I need some advice on plating a large group of trees together.

My aim is to create a really large tree-filled area fairly close to my house.

I want to cover around half an acre with trees (presently it is bare) for shade, to draw wildlife etc.

I'd like to plant both fast and slow-growing native trees - the faster growing ones for 'immediate' gratification and the slower growing ones for 'delayed' gratification.

Which trees will be best suited to what I'm planning?

I don;t mind planting a wide variety of species - just as long as they provide shelter, food, shade and perhaps even some attractive blooms.

Apologies for the long post and thank you for your assistance.

We can't really help you unless you share some of that information with us...and I'm sure that many of us would love to offer some advice. We'd at least need to know your location and the soil information.

But do also come back with your location and specifics of your site - other members close to your locale will be sure to have suggestions.

but ... AND I WILL YELL ....

SKIP ANYTHING THAT CLAIMS TO GROW FAST ...

by the time you NEED to cut them down.. you will either be spending thousands of dollars for a pro to do it.. or crushing other trees if you try to do it yourself ...

on a half acre.. i suggest.. 2 to 3 trees MAXIMUM!!! .. and that is your forest ...

ken

For the sake of conversation.

If there were no non-natives within a great distance of your property, you could "grow a forest" of native trees by doing nothing. Let the land go. Pioneers would come, then the rest after time. More time than you and I have.

I wanted a wooded lot (1 acre) but purchased a new house. Wooded lots are somewhat rare in my southern mini-boom town-- they are either houses that cost too much or houses that are far too old for me (old enough to be a problem to maintain).

So on my 1 acre (+) or so, I planted a forest of about 18 trees and bushes. I started with 1-3' whips, and I spend more on mulch than I did buying the trees. As they grow, I can decide to pull any of them easily (and have done so to date with some other trees).

I do have some potentially "big" trees on the west side and north edge (Dawn redwood, Bald cypress, Nanjing beauty, and one lone Red maple). They are planted somewhat close together, rather than specimen-type planting. If I decide not to thin them out at the 10 year (or so) mark, that will be my "forest" of 8-10 trees.

The goal of the 'forest' is to provide a green belt for my property. Its main function is to provide a secluded area that will attract birds and animals.

The treeline should start about 20 yards away from my back porch. I could water initially.

Thanks for all the replies, I will consult with the agencies listed and keep you updated.

As others have said some idea as to location will help a lot. Here in central NH I am zone 5a officially now, but I have acidic soil and most winters heavy snow. I live in an area which has no rocks (quite unusual for NH) and has fine sandy loam soil. Where I grew up in 5b northern OH there was little ongoing snow cover, and heavy clay soil that was alkaline. Very different forests grow in the two places, even though the zones aren't too different.

As long as I'm picking on Ken, it is also not necessarily true that you should avoid all fast growers. You see, forest succession is both amazing and complex. For just one example, a grove of aspen-are they native to your area?-could quickly be established and this in turn would "capture" the site for the purpose of providing ideal conditions for a later group of semi-shade-tolerant species to begin their lives. Nature does this always and pretty much everywhere. Also, in the coniferous realm, fast-growing most certainly does not equal short-lived. Again, not sure if any conifers are native to your region, but where I live, both red and white pine are native, fast-growing, and routinely live lives measured in the hundreds of years. Out west, there's this tree called the redwood, another fast-grower. I hear tell that some of the big ones out there are upwards of 1000 yrs. old. In my book, that's a reasonably long lifespan! And those trees, BTW, are still adding new growth.

+oM

of which .. of course.. after taking out the sidewalk.. driveway.. house.. garage.. he probably has an effective planting area of 1/3 of an acre .... or are we utilizing the roof ...

listen tea.. i am playing devils advocate.. you knock yourself out.. and make yourself happy ... ok??

ken

;^)

+oM

Take a look in my backyard.
I have a wild area outside my yard proper that is just what the OP is describing- this is what "woods" looks like in Kentucky, LOL.
Mine is primarily oak and hickory.

ken

So if you will, pay close attention to any volunteer plants that show up. They will be among the best...and the worst species to have show up. Up at my forestry planting, neighbor farm has one mature box elder nearby. Sure, it's native, but I'm not at all thrilled to see the numerous seedlings coming up amongst my spruce, pine, and larch saplings. I guess ultimately, there will need to be some saw work and probably even garlon or glyphosate cut-surface applications in the future. On the other hand, paper birch is also "invading" this plantation, the seed blowing in from my woods nearby. And that invasion will be encouraged, as will the arrival of other desirable (to me) species.

This is just a great project for a tree/nature lover. Where else can you actually create such beauty/habitat/groundwater protection?

+oM

Fortunately, I asked a lot of questions in this forum to supplement my own research, and I ended up capping it at about 12 trees of varying sizes (mostly b&b) with more understory than I originally planned and I can say now that I don't think I have any room for more - thanks in large part for a better appreciation for native shrubs and wildflowers/grasses/groundcover to fill in the rest of the space.

Three years out, I couldn't ask for much more as far as attracting wildlife is concerned. The neighbors' large, established trees play a large part, but the bird traffic is amazing. My meadows and rain gardens are swarming with bees and butterflies, and if I take 5 minutes to explore, I can pretty much find a new insect I've never seen before. Frogs, toads, small mammals, and the occasional fox/raccoon knocking over plants in my barrel pond... all regular visitors to my little "oasis" of biodiversity. The trees are one thing, but it's the perennials that allowed me this instant gratification. And the great thing is that it's ever-changing as the trees grow as areas shift from full sun to eventual shade - more opportunities for different plants.

Just my $.02, but I'd definitely recommend saving $ and starting small on the trees and putting more into the shrubs/perennials/water features to start things off fast. For reference, see one of my project threads here.

+oM

I would plant a few things and see if they even survive before I invested a lot.

I know I had great plans for a semi cultivated woods with understory trees and flowering shrubs. We stuck many shrubs back there that we didn't have a place for in the real yard and they got eaten the first year.
There's only so far you can drag a hose and only so many wire cages you can build.
If it is outside my fence I'm done- Bambi et al can have it.

Many varied responses, but all very well worth reading and considering.

Thank you all for your input.

As far as location is concerned, I am in Effingham, IL.

I'll take some time working through all my options and will most certainly provide feedback in this regard.

Thanks again!