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| I live on a residential street in an urban area on a narrow lot. All my neighbors have fabulous mature trees in front of their homes in the area lining the street. I'm looking for a tree that won't impose on traffic and has some eventual height. I'd prefer a fast grower, one that flowers, or has some color. I'd been considering the Royal Empress, Cleveland Pear and Autumn Blaze Maple, but the more research I do, the more problems I'm uncovering. I'd appreciate any recommendations! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 7:51
| no pear ... there is a post down a page.. i will link it.. i believe it covers similar ground ... and please do spend some time reading the first 2 or 3 pages of posts.. the theme is addressed often ... need to know where you are.. as z5 is a lot of ground to cover.. also.. soil type ... and any other info that might help.. and do tell.. no power lines.. correct???? realistically .. anything MARKETED as FAST GROWING.. should be avoided.. fast to grow.. fast to have problems.. fast to die.. in terms of tree life ... i would prefer oak .. and they can do about 3 to 5 feet per year.. once fully established ... ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: link
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 8:27
| Hi mckus. Ken is right, no Pear. The Empress tree is probably invasive in your area anyway. Also, I have never seen a good looking one in person in my life. At MOBOT I once say theirs on its day of flowering. That was decent and distracted me from the structure. Then two weeks later it was one of the few trees broken up by a breezy day. All over Ohio and at the Denver Botanical they had cruddy examples as well. For street tree are we going between the sidewalk and the curb? Giben space Red or Scarlet oaks might have room. |
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| Thanks for the link! The location is suburban Detroit. Yes, the tree would be planted between the sidewalk and street. There is full sun and the area is well drained. I haven't had the soil tested, but it is rich. No clay, not dry. According to the city, the most popular species in the area are the Norway maple, Silver Maple, Honey Locust, Crabapple and Green Ash. The city recommends the Hackberry and Skyline Honeylocust to residents for planting along streets, but these don't seem very appealing....I really don't want hackberry splatter all over the sidewalk! |
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| I agree with you on the Hackberry and Locust. They're good trees, but do have a couple of undesirable characteristics. And their fall color is blah!!! I'm located in the metro Detroit area as well (Troy), but we have primarily clay soil here. If your soil is sandy loam, you should take advantage of it and plant trees that require better soil. I agree with toronado3800 that a Northern Red or Scarlet Oak would be a good choice. There are many Sugar Maple cultivars on the market that have excellent fall color and grow at a moderate to fast rate of speed. |
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| Well, I can 100% rule out Paulownia in Michigan for you. It will survive, but will suffer some dieback in most winters, and probably will have successful blooming once every 10-15 years as the flower buds are significantly more tender than the vegetative buds and almost always winterkill. Every decade or so, a winter will no doubt come along that kills it to the roots, and you will be left with the cost of cleanup and removal of the dead wood AND have to either replace or let it regrow and start from the ground up. Just NOT a practical tree here for the average person, something really that only a collector should attempt with knowledge of its limitations in our climate. |
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| Another vote for oak. Planted two supposedly slow-growing b&b white oaks a few years back, and once you they into that second full growing season having been in the ground, they have really been taking off. Also, there's a red oak in my garden that started from an acorn two springs back. It was but a few leaves last summer and I left it there for the heck of it. It's about 3' high and wide now. A shame I won't be able to leave it where it is to watch it grow. |
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- Posted by jimbobfeeny none (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 20:27
| For all around appeal, you can't beat red oak. You might try river birch, though! Also consider Sugar maple (I love these trees, but it is true that you can't grow a thing under them except for maple seedlings!), for fall color. There is a really pretty basswood along the fence in our backyard - It must be over 100 years old! It is blooming right now, and the smell is phenomenal! Just a few suggestions. How busy is the road? what are the pollution levels? |
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| How wide is this patch of ground between sidewalk & street? I'm wondering whether planting something large that may not do well, or buckle the sidewalk, is wise. Richard. |
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| The patch is 10 feet wide. There is a steady trickle of traffic along the street and there is street parking on the other side of the street (but not on mine). I'm not sure about pollution levels. Sites online say the city has average pollution, but it's a built up, older suburb bordering Detroit. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sat, Jun 16, 12 at 14:07
| I take it there's no Forestry Dept then? If there is, and if it is like most places having such a dept, they would be the ones to both select and plant/maintain the tree(s). But if this is truly your initiative alone, there's much to choose from: Oaks, lindens, maples (Probably not Norway maple), honeylocusts (I prefer the Skyline cultivar), and many more. Some additional considerations are: road salt use, location of any buried utilities, presence or absence of disease/insect issues in your locale-hence, no ash-, and some others. Look at trees you like that are streetside, learn what they are, and go from there. +oM |
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| avoid Silver Maple and Ash. in the Detroit area the ash borer is running rapant. and Silver Maples are just nasty trees -- lots of mess. your neighbors will hate you. Honeylocust are nice because you get a moderate shade and can still grow full sun plants under it. and there's very little to clean up in the fall in terms of raking leaves. but the fall color is blah. |
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| Are the thorns on the honeylocust a problem f.or anyone? They kind of concern me and don't seem like they'd be pleasant to look at, let alone bump into. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sat, Jun 16, 12 at 22:52
| Yeah, you'd def. want the thornless variety. Known as 'inermis' in the trade. Most popular cultivars are of this type. +oM |
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| thorns on honeylocust? mine doesn't have any. and it doesn't have the long seed pods either. i'm pretty sure the skyline variety noted above is absent thorns & seed pods as well. |
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| I love the idea of oaks, too, but with one caution. Do you have power lines on your side? From my experience, the tree trimming that cities do around power lines is pure butchery! Our town recently had work done on several streets and you would not believe what they did to those trees. really terrible. We have crabapples and I love the flowers every spring! |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 17, 12 at 12:58
| Note to cyn: It is very unlikely that "cities" are doing powerline clearance pruning. That is typically performed by a tree care company under contract to the local power company. Also, you can see the same "butchery" out in the country. It has nothing to do with cities. +oM |
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| The powerlines are not an issue in my particular case. |
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| The powerlines are not an issue in my particular case. |
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| The OP probably wouldn't be able to find an ash for sale if he/she wanted one, nurseries in Michigan just don't sell them now due to EAB. |
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| Would a sycamore do well? or too messy? Can't go wrong with an oak. |
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| A sycamore, with the mess and its size, wouldn't really be a good choice given the limited space. |
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