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Trees are magnificient,
balanced organisms. There is enough top to support the roots and
enough roots to support the top. There is no need to fix what aint
broke. No tree needs to be topped and caution should be used when
thinning or limbing up a tree. Remove too much food producing
tissue and the tree becomes stressed and much more likely to be attacked by
insects and diseases. In most cases, the only pruning that needs to
be done is removal of dead or damaged wood or a limb that is close to power
lines or your roof.
All trees are shallow rooted
in our clay soil. Some, more so than others. If you are
removing the leaf litter that normally would accumulate in the woods (which
is good for the trees), you will see roots on top of the ground.
Grass does not grow in the woods, so everything changes with the addition
of a tree. As it grows, the grass dies and your sun loving plants
that were previously in the sun are now partially, to fully, in the shade,
so your landscape will change as the tree grows.
Weve talked about the root
zone of a tree in previous newsletters. Picture a tree shaped like a
wine goblet on a dinner plate. The root system extends well beyond
the branch tips. The root zone on an established tree is about twice
the canopy width, so fertilizer should be applied in the area shown below.
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Fertilizer
application zone for an established tree.
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Fertilizer
application zone for an established tree.
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If your tree is larger or
smaller, then adjust the area accordingly. There are not many
feeder roots near the trunk, so your fertilizer should be applied from the
drip line inward, halfway back to the trunk, and from the dripline outward
a distance equal from the trunk to the dripline. No need to dig holes
or deep feed a tree. The vast majority of feeder roots are at the
soil surface, so just broadcast fertilizer on top of the ground. Do
not apply weed and feed products in this area, only fertilizer. You
can spot spray weeds in this area without hurting your tree but do not
broadcast spray any herbicide over the entire area.
Ash
Fraxinus
Ash trees prefer moist,
well drained locations and a pH of 6.5, so check your pH every other year.
Ash, Green - F. pennyslvanica - Can reach 70, but
probably closer to 50 here. Beautiful yellow fall foliage but
turns very early in the season, one of the first to show fall color.
Smooth gray bark when young. Prefers moist areas, but adapts well to most
locations.
Cimarron - Narrow when young, matures to 50 tall and 30
wide. Fall color is brick to orange red to purple. Fast
grower. 3 or more per year. Seedless (male) cultivar.
Marshall Seedless - Rapid growing green ash,
broadly oval canopy, seedless (male) variety to 50 tall and
35 wide. More vigorous and less prone to insects than the species.
Patmore - Another seedless (male) green ash variety, to
about 40 tall and equally as wide. Excellent yellow fall color.
Ash, White - F. americana -
Fast growing, more upright than wide, can reach 80 tall and 35
wide. Fall foliage is yellow and purple. Likes moist, well
drained sites.
Autumn Purple - A white ash selection with
deep green foliage that turns red and then purple in the fall, to
50. Tolerates moist locations and retains fall color for weeks.
Birch - Betula
Birch trees have a shallow fibrous root system and have high water
demands. Insufficient water in the summer will cause leaf and twig
drop so keep them moist. Plus, competition for water by the
birch can cause understory plantings to suffer, so monitor the plants
around the birch.
European B. pendula - Beautiful white peeling
bark, but not well suited for our hot, dry locations. Slow growing
and difficult in the Mid South. Prefers cooler temps, but given
sufficient moisture, it will survive.
River - B. nigra - Extensively grown in the Mid
South for the peeling papery bark. Likes a moist location or tends to
drop foliage all summer long. Fast growing to 40 in under 20 years
and can reach 80 but not in most home gardens. Yellow fall color.
Dura-Heat - A more drought tolerant
selection of river birch. Holds foliage much better in times of heat
and water stress. Grows to 40 with a 30 spread.
Heritage - Another heat tolerant
selection of river birch. Bark is whiter, leaves are larger and
darker green than a regular river birch and less prone to leaf spot and
birch borers. Grows to 40.
Summer Cascade - New weeping variety of river
birch, very fast growth, attractive peeling bark. Grows to 6 tall
unless trained upright.
Tecumseh
Compact - Dwarf form to 12, dark green foliage, cinnamon red
bark. Gives the appearance of a weeping shrub, wider than tall.
Royal Frost - Betula populifolia hybrid -
Burgundy foliage from spring through summer, bark is cinnamon to white, to
35. Prefers a cooler environment. Difficult to grow in our heat.
Paper or White
- B.
papyrifera - Beautiful white papery bark to about 50 in the Mid
South. Very susceptible to birch borers and prefers cooler
temperatures, so it struggles here.
Whitespire - A selection of Asian
white birch, B. platyphylla, that appears to be resistant to birch borers,
but also prefers cooler temperatures than the Mid South. In
cooler areas, it can reach 80, but probably not more than 40 in home
landscapes. We are at the south end of its range, so it can be grown here
and it is much more heat tolerant than the paper birch.
Cypress Taxodium
Cypress are one of the best shade trees for home lawns. Tolerates
very wet to very dry locations.
Bald - T. distichum - Attractive reddish brown
bark. In water it can grow to 100 tall, but it makes an excellent
home landscape shade tree growing to 40 tall x 20 wide. Plus, when
it drops its foliage in the fall, theres nothing to rake! Grows
very well in damp to wet locations, so it is often used to dry out an
area. Extremely fibrous root system, that makes growing shrubs under
it difficult without irrigation.
Autumn Gold - A selection of bald cypress
that has particularly good fall color.
Cascade Falls
- Weeping
form of bald cypress, must be staked to achieve any height.
Peve Minaret -
A
dwarf columnar form of bald cypress to 20 tall.
Shawnee Brave - Very pyramidal and much
fuller than a regular bald cypress. Seed capsules turn dark purple.
To 70 tall.
Pond - T. ascendens -
Similar to bald cypress, but bark is lighter, branchlets more upright and
doesnt produce near the number of knees.
Elms Ulmus and Zelkova
Elm, American - U. americana This is a
stately shade tree maturing to 100 or more. It is highly susceptible
to Dutch Elm Disease, a fungal disease introduced into America in the
1930s in infected lumber and then spread by the elm bark beetle. The
spread of the disease has slowed some just because the number of trees has
been reduced by over 90%. The following are some excellent
substitutes.
Accolade - Ulmus hybrid A chance
seedling found to have excellent resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. Smaller
than the American elm, maturing to 60 or so.
Allee - A U. chinensis cultivar, 50
tall, 25 wide, resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. Tolerates any soil,
good urban tree.
Drake - A Chinese elm (U.
parviflora) selection resistant to Dutch Elm Disease and elm leaf
beetles. Grows to 50 tall and 35 wide. Holds foliage late
into fall. Extremely tough, highly resistant to ice damage.
Zelkova - Japanese elm (Z.
serrata). Vase shaped when young, maturing to a broad head. Can
reach 100 but typically 60 in the Mid South.
Ginkgo
Maidenhair
Tree - G. biloba. An ancient species that dates back 150 million years
and once was native to North America. It is extinct in the wild, but
it was found growing in temple gardens of China in the 1700s and
introduced into the U.S. Female trees bear a
fruit that is very unpleasant smelling as it decays, but the nut is
edible. Avoid seedlings because it is impossible to determine the sex
until it flowers around year 20. Fairly rapid growing, but grows like
a stick figure until around 25 years when the top begins to fill out and
it actually casts some shade. Brilliant yellow fall foliage.
The Ginkgo has no other living relatives and is actually more closely
related to cypress and pines. It likes sandy moist soil but will grow
anywhere. A long lived tree, some specimens are thought to be over
2500 years old. All of the Ginkgos we sell are male selections (no
seeds).
Autumn Gold - A male selection with
extremely nice golden yellow fall color. Grows 50 tall and 30 wide.
Emperor - This male specimen has a
strong central leader, excellent branching character, a uniform oval crown
and good yellow fall color.
Golden
Globe - Characterized by its rounded head. Branches
more freely than other cultivars.
Magyar - Narrow, pyramidal growth to
50.
Princeton Sentry - Also a male selection that
is more upright and narrow.
Saratoga - A smaller male clone,
usually no more than 30 tall and unusually dense for a ginkgo.
Shangri-La - Uniform compact crown with dense branching
habit to 40.
Maple Acer
For rapid growth and spectacular fall color, maples are hard to beat.
Trident - A. buergeranum -
Excellent small patio tree. Grows to 25, with yellow, orange and red
fall foliage. Very drought tolerant. One of the best small trees for
Memphis.
Amur - A. ginnala - Multi stemmed small tree to
20. Good patio tree with red and yellow fall foliage. Best
color in full sun, but tolerates shade better than other maples.
Paperbark - A. griseum - Small
tree to 30 with outstanding exfoliating cinnamon colored bark.
Fairly slow growing, but makes an excellent small patio or cottage garden
tree. Red and orange fall colors but one of the last trees to change
in the fall.
Autumn Blaze - Acer x freemanii A
fast growing hybrid with a dense, oval-rounded head to 50 tall and 40
wide. Outstanding orange red fall color. Straight trunk, well balanced
branching and very strong wood, resists ice and wind damage. One of
the best fast growing shade trees for this area.
Autumn Fantasy - Another Acer x freemanii
selection with larger leaves and outstanding reds and oranges in the fall,
to 50.
Crimson King - A Norway maple
cultivar (A. platanoides), with maroon foliage throughout the
growing season. Needs good drainage and prefers cooler temperatures,
but can be grown here. Striking in the landscape, to 40 x 30. Plant this one very high.
Red - A. rubrum - Reaches 50 in home
landscapes, twice as tall in the wild. Its nearly as wide as tall,
with fall color ranging from yellow to red. Fast growing, 2 or more
a year.
Autumn Flame -
Acer rubrum cultivar - A red maple cultivar, this fast
growing maple matures to 60 tall, but usually less in the home landscape.
Brilliant red fall color. Crown is denser than the species.
Brandywine - A chance seedling from a
cross between October Glory and Autumn Flame intoduced by the USDA.
It is a male (seedless) cultivar with brilliant red/purple fall color to
40, with a somewhat oval head.
Burgundy Belle Red maple cultivar.
Compact oval/round head to 45. Brilliant orange to burgundy fall
color. Matures to 40, good heat and drought tolerance.
Fairview Flame - A red maple cultivar, broad
head to 50, but pyramidal when young. Bright scarlet fall foliage
Florida Flame
- A
red maple cultivar. Excellent heat tolerance, to 60. More dense
than the species, good fall red color.
October Glory - A red maple cultivar with
brilliant orange to red fall color. Matures to 50. Oval head,
strong wood, spectacular tree for the Mid-South.
Red Sunset - Excellent red maple
cultivar, fast growing with spectacular orange to scarlet fall color.
Growth is pyramidal when young, becoming more rounded with age.
Matures to 50.
Summer Red - A red maple cultivar. New
growth is burgundy red, becoming green as it matures. Rounded head at
maturity, grows to 40. Fall color is yellow to orange to purple.
Very heat tolerant.
Sun Valley - A red maple cultivar from
the U.S. National Arboretum as a result of crossing Red Sunset and Autumn
Flame. A male selection that is rapid growing, has a uniform ovate
head and matures to 35. Brilliant red fall color.
Sugar - A. saccharum - Slower
growing maple, about 1 a year, but gorgeous fall color with the right
conditions. Needs summer moisture to prevent leaf scorch.
Grows to 50 and about two thirds as wide.
Commemoration - A sugar maple cultivar,
faster growing than the species with an oval to rounded head. Grows
to 50, spectacular orange and red fall color.
Fall Fiesta - Sugar maple cultivar with
vibrant fall colors of yellow, orange and red to 50 or more. New
growth has a touch of red and it is resistant to sun scald.
Firehouse -
A sugar maple cultivar, to 40, spectacular orange to red fall
color. Good heat tolerance.
Green Mountain - A sugar maple cultivar, to
60, bright orange fall color. Oval head at maturity, good heat and
drought tolerance.
Legacy - A sugar maple cultivar that tends to
have more yellow in the south, reds and oranges in the north. Matures
to 40 or so here with good tolerance to heat and drought.
Silver - Acer saccharinum Last and the very least
desirable maple. Very fast growing, but extremely brittle and prone
to insects. If you have one, cut it down or just wait
the wind will
do it for you soon.
Oak
Quercus
Good shade trees for the Mid-South because most tolerate our heavy clay
soil well and many are very rapid growers. Oaks have strong wood so
they resist wind and ice damage well.
White - Q. alba - Slow
growing, prefers moist well drained soil. Attractive leaves with
rounded lobes and beautiful wine red fall color. Too large and slow
for average home lawns, better estate tree. Grows to 85 normally but
can reach nearly 150 and is usually as wide as it is tall. Long
lived tree. Many specimens in the 500-600 year range.
Sawtooth - Q. acutissima -
Young trees tend to be pyramidal, broad rounded canopy at maturity, seldom
over 40 tall but can reach 60. Very fast growing, 3 or more per
year once established. Yellow to brown fall color with brown leaves
persisting into winter. Plant oaks no closer than 8 to walks.
Swamp White - Q. bicolor - Good
choice for wet locations but start with a small tree because they can be
difficult to transplant. Matures to 60. Slow growing, about a foot
per year. Fall foliage is mostly yellow and brown, not as colorful as
the white oak.
Southern Red - Q. falcate - Grows to
80 or more. Little fall color with brown leaves holding well into
winter. Excellent oak for poor, dry soil. Very fast
grower, broad open canopy, excellent shade tree.
Overcup - Q. lyrata - Tolerates
wet sites and areas with some flooding, excellent smaller oak maturing to
45 60 usually but can reach 100. No fall color. Very slow growth.
Bur - Q. macrocarpa - Very
large tree, 80+ but slow, about 1 a year. Dull yellow fall
color. Long lived member of the white oak family, often 200-300
years. Produces the largest of all acorns, up to 2 long but
typically heavy nut production is every third year or so.
Swamp Chestnut - Q. michauxii
- An excellent white oak for poorly drained soils, to 80 or more,
wide crown. Like most white oaks, it is very slow growing, around 1
a year.
Water - Q. nigra - Excellent
large oak, matures to 80. Little fall color, but often green leaves
persist until December. Fast growing, 3 per year once established,
likes moist soil and grows well in heavy clay soils. Often hybridizes
with other red oaks like the southern red, willow and Shumard oaks.
Nuttall - Q. nuttallii (aka Q. texana) -
Similar to pin oak, does well in poorly drained acidic clay soils,
Very fast growing oak, 3 or so per year once established. Grows to
80+, can rach 120. Excellent shade tree. Produces heavy crops of
acorns almost every year. Red fall foliage.
Cherrybark - Q. pagoda (aka Q.
falcata pagodifolia) Formally considered a variety of southern red oak
but its foliage is more uniformly lobed and it is now listed as a separate
species... This is the Bartlett, TN city tree. One of the fastest
growing red oaks, to 80 normally but can reach 100, straighter trunk than
the southern red.
Pin - Q. palustris - Probably the fastest
growing oak, 3+ per year is not uncommon. Pyramidal at maturity,
usually 60 or so in the home lawn but can reach 100. Holds brown leaves
almost to spring.
Willow - Q. phellos - Large oak, matures to
60 but can reach 100 in ideal locations. Does well in poorly
drained clay soil, so it is ideally suited for the Mid South. Fall
foliage is yellowish brown, but not spectacular. Often, but
improperly, called a pin oak.
Chestnut - Q. prinus - Medium
size oak maturing to 60 in the rocky areas it prefers, but it can get a
little larger here. Leaves have silvery undersides and it produces a
very large acorn.
Upright English - Q. robur fastigiata
- A very columnar English oak cultivar, 50 tall but only 10 -
15 wide. It has little or no fall color, with leaves turning brown
and persisting into the winter. Good narrow screening tree, but not a
rapid grower.
Northern red - Q. rubra (aka Q.
borealis) - Known for its strength, rapid growth and excellent
orange/red fall color, to 60 normally and occasionally to 90. Fast
growing, about 2 per year when young.
Shumard - Q. shumardii -
Similar to the pin oak, but foliage is a little wider. Grows to
100 or more with a broad open canopy, making it a very good shade
tree. One of the fastest growing oaks with good fall colors of red
and burgundy.
Southern Live
- Q.
virginiana - Wider than tall, this is a tree for large
properties. It is evergreen, but border line hardy in the Mid
South. Matures to 60 tall and 100 wide in the deep south, but much
smaller here. There are some nice specimens in the Memphis area, but
they perform best where there is significant heat absorption from concrete
or asphalt. They do not however, attain the shape or size of the Gulf
Coast specimens.
Highrise -
Q. virginiana - An upright pyramidal live oak cultivar that is
taller than wide, evergreen and reported to be hardier than the species.
Grows to 80, but 50 more likely here (if it survives long term).
Regal Prince - Q. x warei -
Upright, columnar oval head, to 40 tall and 15 wide. Foliage is
silver on the underside, tolerant of poorly drained soils. This is a
hybrid between the English oak (Q. robur) and
the Swamp White Oak (Q. bicolor). Not as common as the upright
English, but probably a better choice if you need a columnar tree.
Misc. Trees
Black Gum - Nyssa sylvatica
- Superb front yard tree. Matures to around 50, pyramidal when
young, oval at maturity. Slow to moderate growth rate, but gorgeous
in the fall with foliage changing to yellow, orange and deep red.
Dawn Redwood - Metasequoia
glyptostoboides - Very fast grower, can reach 50 in 15 years.
Prefers moist, well drained soil and can reach 100 or more. Cypress
like foliage requires no raking in the fall. One of the best home
lawn trees. This is another ancient species, dating back to the time
of the dinosaurs, 50 million years ago.
Honey Locust - Gledista triacanthos var.
inermis - The thornless honey locust is a very fast grower, 2
or more per year. Tolerates partial shade well and grows in
most any type of soil. Mature height varies considerably with
location, anywhere from 30 to 70. Leaf is composed of many small
leaflets that dont require raking. Produces a twisted bean like pod
that can be messy.
Shademaster Honey Locust - An excellent thornless
cultivar with leaves darker green than the species and produces few if any
seed pods. Yellow fall foliage.
Sunburst Honey Locust - New foliage is
golden yellow on this thornless cultivar and matures to a bright
green. A little shorter than the species, probably not more than 35
tall. Produces few seed pods.
Hornbeam,
American - Carpinus caroliniana - Usually matures to 30,
but can reach 50. Very attractive limbs and trunk, often called
musclewood. Fall color is yellow to orange to red, but varies
substantially between specimens. Tolerates shade well, makes a good
understory tree. Very hard wood.
Hornbeam , European - Carpinus
betulus - Matures to 50 or more and probably better than the American
species. Slow growing, about 1 per year, fall foliage is yellow.
Linden , Greenspire - Tilia cordata
- A beautiful cultivar of little leaf linden. Matures to 60, grows
about 1 per year. Pyramidal when
young, more broadly round and heavily branched at maturity. Fall
color is yellowish green. Small fragrant white flowers in early
summer.
Poplar, Tulip - Liriodendron
tulipifera - Fast growing, 3 or more per year. Matures to 100
normally, but can grow to 200. Not a tree for small lawns, spreads
to 50 wide. Excellent fall yellow foliage. Tennessee
state tree. Large greenish yellow magnolia-like flowers in the
spring. We occasionally have a variegated leaf cultivar also.
Sourwood - Oxydendrum
arboretum - 10 long panicles of white flowers in June and
July. Matures to 30 by 20. Will not tolerate wet compacted
soil. Spectacular fall color, yellow, reds and purple often all at
the same time.
Sweetgum - Liquidamber
styraciflua - Fast growing, often 3 per year in moist soils which it
prefers. Usually matures to 75 in home lawns but can reach
120. Spreads to 40 or more. Good tree for drying out
damp areas, but usually wins the competition for water, with understory
plants and turf suffering. Produces the gumball, but fall color is
outstanding with foliage varying from yellow to purple.
Fruitless Sweetgum - L. styraciflua
obtusiloba - Similar in growth to the species, this cultivar has
rounded instead of pointed leaves, yellow fall color and
produces no gumballs. Happy Daze is a common cultivar.
Sycamore - Plantanus occidentalis
- Matures to 75 in home lawns but can grow to twice that and spreads
equally as wide. Mature trees display beautiful white mottled bark in
the upper sections of the tree. Very large tree that doesnt lend
itself to any but the largest of lots. Little, if any, fall color.
Weeping Willow - Salix babylonica
- Graceful weeping tree to 40. Likes moist areas, but it
can be difficult to grow plants under it because of its very fibrous root
system.
Corkscrew Willow - A hybrid willow with
contorted, curled limbs.
Globe Willow - S. matsudana hybrid -
Very attractive 20 tree with a rounded canopy. Tough and durable.
Golden Curls Willow - S. hybrid with golden
branches and slightly curled leaves to 30. More tolerant of drought
than the weeping willow.
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