Help choosing small/medium tree to shade hosta

9 years ago

I live in St. Louis - mid county which is zone 6a/6b depending on the map you look at. I have a nice collection of hosta, and took them with me when I moved. I have a big yard, but unfortunately the only shade is way at the back, so I don't really get to enjoy my hosta. I want to move them near the house, but it is full sun there, from 9am - sunset.

I am planning on planting 2 trees: One fast growing columnar tree on the west side of the yard to block/filter the afternoon sun, and the tree that I need advice on, that will be shading the hosta. So far I am looking at the following, in no particular order:

Yoshino Cherry
Higan Cherry
Black Tupelo
Zelkova Sorreta Village Green
Honeylocust Skyline

By that list, you can surmise that I know little about trees, and have chosen the ones that are nice looking and seem to be less annoying than say, sweetgum ;)

I already have 2 dogwood, a Forest Pansy redbud and a Fringe tree in the yard, all on the perimiter. My neighbor to the west has a huge tree that shades the area where my hosta are currently planted.

The tree I want for the hosta would be (ideally) 8 - 10 feet from the back of the house and the same distance from the fence/property line.

The soil is really nice for about 12" - 15", then seems to be clay below that. The area is very slightly sloped, and my house is situated "downhill", so I probably get a decent amount of water traveling underground.

I am willing to spend more for a more mature tree for some immediate shade. Any advice is much appreciated.

Comments (5)

PRO
Whitelacey
9 years ago
A River Birch, (Betula nigra) is a gorgeous tree that does well in zone 6 as it is native to that area. It will deliver dappled shade and it withstands the Mid-West winters quite well. The fall color is yellow and the multi-colored bark is beautiful year-round. Do not confuse with Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch which is a northern tree and does not tolerate our hot, humid summers.

River Birch are usually sold multi-crowned and are not all that expensive. They are also fairly fast growers. In the wild, they mature to larger sizes but in the home landscape they are medium-sized trees.

Linda

This post was edited by whitelacey on Sun, Oct 5, 14 at 21:52
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
9 years ago
Oh, I love river birch! I thought it would be too big for the site, but will definitely check it out.

Thank you
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Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
9 years ago
Black Tupelo, is a tree of many names, probably nyssa sylvatica. It is a ootentially LONG lived medium growing polite tree with great fall color. It has been a fussy tree for me to transplant though even when I have gotten them locally at Forest Keeling.

10 feet from the house....nyssa is as good as any decent sized tree.

Perhaps one of the small maples like Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala 'Flame' would do. There is another our local botanical garden has I like better....not paperbark which I do have but only like in winter lol....having brain locck.

Maybe head to MOBOT and get some ideas. Nyssa would be one of the largest trees I woukd consider with the house nearby.

Edit: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=x270

Acer triflorum is what I was thinking of.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a970

This post was edited by toronado3800 on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 0:05
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
9 years ago
Oh, I love river birch! I thought it would be too big for the site, but will definitely check it out.

Thank you
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
9 years ago
Good idea about going to MOBOT. I could get lost for days there!

Maples are trees I love in other peoples yards :) I had a huge maple removed from a previous house... probably a silver maple. It was only tolerable for about 12 days out of the year...otherwise it was dropping your choice of fluffy things in spring, then 'helicopters', then leaves. And the roots...oy. Like something out of a Stephen King novel. I know not all of them are bad - I need to do some more research.