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| Give me a list of 10 trees you would plant on a college campus. I would prefer natives but some unique non natives will work too. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Red Oak, Bur Oak, Sugar maple, Norway spruce, Bald cypress, Tulip Tree, Weeping European Beech, Ginkgo biloba, Eastern White pine, Weeping Willow. J |
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| In PA? Taxodium distichum if it will grow, other wise Metasequoia glyptostroboides Picea abies Pinus strobus Quercus alba Quercus rubra Acer saccharum Cladrastis kentukea (even though this particular tree hates me) or Cornus florida Carya ovata or Carya laciniosa Fagus grandifolia Gymnocladus dioicus or Oxydendrum arboreum because of your silly(!) limit |
This post was edited by j0nd03 on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 12:01
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 12:04
| dude??? we arent doing your homework.. are we??? you havent told us where campus is.. soil type.. zone ... and size of plots .... a hundred foot dawn redwood in a 20 by 20 courtyard would not work.. eh ... ken |
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| Scary thought that a college would trust someone who get his list on an internet forum to decide the future landscape of their institution! I took this as a "PSU is a blank slate. Decorate PSU with 10 trees, natives preferable" topic. And hopefully groupings are permitted!!! |
This post was edited by j0nd03 on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 12:13
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| "Scary thought that a college would trust someone who get his list on an internet forum to decide the future landscape of their institution!" But I bet this forum would give a far more interesting and worthwhile result than most commercial organisations! I just saw the proposed planting scheme for a new care home, and it is stale and boring beyond belief (it wasn't all Bradford Pears as it was in the UK and Bradfords aren't common here, but it was that sort of level of sophistication). You won't get that on this forum! Resin |
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| Big Native Trees like : Pine, Oak, Maple Other Possible Natives : Pecan, Hickory, Spruce, Bald Cypress, Holly, Eastern Red Cedar, Fir, Larch. |
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- Posted by albert_135 Sunset 2 or 3 (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 13:27
| Have you read the 10-20-30 rule that some like in principle but fuss about in practice. |
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 13:51
| No Ken this is not homework I am just trying to get some opinions from other tree loving people. The botany club and I are going to try to get permission to plant some some more trees; south end of campus is a bit bare. Right now its just a huge lawn with a few flowering cherries scattered around. I think pineresin gave a good explanation as to why I chose to ask you guys. |
This post was edited by greenthumbzdude on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 13:54
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| Well, in that case, I would preferably choose native trees not already on campus if possible if given the go ahead. It might be easier to sell the idea to plant more trees by planting trees similar to trees already present on the grounds, though. Be sure to let us know your progress! John |
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| gtd, Check out the UofAL-Huntsville Campus Trees site - our friend RR - husband of our friend rhizo1 (hey, cuz'n D!) is the grounds management supervisor there, and has done a nice job with the website, providing good info on many of the trees he's planted there over the past...however many years. I'm showing my age, I guess, 'cause I first met rhizo and RR right here at the GW forums, back around 1996. |
Here is a link that might be useful: UAH Campus Trees
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude 6 PA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 14:18
| I should have mentioned this earlier, here is a list of what I already know is on campus: white oak burr oak red oak pin oak canadian hemlock bald cypress eastern white pine black walnut linden horsechestnut bottlebrush buckeye franklin tree willow oak eastern redbud tulip poplar dawn redwood sweetgum white ash flowering mangolia serviceberry bradford pear chinese chestnut pignut hickory shagbark hickory japanese maple ginko red maple silver maple norway maple norway spruce sugar maple hackberry flowering cherry dogwood american holly peacan honey locust kentucky coffee tree red mulberry european beech japanese cedar blue spruce douglas fir sycamore european larch Siberian Elm English Oak Carolina Silverbell Thats all I can think of. Here is what I am thinking to plant: -Southern Red Oak -Pawpaw (in shaded area) -Redbuckeye (in shaded area) -Compton oak -Yellow wood -Southern Magnolia "Edith Bogue" -Yellow Buckeye -American Elm "Princeton" -Umbrella Magnolia (in shaded area) -Giant Sequoia (used to be one but was removed for new science building) *this place has alot of micro climates and is in zone 6b |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 15:00
| Zon6, Metasequoia! White oak Sugar maple Ya know, the big trees not everyone has in their yards. |
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| How about katsura and parrotia persica? Some of the best trees out there and fully hardy to zone 6 |
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| I like your "thinking to plant" list. Surely, they have a redbud or two on campus. If not, add it to the list. Personally, I would repace quercus falcata with quercus shumardii. They (q. falcata) are abundant here and there are much nicer oaks you can grow in your location. I would also nix any american elm off a personal list. I think you might look up acer pensylvanicum and see if you like it. |
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- Posted by lou_midlothian_tx z8 DFW, Tx (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 16:22
| My alma mater Stephen F Austin State University has planted so many things over huge area that it'd take days to explore everything. You should look at their bald,pond and montezuma (and hybrids) cypress collection from all over places... Just wow. I noticed your campus doesn't have Shantung maples. Metro Maples tree farm have come up with interesting cultivars that nobody else can match. http://metromaples.com/ShanCultivars.htm It would be funny to plant a bunch of Acer pentaphyllum aka Marijuana Maple. My brother grew a nice looking one and will be giving me one soon. He donated dozens of seedlings to SFA gardens as well. http://www.quarryhillbg.org/acerpentaphyllum.html |
Here is a link that might be useful: SFA Gardens
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude (My Page) on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 16:54
| I like the Acer pentaphyllum idea, i can imagine some pot heads waiting for the thing to bud LoL!! |
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| Mostly natives, but also worth getting in a few special non-natives, perhaps some cedars (they'd need to be selected hardy ones like Cedrus libani var. stenocoma, and the Paktia group of Cedrus deodara cultivars) or some of the more unusual white pines like Pinus koraiensis or P. ayacahuite. Resin |
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| What the trees are like visually is always trumped by what the site conditions will permit. You need to study and evaluate the site carefully before doing any tree selection and planting. This includes human impacts such as theft and vandalism. For instance, trees with attractive bark are not suitable where vandals are likely to carve their trunks. And planting of a choice, rare tree will not succeed in enhancing the location if somebody digs it up and carts it off. In general, I favor use of proven hardy favorites that are liable to be present somewhere on the market at any particular time. Even within that set particular kinds have to be identified as suitable for each individual planting. |
This post was edited by bboy on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 18:06
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| There are some really interesting trees listed in this thread. One that I don't believe anyone has suggested yet is Nyssa sylvatica, Black Gum. Perhaps this particular tree stands out in my mind is because there is one in the tree line at the edge of our back yard neighbor's property. It really and truly stands out as something unusual. Thanks for the comments about Robert's website, Lucky. The campus has been going through major changes (expansion) in recent years. Robert has managed to toss out the species lists from the idiotic, stunningly uncreative landscape architecture firm hired by the university to do the master plan. So, he's still planting some neat stuff on campus; it's always the trees that people mention when they visit. Over the years, he has been plagued by one particular 'vandal', to the tune of many tens of thousands of dollars worth of tree damage. Beavers. They've managed to elude traps and get past the substantial bars blocking their entrance though the problem is much abated in recent years. |
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- Posted by jimbobfeeny 5a IN (My Page) on Thu, Jan 10, 13 at 8:05
| Nyssa sylvatica is definitely tops for me - You have to plant them fairly young, though. Aesculus flava Quercus alba Magnolia tripetala Quercus rubra - You are probably a bit too far North for southern red oak. Magnolia virginiana - Nice little tree! Betula alleghaniensis - Nice, bronze bark, almost glows in the sunlight. Fagus grandifolia - I prefer it over European beech, in PA, the beeches should do well. Picea rubens - Don't know how it would grow at the campus, but it is native to Pennsylvania, and beautiful! Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis - Rugged, adaptable, tolerant - I'm planting a lot of these, they seem to do well in our wild climate.
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| With true firs in my area the problem is often that they get buggy and deteriorate later, say after maybe 10-20 years. Results with younger specimens are not indicative of the ultimate outcome. |
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| American persimon, Swamp oak, chinese pagoda tree, white fir, shellbark hickory, European beech, katsura tree, acer triflorum, white oak, silver linden |
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| The landscaping at Virginia Tech campus was quite impressive & they took care of them pretty well. There were large, open grown specimens of: Burr, white, chestnut, black, pin and N red oaks |
This post was edited by beng on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 10:06
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| Beng...I'm a Hokie, too! I'll always think of it as a beautiful campus. |
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| Chalk Maple Acer luecoderme American Smoke Tree Cotinus obovatus (needs a dry site with good drainage) Franklinia alatamaha Native Stewartia Arktrees |
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| rhizo, I'm "Class of '80" from the engineering school. When did you graduate? If you remember the campus "Duck Pond", there were several groves of bald cypresses around it. But the drainage stream from the pond running south (away from main campus) also had some that had filled the stream bank w/cypress knees. Not something you'd expect in the Appalachians... |
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| Possibly a dumb question but will you site all these plants based on water flow and moisture retention? Drought tolerance would be one of my top priorities. Many excellent selections here but several specimens will require supplemental water even during the shortest drought when mature. |
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- Posted by dave_in_nova VA zone 7a (My Page) on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 19:57
| OK, this is a gripe I have with most campuses that can sustain broadleaved evergreens. There are NEVER enough planted. Consider that most college students attend during the Fall, Winter and Spring. In zone 7 that means the deciduous trees and shrubs are LEAFLESS sticks at least 6 months of their school year. Sometimes I think trees are planted for the summer staff. LOL! For a zone 7/7B campus: 1) Quercus virginiana 2) Magnolia grandiflora 3) Magnolia virginiana australis 4) Cryptomeria japonica 5) Camellia japonica and sasanqua 6) Camellia oleifera 7) Trachycarpus fortunei 8) Quercus myrsinifolia 9) Ilex latifolia 10) Osmanthus fortunei 11) Photinia serrulata 12) Sycopsis sinensis 13) Viburnum awabuki 'Chindo' -- OK I could not do just 10. |
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| Even though I love conifers now, back when I was in college I really didn't think twice about an evergreen. The fall show was beyond superior. Now I completely agree with your point though! |
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- Posted by jimbobfeeny 5a IN (My Page) on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 20:35
| I dunno - To me, an evergreen landscape is a boring, unchanging landscape. You don't have flaming fall colors, bare winter twigs etching the gray winter sky, the flurry of new growth in spring - You just can't gauge the season! I like my deciduous trees, maybe with just a few evergreens for emphasis. |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 23:22
| You know, there is one advantage over all others that a campus has over most landscape settings, and that is the ability to showcase scale and scope. I for one think there should be more groves of blue atlas cedar. and swiss stone pine. and cryptomeria. more allees of katsura. and stewartia. and sophora. and oxydendron. or a checkerboard flagstone patio with columnar scotch pine or various columnar beech or English oak varieties. the only caveat I can add is from an editorial I once read about landscaping in public spaces (re: federal building courtyard in downtown Minneapolis), and that was this: that the purpose of landscaping in public spaces should cause people to desire to spend time in that space. it sounds basic. |
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- Posted by canadianplant (My Page) on Sun, Jan 13, 13 at 8:05
| The paw paw are a good idea, since the botany dept. there might be able to start crossing and breeding them for cultivation. So are some more magnolia, liek tripitala. I would toss in a few sequoia as well, seeing as one was removed, why not start a few more. I would possibly try some of the enagered trees like a new blight resistant chestnut, or a good DED reistant elm. I would also try to get the native bamboo (arundinaria giganta, cane break or switch cane bamboo). Not a tree, but you can concider it a shrub i guess |
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- Posted by jimbobfeeny 5a IN (My Page) on Sun, Jan 13, 13 at 8:12
| If you could find it, Magnolia fraseri is a beautiful landscape tree - I'd think it would do well in Pennsylvania. |
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| DED resistant american elms. Elms are the quintessential campus tree. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Elms available here
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| My own thought is to select natives of the state in which the college is located. In Pennsylvania that must include native oaks, the white oak being my personal favorite but some of the others have more colorful fall foliage. For smaller flowering trees perhaps serviceberries. And I absolutely would go with one of the newly developed Dutch elm disease resistant American elms, once found all over the Northeast. Are the blight resistant chestnuts commercially available yet? If so, I would definitely include this tree, once the signature tree of the area. Also I would include conifers, eastern white pine and eastern hemlock both being native. They get big over time which is glorious and awe-inspring, but if you think they get too big, there are smaller cultivars. Fewer than ten, but these are the ones that struck me immediately. Rosefolly |
This post was edited by rosefolly on Thu, Jan 24, 13 at 13:49
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Jan 24, 13 at 18:29
| hey thumbz .. referring to your title .... i am still amused by you wanting us to GIVE YOU the trees ... rather than a list .. lol ... gimme... gimme.. gimme... lol .. ken |
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| Personally I would skip the pawpaws. Quite nice trees in the right place, but they will gradually create a thicket of suckers, not ideal in a landscape. I think of the right place as being a backyard orchard. The fruit is not commercially viable, but it is very delicious, much the same situation as Persian mulberries. You pretty much have to grow them yourself if you want to eat them. Is this campus by any chance Penn State University Park? Last time I visited there I saw the Hort Woods project in which the goal is to eradicate invasive tree and shrub species. If this is indeed your campus, I suspect that native trees would be very well received unless they already were represented. Rosefolly |
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| The problem w/DED-resistant elms is that they have no resistance to elm yellows, as I found out. |
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| I would possibly try some of the endangered trees like a new blight resistant chestnut I would second this. In fact, if I were you I could contact the school and see if you can get them to sponsor the American Chestnut Foundation. Very worthy cause, and while membership in exchange for blight resistant seeds is pretty darned expensive right now for individuals, it would be nothing for a college campus to invest in. The campus rewards would include: The American Chestnut was one of the most important trees in the country before the blight drove them to near extinction. Not only would it go a long way to boosting your school's nation wide reputation to be involved in growing them, but they could create entire classes around the trees. Caring for them, teaching about the dangers of introducing foreign species, the importance of biodiversity, etc. |
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- Posted by dave_in_nova VA zone 7a (My Page) on Wed, Jan 30, 13 at 9:22
| "I dunno - To me, an evergreen landscape is a boring, unchanging landscape. You don't have flaming fall colors, bare winter twigs etching the gray winter sky, the flurry of new growth in spring - You just can't gauge the season!" Actually, there's a lot of foliar variety in broad-leaved evergreens -- and it does change with the seasons. What about the new chartreuse green upright emerging foliage of Daphniphyllum macropodum contrasting against the older dk. green drooping foliage. And with the proper selection of camellias, it's possible to get blooms from October thru March, depending on mild spells. A camellia oleifera covered in white blooms in November is something to behold. The new growth on red-tips photinia looks like a red blooming plant - flaming red. Somewhat similar with Ternstroemia. Late fall fragrance of Osmanthus. Azaleas -- many are evergreen -- can be ablaze with color when they bloom. Same with rhododendrons. Leather-leaf viburnums are blooming right now. Huge fragrant blossoms on Magnolia grandiflora. So, no, I'm not buying the 'boring, unchanging landscape' thing -- at least not for zones 7 and 8. This may be true for zones 5-6 though. |
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| Two of the most amazing native trees that used to dominate the eastern woodlands were the American chestnut and the white pine. Both have very interesting histories with respect to the "new world". The chestnut fed many many animals and was said to be ~1/4 of the trees in the Appalachian range. The White Pine was stolen from this land by the british crown for masts and shipbuilding. It was considered treason against the king to cut down a white pine that had been marked for the british navy. The white pine was very influential in provoking the american revolution. |
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