn't really work.

Thanks!

{{gwi:38274}}