Skip to main content

The best trees for the backyard

 The best trees  growing tips



Planting trees can add beauty and value to your home. Here are some tips for choosing the best trees for backyard beauty.


Trees are full of beauty and benefits. They are important to the ecological health of our communities, and many of us plant trees to contribute to the well-being of our planet. Planting a tree can celebrate the birth of a child or represent the loss of a loved one. But the most common reason we plant trees is to keep them in our backyards.


If you are considering planting a tree, you can find hundreds of tree species available through local nurseries and nursery catalogs. Making a good choice for your area and yard can be challenging. Here are five steps to help you choose the best trees for where you live.


1. Find a list of the best trees for your area.



   Each tree grows best in certain areas depending on altitude, winter hardiness, average winter and summer temperatures, and water availability. Most states have one or more professional landscape associations that maintain lists of the best trees for specific states based on growing needs and availability. Your local extension service may also have a listing for your county. Or, search online for "recommended trees (your state)." Either way, one or more of these lists will get you started.


2. Cross large trees off your list.


   Large shade trees such as oaks, hickories, and most maples are wonderful additions to any yard after they mature – but that's what they like. If you plant any mature species taller than 40 feet, you can move to a new home before the tree has any impact on the look of your landscape. Even if you buy a large specimen, you may have to wait 30 to 50 years to get to its full size.


A small tree (less than 30 feet at mature size) or a medium-sized tree (30 to 40 feet at mature size) is best for your home landscape. Your list is now shorter.


3. Identify the primary tree characteristics you want



Flowers, fall color, foliage, interesting shape, bark structure, or trees that attract birds and other wildlife. When looking for a new tree, most of us won't settle for just any tree standing in a garden center. We need a new tree to improve our yard, and we have a few options. If you focus on specific tree characteristics, your list will become much smaller.


Ornamental trees with flowers are popular. Most blooms in spring, but several species bloom in late summer and early fall when some trees are in bloom. Flowers come in many colors including white, pink, red, yellow, purple, and combinations. Some flowering trees like crab apples and dogwoods attract birds. Greenery can be used to create a barrier between a yard and the street or a neighbor's yard. Some trees are loved for their unusual shapes, such as the corkscrew willow or the weeping form of many species. Some trees have distinctive, attractive bark, such as the sparkle of white birch or the peeling bark of river birch.


4. Check local availability.


Now take your list to garden centers or an established landscaping company in your area to determine which trees on your list are actually available. It's frustrating to read about beautiful new varieties of trees you love, only to find them at the garden center—small, fast-growing, beautiful fall colors, and tolerant of a wide variety of conditions (Trident maple, for example). Store specific wood. And because it's so new, getting it to the center can be difficult. Many attractive breeds recently bred will take a decade to reach the wider market. Sometimes a local landscaper can find a variety that is not yet in retail supply. You can buy any tree online or from a catalog, but they are usually 3 to 4 feet tall and will take longer to become a staple in your landscape.


5. If you still have more than one species on your list



Selection is based on growth rate and size. A tree label at a garden center will usually tell you what type of light is suitable (sun or shade) and how tall and wide the tree will grow, but also how fast the tree will grow. Will let you know sometimes. Fast-growing trees are trees that grow 1-1/2 feet or more per year. An average grower adds 1 foot per year, while all slow-growing trees add less than 1 foot each year.

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Designs for Container Groupings

Once your single containers are ready to merge It's hard to fail with a group of containers. Any size group, from a simple couple to large multiples, can enhance any outdoor space. Open patios and decks become softer and more intimate when you place pots around them. A straight and simple outdoor path lined with containers can become a wave of sorts—a formal one with some plants or an informal path with others. You never know what you'll come up with by placing one pot next to another or a particular plant with others. Once you start experimenting, you'll notice many places where a container is grouped. 1. Combine bright colors This collection of colorful pots introduces the viewer to the vivid color scheme in the beds behind it, mainly blue flowers. However, to maintain exclusivity, pots get exclusive rights to colors like magenta, pink and chartreuse. 2. Formal lateralization A combination of papyrus and vases always looks elegant, but when placed side by sid...
Post a Comment
Read more

Strategies for improving a small garden space

Prioritize functionality when every inch is precious When I started designing gardens 20 years ago, I was surprised to find that small spaces were more challenging to plan than large ones. In those early years, a small number of clients would come to me with detailed lists of items they must have, and I would struggle to fit everything in. Identifying specific features and details was a major breakthrough. A garden should be the final step in the process, not the first. Since then, every consultation I have with a new client begins with three questions I've nicknamed the "three W's." These prompts help my clients imagine interacting with their redesigned spaces, and while they're useful in remodeling gardens of all sizes, they're especially helpful when space is at a premium. When my husband and I recently moved into a new house with a small backyard, we had the opportunity to use the process for ourselves. Here's what we found. Three question...
Post a Comment
Read more

7 Big Impact Dwarf Flowering Shrubs

Scale with dwarf flowering shrubs Big gardens have a season in life, and we have unlimited energy to maintain perennial gardens and a quarter acre vegetable plot that produces enough food for the entire neighborhood. But if you're starting out with a three-story balcony garden or have a small garden, you can still use dwarf shrubs to create a beautiful outdoor living space. Dwarf shrubs are perfect for small space gardens When thoughtfully designed, a small space garden can be as visually appealing and emotionally pleasing as a sprawling yard. No need to sacrifice your favorite shrubs like roses and lilacs. You need to choose the right size varieties to match the size of the space. A short hedge or even a casket of flowering shrubs may be all you need to make your patio feel like "home." Dwarf flowering shrubs for your garden It's best to be selective when curating plant palettes for a small space. If the large shrubs you've seen at local nurseries ar...
Post a Comment
Read more