Recommended Trees

The trees on this list are well suited for our local climate and soil conditions. They beautify our own properties and our community, support wildlife, control stormwater runoff and soil erosion, moderate climate and conserve energy use.

Properly planted and cared for, they have minimal disease and pest problems.

[*The height categories listed below are for “effective landscape height”, not the actual height that the trees might attain at maturity].

For detailed information about these trees, their uses and care, visit Horticopia, or Native Plant Center, or consult the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael Dirr, Easy Tree Guide by Keith Rushforth, or Encyclopedia of Trees by Hugh Johnson in the Marple Library.

denotes Native species that are especially recommended.

DECIDUOUS TREES

Drops their leaves in the fall

Small deciduous trees (0-30 feet*)

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Buckeye, red	Aesculus pavia
Cherry Okame cherry Oriental cherry	Prunus hybrid Prunus serrulata	‘Okame’
Crabapple	Malus	Assorted disease resistant varieties
Dogwood Flowering dogwood Corneliancherry Chinese dogwood	Cornus florida Cornus mas Cornus kousa	‘Appalachian Spring’ ‘Golden Glory’
Dovetree	Davidia involucrata
Franklinia	Franklinia alatamaha	needs special care
Hawthorn Green hawthorn	Crataegus viridis	‘Winter King’
Hornbeam American hornbeam European hornbeam	Carpinus caroliniana Carpinus betulus	‘Fastigiata’
Lilac Japanese tree lilac	Syringa reticulata
Maackia Amur maackia	Maackia amurensis
Magnolia Sweetbay magnolia Saucer magnolia	Magnolia virginiana Magnolia x solaniana
Maple Hedge maple Paperbark maple	Acer campestre Acer griseum	Special care
Redbud Eastern redbud	Cercis canadensis
Serviceberry Allegheny serviceberry Downy serviceberry Shadblow/Serviceberry	Amelanchier laevis Amelanchier arborea Amelanchier canadensis
Silverbell Carolina silverbell	Halesia tetraptera
Stewartia Japanese stewartia	Stewartia pseudocamellia

Medium deciduous trees (30-60 feet*)

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Alder	Alnus species
Birch Gray birch River birch Sweet birch	Betula populifolia Betula nigra Betula lenta	‘Whitespire’ ‘Heritage’
Cherry Sergeant cherry	Prunus sargentii	‘Columnaris’
Elm Lacebark elm	Ulmus parvifolia
Hophornbeam American hophornbeam	Ostrya virginiana
Honeylocust Common honeylocust	Gleditsia tricanthos(thornless; no fruits)	‘Moraine’ ‘Imperial’ ‘Shademaster’ ‘Skyline’
Horsechestnut Red horsechestnut	Aesculus x carnea	‘Briotii’ ‘Fort McNair’
Katsura tree	Cercidiphyllum japonicum	use male
Maple Trident maple	Acer buergerianum
Oak Sawtooth oak Shingle oak Willow oak	Quercus acutissima Quercus imbricaria Quercus phellos
Parrotia Persian ironwood	Parrotia persica	single stem
Sourwood	Oxydendrum arboreum
Yellowwood	Cladastris kentukea	not near street

Large deciduous trees (60+ feet*)

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Ash Green Ash White Ash	Fraxinus pensylvanica Fraxinus americana	seedless type best ‘Autumn Purple’ ‘Rose Hill’ ‘Autumn Applause’
Baldcypress	Taxodium distichum
Beech American beech European beech	Fagus grandifolia Fagus sylvatica
Black gum/tupelo	Nyssa sylvatica	Species or various cultivars
Elm	Ulmus(selected)	‘Valley Forge’ ‘Princeton’ ‘Liberty’
Kentucky coffeetree	Gymnocladus dioicus	male
Magnolia Cucumber tree	Magnolia acuminata	‘Butterflies’
Larch, Golden	Pseudolarix kaempferi	Best for parks
Linden Silver linden Pendant Silver linden	Tilia tomentosum Tilia petiolaris
London Planetree	Plantanus x acerifolia
Maidenhair tree	Ginkgo biloba	use male
Maple Red maple Sugar maple	Acer rubrum Acer saccharum	‘October Glory’ ‘Red Sunset’ ‘Autumn Flame’ ‘Green Mountain’ ‘Legacy’ ‘Bonfire’
Oak Bur oak Pin oak English oak Northern red oak Swamp white oak Shumard oak White oak	Quercus macrocarpa Quercus palustris Quercus robur Quercus rubra Quercus bicolor Quercus shumardii Quercus alba	species or Green Pillar® ‘Fastigiata’ ‘Attention’
Sweetgum	Liquidambar styraciflua	‘Rotundiloba’ (fruitless)
Tuliptree/tulip poplar	Liriodendron tulipifera	for parks
Zelkova Japanese	Zelkova serrata	‘Green Vase’/‘Village Green’

EVERGREEN TREES (retain their broad or needled foliage all year)

Small evergreen trees (20-35 feet*)

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Arborvitae American arborvitae West coast arborvitae	Thuja occidentalis Thuja x(hybrid)	‘Emerald Green’ ‘Nigra’ ‘Techny’ ‘Pyramidalis’ ‘Green Giant’
Holly American holly	Ilex opaca	‘Angelica’ ‘Jersey Knight’ ‘Wyetta’ ‘Jersey Princess’ ‘Old Heavy Berry’
Eastern red cedar	Juniperus virginiana	Emerald Sentinel™
Magnolia, southern	Magnolia grandiflora	‘Edith Bogue’ ‘Little Gem’ ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ ‘D.D. Blanchard’
Pine Japanese black pine Japanese red pine Japanese white pine Lacebark pine Limber pine Swiss stone pine	Pinus thunbergiana Pinus densiflora Pinus parviflora Pinus bungeana Pinus flexilis Pinus cembra	‘Umbraculifera’ ‘Glauca’ ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’
Spruce Serbian spruce	Picea omorika

Medium evergreen trees (35-60 feet*)

Medium evergreen trees (35-60 feet*)

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Cedar Atlas cedar Alaska cedar Incense cedar Japanese cedar	Cedrus atlantica Chamaecyparis nootkatensis Calocedrus decurens Cryptomeria japonica	‘Glauca’ ‘Fastigiata’ ‘Pendula’ ‘Yoshino’ ‘Benjamin Franklin’
Fir Nordmann fir White fir	Abies nordmanniana Abies concolor

Large evergreen trees (60+ feet*)

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Fir Douglas-fir	Pseudotsuga menzieii
Pine Eastern white pine	Pinus strobus	‘Fastigiata’
Spruce Norway spruce Oriental spruce	Cedrus atlantica Picea abies Picea orientalis

Not Recommended

Common Name	Botanical Name	Suggestions/comments
Elm American elm Siberian elm	Ulmus americana Ulmus pumila	disease prone weak-wooded
Empresstree	Paulownia tomentosa	weedy & invasive
Maple Sycamore maple Tatarian maple Norway maple Silver Maple	Acer pseudoplatanus Acer tataricum Acer platanoides Acer saccharinum	all of these maples are weedy, invasive and weak-wooded
Poplar Lombardy poplar	Populus nigra ‘Italica’	short-lived
Tree of Heaven	Ailanthus altissima	weedy & invasive