The writer must have lost $,$$$'s to have trees removed due to sudden oak death amd eab. He/she doesn't even mention the big old boy falling on your house and killing you. Or the way A/C is no longer a new tech and its cost is down compared to the 50's when you probably still needed a big shade tree to make sure your a/c didn't eat you out of house and home.

but still, I say if there is room for a big boy go plant it!

They're being squeezed out by high density building.

The tiny lots of newer developments is really the culprit. It's ridiculous (to me) to build a 4400 square foot house on a 6000 square foot lot.

The author behaves as if every single large tree is going to die in the near future. While I share the concern about some of the diseases and pests, that's being a bit over-dramatic.

I was in Bloomington, MN, today and noticed a few large Silver Poplars in the front yards of this post WW II community. They're enormous, but surprising healthy. Well, at least they looked that way from 100'...

An old Murphy's Law poster I had in college said where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit. I've found this is often true, and applies here. His points are worth considering, particularly if you have a small yard or prefer maximum variety. But…also consider the counter points. Smaller trees often don't offer as much clearance beneath the canopy. Someone else made this point on the forum before; where deciduous trees are concerned, a big tree with a high canopy (e.g.: red maple, red oak) may have a smaller effective 'footprint' in the yard than a smaller tree with a broad canopy closer to the ground (e.g.: multi-trunked redbud; yellow wood). In a couple of his other articles, some of his 'smaller' trees include yellow wood and others that eventually get pretty large.

Think of it in terms of a continuum, not all or nothing. Got a space in the yard? Do you want a Bloodgood Japanese maple, crab apple & red bud, or a black gum and a yellow wood (or maybe lacebark elm?), or do you want a single white oak or sugar maple? Pros & cons either way.

Richard.

maackia, funny you should say that - when we moved into our current house, it had two GIGANTIC white poplars in the front yard. They were healthy, but hung over the house and garage and I was having none of that. I had them removed and replaced them with a sugar maple and a buckeye.

I actually LIKE white poplars - they are quite pretty, but they are messy and sprouty and not appropriate for locating close to the house, so I took a few sprouts and planted them up in the woods behind my house, and now the one root sprout is probably 15-20'.

Trees, like buildings have a scale - if you don't match them up then a conflict of scale develops. For instance a large tree making a modest house look like a shoebox.

I think he was more leaning towards planting so many of the same species or cultivar. Its a big problem when it comes to diseases like emerald ash boarer and that disease that attacks honey locust. If you have a street lined with the same tree it is literally a feast for any pests that like that tree, and has nothing to really stop it from spreading. If you at least use a bit more diversity in larger trees pests can be stuck in "islands" on one tree, as long as they arent necassaraly attracted to it. Some orchards use this and it seems to help a lot. My cities urban forestry guide talks about this too. We have over 60% green ash trees. Can you imagine the damage if ash boarer made it here?

The author is an idiot

The author is merely advocating the avoidance of a 'monoculture'. People talk about this issue on this and others forums all the time. Nothing really new or all that controversial.

Its true, even places like the USFD and urban forestry guides in canada suggest diversifying our street trees.

I read Guy Sternberg's book on native trees this past winter and he is a big advocate of diversification as well, particularly with native species. He makes the argument that a lot of native forest trees are getting squeezed as more woodlands are developed and planted with standard fare. That was my motivation for going through the trouble of locating a carpinus caroliniana (American hornbeam) variety for my patio tree instead of more readily available options. The public is just obsessed with small ornamental trees. With the florida dogwood struggling in this area, the only native options I commonly see are redbud and crab apple. Wish there were more native options (and that people were not so locked into flowering ornamentals).

The public is obsessed with vegetable starts and flowering annuals. Garden makeover TV shows feature barbecues, pools, gazebos, outdoor furniture, fountains, sculptures etc. - and paving, lots of paving - with planting being sometimes quite incidental, like a sprig of parsley on a plate at a restaurant. Particularly in urban areas new developments pack the structures in, with any outdoor space that may be left often being very minimal.

When we moved into our house 5 years ago, I did everything I could to cram as many large shade trees onto our lot as possible. They are mostly well spaced. Large shade trees are great and it's always refreshing when someone plants something other than the perennial favorites like red maple, ornamental pear, and zelkova.

Same with me sequoia. Other then like 10 fruit trees, I have a seedling kentucky coffee tree, honeylocust and "quicksilver" russian olive. Sure none are technically native here, but both are from not too far south. And I am aware of how spread russian olive is, but this is a seedless type, with the most vibrant bluish white leaves I have ever seen. All three are practically unheard of up here.

Would this Silver Poplar be out of scale to the home?

I'm thinking yes...