Favorite tree?

[Faithr]

We cut down the silver maple in our yard yesterday.  It is right near the street and had been dying for a long time.  A huge branch snapped off during a storm last week.  The tree guys came by and pointed out all the other dead branches and the fact that the trunk was rotting.  And just yesterday morning I got a call that one of my nephews was out camping and a pine tree fell on him and his friend.  His friend got it the worst and had to be airlifted with all sorts of punctured organs and broken bones.  My nephew just got a broken tailbone and a punctured lung (!).  Anyway, that was enough to make me say, cut down the tree.

 

So now we get to pick a new tree to replace it.  Anybody planted trees on their property before?  What did you pick and why?

 

We live in the DC metro area so I think I am in zone 7a??  Too early to be able to correctly read maps I've googled.  LOL.

 

P.S. The only reason I know the old tree was a silver maple is that we did nature study in our yard.  I actually find trees hard to identify).

Edited July 23, 2016 by Faithr

[jjeepa]

Yes, we planted several trees in our yard two years ago.  My favorite are the birches, river and paper. They are low maintenance, grow quickly enough, have beautiful foliage, and I love the peeling barks.  Also, they are medium-sized trees and ours will only reach about 50 feet.  We didn't want anything taller in the front yard where we placed them.  

 

We also planted a Canada Red Maple, which has gorgeous foliage and will only get to about 50 feet as well.  Pretty low maintenance as well.  

 

We planted a white dogwood in our side yard, but it is so slow growing that I wish I had chosen something else.  Painfully slow!!

 

I live in in southwestern PA so these trees should grow just fine in your zone.  

[madteaparty]

We have acres of woods so if I plant a tree I want it to make pretty flowers or fruit or both ;)

I will tell you we have a huge basswood tree near the barn and the bees love it and we can hear the buzz from quite far away. There must be hundreds of bees on that thing. I like it but if allergic stay away from basswood :)

So I'm looking into a crab apple tree for the front of the house and a mini orchard in the back. Pears, apples, etc.

[Faithr]

Oh, I love birches!  That's a good idea.  I was thinking Sycamore possibly.  I know my dad wanted a shade tree in his backyard when my parents moved to a smaller home after we all fledged and he planted a sycamore which grew pretty fast, was very pretty and provided great shade.  However, don't they drop fruit?  We already deal with tulip poplars and black walnuts in our backyard.  I don't know if I want a tree that is also dropping stuff in the front.

 

Going to search for birches now.

 

Note to self:  do not plant basswood!  LOL.

[mellifera33]

I think that the sycamore fruits are pretty dry, aren't they? Little fuzzy-looking balls. So no soft smashed stinky fruit to slip on in the garden. I like gingko trees, but only the male trees, due to the stinky fruit factor. 

[KungFuPanda]

Currently I'm fantasizing about having a sweet bay tree. I like the idea if just going out and grabbing a leaf for recipes. It would smell nice too.

[Laura Corin]

Amelanchier canadensis has pretty copper foliage, and white flowers in spring. They are tough in Scotland.

 

Sycamores produce seedlings everywhere.

Edited July 23, 2016 by Laura Corin

[magnificent_baby]

My favorite is a flowering pear tree. Beautiful white in the spring, gorgeous red in the fall. 

[Miss Tick]

Linden is beautiful. Slow growing. I've bought linden flower tea in the past, so it can give you a little something as it matures.

 

Do you have a horticulture park in your area? The local university here has a couple of self-guided tree walks which are a nice way to see mature versions of different trees.

[Faithr]

When they first built this neighborhood back in the 1980s they lined the street with some kind of flowering pear.  However, they all eventually fell over during storms.  Apparently they do not have a deep root system.  I think there is only one left on the street.  So 15 years ago when we first moved in, I loved the flowering pear trees but now they are all gone.

[TechWife]

Don't do a Bradford pear tree. They are beautiful, but they smell like dead fish when they are blooming. They also tend to split at the trunk after about ten years.

[madteaparty]

Can I jump on your thread to ask if there is a downside to weeping willows? I really love the look. I have a path to a pond and was thinking on putting it on the side of the mowed path.

[madteaparty]

Linden is beautiful. Slow growing. I've bought linden flower tea in the past, so it can give you a little something as it matures.

 

Do you have a horticulture park in your area? The local university here has a couple of self-guided tree walks which are a nice way to see mature versions of different trees.

 

Ahem. Isn't this basswood? I mentioned upthread that I have and love one, it smells good, but the bees love the little flowers :) Hence basswood honey I suppose. Now, beekeeping is in my future, but I don't think the OP's ;)

[Rachel]

I would like a ginkgo (not a male because they stink), blue spruce, a magnolia, or a tulip poplar. I would also love to line our driveway with crab apple trees but my husband doesn't want the apples dropping on the driveway.

 

We have a birch, they grow quickly but it doesn't offer a ton of shade. I would not recommend a Bradford pear, they are pretty but they smell horrible when they are in bloom and they are not sturdy trees.

 

If you have a nursery, go find out what grows well in your area, then get the biggest tree you can afford.

Edited July 23, 2016 by Rach

[Laura Corin]

Can I jump on your thread to ask if there is a downside to weeping willows? I really love the look. I have a path to a pond and was thinking on putting it on the side of the mowed path.

They get pretty big, and the roots can get into drains, so plant away from pipework.

 

We have one about fifty yards from our house in a very damp area.

[Chelli]

Can I jump on your thread to ask if there is a downside to weeping willows? I really love the look. I have a path to a pond and was thinking on putting it on the side of the mowed path.

 

They are pretty and my favorite tree to look at, but if you have to mow around them they are a PAIN. The limbs get in the way and grass has trouble growing under them because of the shade unless you plant a special kind of grass under the tree. ETA: This was in the Southern US so it might be different in another area of the country/world.

 

 

As for the OP, I LOVE sycamore trees because of the white bark and beautiful golden leaves in the fall I probably wouldn't mind having one in my yard. The messiest time of year for a sycamore is when they lose their leaves because they have large leaves and it takes many bags and much work to clean them up. However, it's not enough to make me not plant one in my yard.

 

I'd take it over the magnolia we have in our yard any day. That tree is a MESS!

Edited July 23, 2016 by Chelli

[Guest]

A redbud crabapple. No fruit. Gorgeous blossoms.

 

A peeling-bark maple.

 

Japanese maple.

[Garga]

I don't know what makes lots of pink flowers, but get something that makes lots of pink flowers. :).

[KungFuPanda]

Ornamental cherries, like on the tidal basin. You know they'll grow here.

[Faithr]

Wow, Chelli, I love your blog name!  Very appropriate name!  And the content looks wonderful!

 

Eastern Redbuds are nice but are they a bit small?  They bloom in early spring I think?  We have a pink crepe myrtle near the house.  It would be kind of neat to have one pink tree blooming in one part of the season and another blooming later!

 

I do think in my heart though I like the idea of a Sycamore just because it makes me think of my dad.  And I would like some shade in the yard.  There really isn't much.  But of course I have to get dh to agree.  Thanks for all the ideas!!!

[SamanthaCarter]

No to the redbud!!!!! You'll be pulling up (or cutting down) saplings for the rest of your life!

 

ETA - ornamental cherry blooms roughly at the same time as redbud and has that nice shade tree shape. I'd choose that - so pretty. :)

Edited July 23, 2016 by SamanthaCarter

[Stacia]

Japanese Maple

[Rachel]

Wow, Chelli, I love your blog name! Very appropriate name! And the content looks wonderful!

 

Eastern Redbuds are nice but are they a bit small? They bloom in early spring I think? We have a pink crepe myrtle near the house. It would be kind of neat to have one pink tree blooming in one part of the season and another blooming later!

 

I do think in my heart though I like the idea of a Sycamore just because it makes me think of my dad. And I would like some shade in the yard. There really isn't much. But of course I have to get dh to agree. Thanks for all the ideas!!!

Where I live they bloom in early spring, they are smallish for a tree. The flowers are kind of a purplish pink.

 

One more tree I like is a dogwood, it's not a very tall tree either though.

 

Go with the sycamore, it sounds like it has special meaning.

[gardenmom5]

two of my favorite trees:  they're beautiful trees.

picea omorika  - serbian spruce

picea glauca pendula    weeping silver spruce 

both are narrow (10') even  when grown.  my sister has a 25 yo omorika (at least as tall) in her postage stamp of a front yard - and can walk around it on grass in the sunshine.

 

I'm getting more . . . . I don't need variety, I can keep planting the same ones. . .

 

 

 

if you are wanting a deciduous - I'd do a katsura tree.  not too tall when grown, 3 season color interest.  pinkish in the spring,  more mixed greens in the summer, and glowing fall color.

 

 

 

 

[weaver_67579]

My favorite tree is the sugar maple. We have a very beautiful one in our yard.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Trees to avoid and why:

 

Asian Pistach:  They are great at first, sending their roots straight down.  But just around the time when you finally get some good shade from them, they tend to have their trunks split vertically and have to be removed.  And this is when they are fairly young--20 years or so.

 

Tree of heaven:  Extremely invasive.  Our neighbor had one.  Well, she had dozens, all different (expletive deleted) sizes.  We called it the tree from hell.

 

Japanese maples:  These are pretty but they grow and drop these hard, thorny ping pong ball sized pods.  We call them ouchy balls.  They are hard to rake up, and you'll never be able to go barefoot or sit on the ground under the tree because of them.

 

Olive:  Beautiful tree, beautiful wood and foliage.  But the olives stain everything they touch.  You can have these treated not to fruit but it has to be done annually to be effective.  Ugh.

 

Fruit trees I have planted and loved (no idea whether they will work where you are though.):  

 

Meyer lemon--lovely evergreen deep foliage, fruit is a little sweeter than the lemons in stores and holds well on the tree.

 

Wonderful pomegranate--needs full sun, fruit stays ripe for about month on the tree so you can pick it gradually.  Harvest immediately if it splits, though.  Beautiful red flowers and fruit, very decorative.

 

Fuyu persimmon--fruit is excellent from firm to dead soft so again  you have a lengthy harvest season.  Also, sometimes the leaves fall off before the last of the fruit and then the tree looks like a Halloween/Thanksgiving decoration, full of little pumpkin shaped fruits.

 

I wish I knew the variety of my apricot tree--it is just fantastic.  Everyone loves our apricots.

 

I think if I wanted a big, long lived shade tree I would go with a California laurel or an oak.