I'm going to the nursery today. I'm trying to pick a tree to plant in memorial to the baby I lost. We had an old Blue Spruce in this spot which I did love, but was taken down by a combo of tornado and extreme flooding. I think cicadas coming up that year contributed too. We usually do have good drainage being on a hill. Some clay and rock. Not sure on Ph but I'm in zone 5 northern Illinois. I think we're leaning towards an Oak or Maple-something that looks nice in early fall. This is a list of what the nursery offers:
Maples:
Autumn Blaze, Autumn Flame, Fall Fiesta Sugar, Japanese, Northern Red, October Glory, Red Sunset, Royal Red, Superform Norway
Oaks:
Bur, Pin, Red, White
Arborvitae, Pine & Spruces:
Arbovitae (Techny & Pyramidal), Baby Blue, Black Hills, Colorado Blue, Colorado Fir, Decorative Juniper, Eastern White, Fat Albert, Norway, Pyramidal Yew, Serbian, Spiral & Pom Pon, Weeping Eastern White, Weeping Norway
Crabapples:
Guinevere, Lancelot, Pink Spires, Prairie Fire, Purple Prince, Royal Raindrops, Spring Snow, Sugar Thyme, Tina Sargent, Weeping Louisa
Random Others:
Beauty of Moscow, Beech, Cedar, Cleveland Pear, Elm, Ginko, Ivory Silk Lilac, Lilac on a Stick, Pee Gee Hydrangea, Redbud, River Birch, Royal Star Magnolia, Serviceberry, Skyline, Honeylocust, Weeping Beech, Weeping Pussy Willow, Weeping Willow
Thanks for any help or insight. Sorry the list is long.
by littleivoryowl
13 Comments
I like HoneyLocust. Never had to rake. They creat nice shade, and offer some color. And they are hardy. Gotta get thornless, tho.
Ivory silk lilac tree or try and source a yellowwood tree!
I dunno. I have an October glory and it grew really fast if that matters. Like 20ft tall now and planted as a little 3 footer from a pot in 2022.
Burr oak. Oaks provide the most benefit for life
You might do some research first. Trees can be around for a very long time and nothing is more expensive than that pretty little tree grown into a massive headache that you now need to cut down because it’s not the right tree in the right place. Your list alone tells me you need to do research. Weeping willow? Gorgeous out in the middle of a field by a pond where dropping litter doesn’t matter– over there, way far away from your water pipes and sewer, and your roof.
We all have favorite trees – and likely they aren’t causing problems because they’re sited correctly.
Definitely get something that is native for your area like an oak or a maple because they will support life in your yard rather than being a sterile monument. Oaks are keystone species which means they support the most amount of species of wildlife and are a cornerstone of your local ecosystem. The bur and white oaks will eventually get very large if allowed (slowly) while something like a redbud will be smaller at full size and faster growing, closer to a bush if you prune it that way. A happy medium would be any of the maples, and I’m always a sucker for a beautiful sugar maple.
What opinions do people have with the American Chestnut tree?
definitely an Oak! A white oak will be beautiful and stately. A Scarlet or Shumard oak can have really nice fall color!
Bur oak or Linden.
Forget all those maple hybrids and evergreens.
Personally since it’s against a neighbors fence I’d go with evergreen to have more privacy cedar is one of my favorites
Never a ginkgo or a sweet gum.
Oak tree of your choice
American Sycamore. If you have flooding issues sycamore can handle it.