How much area do you have? Some trees grow to 100'+ in diameter. Do they need to be understory (shaded) trees or will they be out in the open? Wet or dry soil? Is there a likelyhood of occasional flood? Are you in zone 7a, 6b, or 6a? What types of trees do you have already (either already there or on your list to plant)?

I've got a bunch of cute unsexed baby Ginkgos. Would it matter if the fruit smelled like puke? LOL

if i were planting today- pawpaw trees.

paw paw? cute!

Well, I've got a wooded area all around with a 50'X75'fairly open lawn in front.

I have white oak, poplar, dogwood, red oak, maple, and a variety of those evergreen conical type trees that I can't identify (I'm new to Tennessee, from Florida...we don't have many of those).

There is a very tall red oak that sprawls a canopy way overhead and gives very little shade to the front yard.

I'm thinking of putting maybe three trees in this area.

I live in Knoxville.

Can't wait to learn about gardening around here. For now, I'm trying to get this new (old) house in better working order.

Kelton

welcome to TN. i live in knoxville as well. the evergreens you are seeing are probably Leland Cyprus. (very common/popular plant around here)

if you want some other tree sugestions-
golden rain tree- beautiful yellow flowers
dogwoods (kousa or standard)- white or pink flowers in spring
redbuds- purple flowers in early spring, neat "spade" leaves in summer (there is even purple leaved variety available for a splash of color)
fruit trees- apples, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, paw paws, figs, pecans, several of the "berry" trees, banannas (although they do not fruit), persimmon, and im sure many more that escape me right now.

a few trees to avoid would be- mimosa and pawlonia. people like these trees because they flower and are EVERYWHERE but they are really invasive weed trees.

not that its any of my buisness, but what part of knoxville do you live in? i in west knox (near west town mall) i was thinking we might be able to sugest some nurserys to go visit if you are looking for good plants that will thrive here.

I'm in Holston Hills. I was looking for a very modest house surrounded by much nicer homes... and in a neighborhood with mature trees. So this house fit the bill... it's almost like living in the woods. The primary downside is that I am not close enough to downtown Knoxville.

One of the evergreen trees is very, very, tall with drooping limbs and foliage.

There is also a some sort of dwarf Hemlock very near the house, but I can't find any information on them (how tall do they get? can they take pruning? how close should they be to the foundation and to each other?). I'm pretty sure they are a dwarf variety of hemlock... perhaps I should post this in a seperate thread.

I did go to a couple of recommended nurseries... not sure of the names anymore. BeaverCreek? and Sunshine Nursery?... something like that. Those were great.

Before I really get into planting, I am dealing with this dang house... I'm going to get this basement so it stays dry and other projects out of the way. I don't want to plant things and then destroy them as I do major work on the house.

Thanks for the tip on Memosa!

What nurseries do you recommend?

The list below is the first half of a small sample of the many possibilities. Some are common, some are less common. The trees included are generally small to medium sized, hardy in this area, relatively free from pests and disease compared to many other species, fairly well behavied (non-invasive), and attractive in the landscape. With any tree, do your research before choosing and planting.

Acer buergerianum - Trident Maple (great landscape tree)
Acer griseum - Paperbark Maple (interesting bark)
Acer mandshuricum - Manchurian Maple
Acer palmatum (multiple cultivars) - Japanese Maple (colorful trees)
Acer japonicum (multiple cultivars) - Fullmoon Maple (colorful trees)

Amelanchier arborea - Downy Serviceberry (great for wildlife)
Asimina triloba - PawPaw (mentioned earlier)
Callicarpa japonica (and others) - Beautyberry (great for wildlife)
Cercidiphyllum japonicum - Katsuratree (may eventually get too big)
Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' - Redbud (Redbuds often have structural problems. It would probably be worth the money to pay for a larger, nicer specimen if you are going to choose one of these.)

Cornus (various cultivars) - Dogwood (research to find best choice!)
Corylopsis glabrescens - Fragrant Winterhazel (great for wildlife)
Cryptomeria japonica - Japanese Cryptomeria (fantastic smaller cultivars available)
Cyrilla racemiflora - Leatherwood
Davidia involucrata - Dove Tree (prefers shade, great for wildlife)

Diospyros virginiana - Common Persimmon (great for wildlife, fruit can be messy)
Evodia daniellii - Korean Evodia (may eventually get too big)
Fagus sylvatica - European Beech (choose a small cultivar!)
Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo (slow growing, many interesting cultivars)
Hammamelis (various species) - Witchhazel (great for wildlife)

Heptacodium miconioides - Seven Son Flower Tree (very pretty)
Hovenia dulcis - Japanese Raisintree (great for wildlife)
Ilex (various species) - Holly (great for wildlife)
Maackia amurensis - Amur Maackia
Maclura pomifera - Osage Orange (fruit can be messy)

Magnolia (various species) - Magnolia (many many options)
Mahonia (various species) - Mahonia or Hollygrape (great for wildlife)
Malus - crabapple (multiple disease & pests problems but may be worth it)
Nandina domestica - Heavenly Bamboo (neat shrub for the right place, great for wildlife)

I don't know when I will do the second half of this list. Maybe someone else will finish it, or maybe I will get around to it sometime.

Welcome to Tennessee! I'm also trying to choose trees. We moved in last year, so I've had time to make a list although I haven't settled on what yet. These may be smaller than what you're considering; I'm looking more at ornamental trees...

Here are some more to consider that I think have not yet been mentioned. I wonder if others have experience with them...

chionanthus virginica - White Fringe Tree
craegus? - Winter King Hawthorn - very sharp thorns, I once said never again, but I kind of miss its form
ilex decidua - Possumhaw
parrotia persica

Last weekend, we took the leap and put in a crape myrtle, a fauriei type that we happened on in Home Depot. Although we've only been in this house for a year, we've been in TN for four years and I'm sold on the merits of crape myrtles for our full sun spots - spectacular. Also, the amelanchier that I found on sale earlier which promptly got chewed down by dogs has come back very nicely - a real robust now-shrub form for the lowest, wettest spot in my very much clay doggy backyard.

what I REALLY want to plant is a tree with great form for my future grandchildren to climb in 30 years. if that doesn't hijack this thread too much, does anyone have any ideas? I'm willing to dedicate a substantial portion of my "good" (read: not-so-wet and not-so-doggy, but still clay) yard to that project. we used to live near a gigantic osage tree that was great for climbing, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the matching gigantic weird looking fruits. the fruits always looked like hard green brains to me.

the list that brandon is putting together is very helpful...some trees I hadn't heard of before. "dove tree?"

re: conifers: I don't know my conifers but the folks over on the conifer forum seem to be amazing. I know I need to learn more about cryptomeria japonica...they keep turning up as a possibility when I search for conifer options. I think arborvitae are used a lot in TN because they take clay. I don't like them much, though, and keep looking for alternatives. Hemlock, a look I love, is supposedly more fussy about sites so be careful if you decide to move yours.

Just some random thoughts, from one transplant to another!

Nice list from brandon7, but it's awfully heavy on introduced non-native species. There are lots of really good, underplanted natives that you could also consider - American yellowwood(Cladrastis kentuckea), American smoketree(Cotinus obovatus), any of the serviceberries, hornbeam/hophornbeam, etc.

The reason I didn't choose Cladrastis kentuckea (American Yellowwood) is that it's generally a larger tree. It would be a good choice for a little bit larger lawn. (I included a couple of larger trees that I just couldn't resist adding but was trying to stick to smaller and medium sized species.)

Cotinus obovatus (American Smoketree), an otherwise wonderful tree, seems to have a real problem with Verticillium wilt. I have seen four in this general area. Three appeared to die (and have since been removed) from Verticillium and the fourth (which happens to be in my yard) seems to be suffering from early symptoms. It's fighting hard, but well see.

I included Amelanchier arborea, one of my favorite serviceberries, and Ostrya virginiana (Ironwood, a Hornbeam) would have definitely been in the second half of my list!

Kelton,

I grew up in north eastern Alabama which is in the foothills of the same mountains that are in the Knoxville area. I have fond memories of climbing in a tulip poplar which was huge! I couldn't get my arms around it. They are a beautiful tree with large tulip shaped and sized blooms in the spring of a varying yellow/green with an orange center. They are quick growing.

But the down side of these trees is that they can lose branches in high winds so they shouldn't be planted close to power/telephone lines or buildings. I believe they also have a shorter life span because I've been back to that place and the tree is gone now, but I guess someone could have just cut it down :-(. Maybe Brandon knows more downsides to them. I think they were just great for my tree climbing.

Good luck finding something and let us know what you decide.

Katie

Thanks a million for the input! Man, I lost track of this thread....too busy going to the Home Forums to figure out how to get this old house in order. sheesh

That was a heck of a list Brandon!