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atjaguarx_gw

Tree suggestions?

18 years ago

I recently purchased a home and plan on making a few tree purchases. My yard is a good size (15,000 sqft).

After some research, I found to stay away from the following trees (that I originally liked):

1. Royal Empress

2. Cleveland Pear

3. Crimson King Maple

Other trees I'm interested in are:

1. Prairie Fire Crabapple

2. White flowering Dogwood

3. Autumn Blaze Maple

4. October Glory Maple

5. American Beech

6. Autumn Purple Ash

7. Yellow Poplar

In our parkway, they put in an Autumn Blaze Maple. I plan on putting 4 more of these in the back yard (2 on each side to line the lot line) to provide shade. I would also like to put in a White Flowering Dogwood (not sure where yet) and a Prarie Fire Crabapple.

I would like to put the crabapple in the front corner of the house, perhaps 6-7 feet away from the front corner of the foundation. Would this be too close?

I was also interested in putting in an American Beech Tree, but these seem to get rather large. Are they too big to put into a residential yard?

Any thoughts on the other trees I've listed. My yard isn't large enough for all of these, but I would like to put up a total of 9-10 trees.

Any trees that I haven't listed?

Thanks for all of your help!

Comments (7)

  • 18 years ago

    Well, I like Coast Redwood, Dawn Redwood, and Giant Sequoia, but those may be too big....=)

  • 18 years ago

    You've got a lot of larger trees on your list...you may want to mix that up with more of the "understory" trees like the dogwood and crab. Tough to go wrong with a redbud or a fringe tree, both of which should be hardy for you. And consider an underused option like styrax (Snowbell) or halesia (Silverbell), which should also be hardy for you. As a plus, these are all spring flowering options, some with fragrance and good fall color as well. Some will cast decent shade, and none should get above 30-35'. There are hundreds of options here...these are just some of my favorites. Happy planting!

  • 18 years ago

    Depending on where you live you may want to stay away from ash trees.

    Beech may work if given enough space for the roots to spread.

    Tulip poplar is often too large for normal residential yards.

    Some good trees I can recommend (not sure about zones right now) are Three Flower Maple, Trident maple, 'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry, Katsuratree, redbud, chinese redbud, river birch (Duraheat, Little King), chinese fringetree, American Smoketree, 'Rotundiloba' Sweet Gum, 'Wildfire' Black Gum, Persian ironwood, Chinese Pistache, Sawtooth Oak, Paw paw, and Lacebark Elm (Allee, Athena, Basque).

  • 18 years ago

    where are you ......

    find out if emerald ash borer is prevalent in your area.. if so .. skip all ash ...

    if you plan on only having a golf course .. or lawn .. maple is a magnificent tree ....

    if you ever plan on gardening under or near your trees.. you might want to skip maple ...

    skip all poplar.. fast to grow.. fast to shed limbs.. fast to break in storms.. fast to die ....

    you are lumping all trees in the same category ... 100 foot monster with 25 foot smaller ones .. compare potentials of redbud and oak .... to determine how many trees will fit on your property ...

    in my z5 MI south of ann arbor.. i would recommend ... tricolor beech ... all oaks [which can grow 3 to 5 feet per year] .... copper beech ... any nut tree [tend to be deep rooted and strong long lived trees] .... and hundreds of conifers ...

    locate and visit a local arboretum .... if you are in MI ... visit hidden lakes gardens in tipton MI ..... they have labeled collections of trees.. shrubs.. conifers .. etc ... learn what grows in your area.. and see what real trees look like... frankly.. you can NOT do this online.. or in books ....

    if you tell us where you are.. perhaps we can tell you where to go ...

    stay away from willow also ...

    in zone 5.. proper tree planting time is october ... 6 to 8 weeks before ground freeze.. after trees have lost their leaves .... unless you have an unlimited budget ... or in april.. as soon as the ground thaws.. or 6 to 8 weeks before the heat of summer starts to hit ....

    please do not limit yourself to what is available at the bigboxstore ... there are some very good mail order nurseries .... that will ship bare root stock at proper planting time in fall ....

    since planting time isnt for a few months.. you have plenty of time to get your plan rolling ...

    good luck

    ken

    PS:... 10 to 20 feet for the crab on the corner of the house ...

  • 18 years ago

    Ken, I believe the Yellow poplar that the OP mentioned is tulip poplar - Liriodenron, to be formal. It is not a true poplar - I don't know why it got the name - and will lose leaves and twigs in high winds, but seems otherwise to be a strong, fairly long-lived tree.

    Atjaguarx, to expand on Ken's suggestion to plant the crabapple 10-12' away from the tree, the reason is to allow for proper growth of the tree, to limit any damage it might cause to siding, gutters and roof as it grows, and to allow for proper air circulation next to the house, not to mention access to the side of the house. While that distance may seem huge when you plant the tree (whether as a one-, three- or five-gallon pot-grown plant or as a 6-8' B&B plant), it will soon shrink. 10 years down the road, you would be glad you went with the greater distance. And the next time you had the house painted, the painter would also be happier for it! I would not plant ANY tree closer to the house than 10', and better is to plant whatever tree at a distance equal to half the expected width at maturity.

    If in the future you want to have flower beds or to grow vegetables, plan for them now as you decide where you will be planting trees. Most veggies NEED (read as REQUIRE) full sun, at least 6 hours of sun, so don't plant a grove of trees in teh ideal vegie garden spot - which should be lose to the house/kitchen, near a water source, and protected from deer, etc.. Some plants also need full sun, some will take a mixture/grow in both full sun or light shade, some need light shade/dappled shade/afternoon shade, and some need very heavy shade. Plants, be they flowers trees or shrubs, also vary in their moisture needs. plan accordingly, putting the ones needing the most water closest to your sources of water, whether you have faucets next to the house or if you have hydrants out away from the house. Be aware that you will HAVE to water whatever you plant at LEAST once a week for the first year or two, and in drought-conditions after that for another year, so plan for that, also.

    While you are waiting for the proper planting time, you can be installing the hardscaping - paths, arbors/pergolas, beds/berms, children's play areas, pens/kennels for dogs, wiring for any lighting, lines for water or irrigation (you do NOT want to add the last 2 after the trees/shrubs are planted, nor do you want to dig up tree roots to put in whatever else you may want in the future), whatever you think you will need or want in the next 10 years or so. If you think you would eventually want to put in a pool with a pool house, a storage shed, a playhouse for kids or grandkids, etc., etc., plan for it now, and don't plant a tree just where you will have to either cut it down just as it gets to a goodly size or laboriously try to move it.

  • 18 years ago

    Yes, well, if I checked my spelling a little better... "teh ideal vegie garden spot - which should be lose to the house/kitchen, " SHOULD read "the ideal vegetable garden spot - which should be CLOSE to the house..." Sorry, hope it wasn't too confusing.

  • 18 years ago

    Atjaguarx

    Unless your soil is quite acidic, the October Glory maple will not thrive. Aside from that point, and the caveat regarding possible emerald ash borer in your area, I think your list is fine. American beech, though not the easiest thing to find, is simply wonderful. And Tulip tree, likewise. Then again, I don't get as bent out of shape as some others on here re: trees that are large at maturity. To me, that is the idea. I like the smaller stuff too, but tall-growing trees are the skeleton of the landscape, their crowns the "ceiling" of the outdoor rooms we create when we landscape.

    +oM