Good Landscape And Street Trees For Your Area

Choosing good street and yard trees for our region can be quite a problem

. With extremes of climate, we are often limited.

Too often people want a fast-growing tree that will give quick shade. Unfortunately, fast-growing species have the most wrong with them. Many have soft wood that breaks readily. Many develop into large trees and overwhelm the yard.

If they are soft-wooded, there is danger of large limbs falling, possibly d am aging property. Some trees shed undesirable flower parts, seed pods or fruits. Some send up undesirable suckers. Many are shallow rooted, endangering house foundation, sewer lines and sidewalks.

When selecting choose a tree hardy for the area. With extra care in fertilizing and watering, so-called slow growing kinds will grow fast enough. By virtue of their "slow" growth. they will be with you for a long time, and will stay within bounds. The little extra money invested is small compared to the enjoyment you will receive.

One big mistake is to plant trees too closely. Many larger shade trees favor spacings of 50 to 75 feet apart. That means two are all the average yard needs. The trend today is towards smaller trees that require spacings from 25 to 40 feet apart. Certainly these fit ranch style architecture better. Large shrubs or small trees also have an important place in landscaping the one-story houses.

Important Shade Trees

The American elm has been a favorite tree. Dutch elm disease destroyed many elms in the East and mareh westwarded. One should be cautious about making extensive plantings of American elm. The Siberian elm (frequently called' Chinese elm) was widely planted in shelterbelts and yards. Strains of this species vary in hardiness and desirability. It is fast growing, brittle and has a tendency to shed small branches.

In dry areas, Russian olive has proven successful when handled as a shade tree. Green ash is another hardy species, but is subject to borers in some areas. It is rather slow growing. Many rate it poorly from the standpoint of beauty. It is slow to leaf out, has little appeal in form, and seed pods tend to litter lawns.

The cut leaf weeping birch is favored in many yards. A beautiful tree, it needs plenty of room to grow and plenty of water. It is quite hardy. In some areas it is troubled with the bronze birch borer. Paper birch is another desirable small tree, frequently grown in clump form.

Oaks are good trees. They are slow growing, have strong wood, and many have appealing form. Bur oak is hardiest and will grow practically anywhere in the West. Its main drawback is that it does not have appealing fall color. Pin oak has conical form, but desires acid soils, and may show up chlorotic on alkaline soils. White and English oaks are also popular in some areas. Oaks are hard to establish and should be grown either from acorns or from small seedling trees.

by: Keith Markensen.

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