Categories » Gardens » Gardeners & Garden Labour 

Why not join these companies above and add your website to our directory?

Article: Make Room for Big Trees.

Landscapers, garden designers and garden writers have done a good job of getting homeowners to use smaller trees for small urban and suburban lots. Maybe too good a job.

It is true that large trees overwhelm a small city lot. Large trees make the typical suburban house look like a doll's house. The roots of large trees can buckle sidewalks. A large tree can climb into power lines, take down gutters and damage roofs when planted too close to the house.

But big trees have their place where owners have a little bit more land, and the big guys need to be planted more frequently. After all, Kentucky was once blanketed by a dense forest of big trees-oak, ash, hickory, maple and tulip poplar. We need big trees for their shade, for their beauty, for their ability to feed and harbor wildlife, for the good of the planet's oxygen exchange system.

We also need them for our souls. Redbuds are charming. Dogwoods are cheering. But a 200-year-old red oak, reaching 80 feet or more toward the crystal blue sky of autumn, its leaves shellacked in red, is awesome in the not-overused sense of that word.

Gardeners planning their fall nursery trip should think about including a big tree for their landscape along with the perennials and shrubs they buy. And if you don't have room for one yourself, give one to a friend or neighbor with more yard space and have a tree planting party. With luck, you'll still be friends and neighbors when the tree is casting large shade.

Before we talk about some big trees you might want to consider, let's go over the rules: Know the ultimate height and width of the tree. Do not plant big trees near or under power lines. Do not plant the tree where it will grow over a roof or into the side of the house. Have some consideration for your neighbor here too.

Second, consider cultural requirements. Most large trees require excellent drainage; do not plant them in low spots where water stands for more than half a day. Large trees require more or less full sun. Large trees may require watering their first year as they get established.

If you are going to plant the tree yourself, consider buying smaller specimens from the nursery. Trees more than 8 feet tall ought to be planted by professionals. And remember the planting rule: Dig a $10 hole for a $5 tree. In other words, make sure the hole is large enough to accommodate the root system. A large tree is going to be a long-term investment and the focal point of your lawn or garden; take time choosing and planting it.

Dozens of large trees are native to Kentucky, and many are good landscape prospects. Here are 10 of the best:

* White ash (fraximus Americana), the tree that makes baseball bats. White ash is a good street tree that will reach 50-60 feet. Cultivars have stunning fall color, leaves purple on the top and yellow on the bottom. Look for Autumn purple.

* Ginkgo (ginkgo biloba), the tree that has been on Earth long enough to have met Tyrannosaurus Rex. Ginkgos have fan-shaped leaves and buttery yellow fall color. Kew, or Magyar, are upright male varieties you can plant nearer to structures than average for the species. Always buy a male ginkgo; females have fruit some say smells like dead animals.

* Red maple (Acer rubra), one of the fastest-growing of the large trees of the forest and one of the most beautiful in fall. Cultivars October Glory and Red Sunset are smaller than average for the species and show brilliant red fall color. Scarlet Sentinel is an upright variety.

* Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus), the fruits of which our ancestors used as a coffee replacement. Its foliage is airy so grass grows well beneath it in the summer, and its open, airy branches are interesting in winter.

* Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), a relatively fast-growing oak. The bur has large acorns, good for wildlife and craft projects. A spreading tree, bur oak has fiddle-shaped leaves and purple fall color.

* Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), the tree of swamplands. The bald cypress is also at home in lawns. A deciduous evergreen, bald cypress foliage is soft and wispy. It can grow to huge proportions and is almost always perfectly pyramidal.

* Cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata) is another huge tree, to 90 feet, with massive leaves. It lacks the shiny evergreen quality of its Southern magnolia cousin and its flowers are more inconspicuous, but cucumber magnolia is hardier in Kentucky and a real looker in its own right.

* American beech (Fagus grandiflora), my favorite tree. The beech is the lord of the forest where it grows; its gun-metal gray bark surrounds a trunk that can grow to massive proportions. Fall color is lemon yellow. Beech is probably the most difficult tree on the list to establish and may be hard to find. You might want to start with a seedling.

* Tulip poplar (Liriodendrun tulipifera), another fast grower. Kentucky's state tree is upright and stately. Its tulipshaped leaves largely hide its white flowers, but yellow fall color is a good payback. Probably the easiest tree on the list to grow, many school children bring it home after Arbor Day celebrations wrapped in muddy, wet plastic.

* Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa, pictured on the previous page), the cigar tree, named for its conspicuous bean-like seed pods. Lawn neat freaks may not like the seed pods when they fall in the winter, but everyone will love the glorious white blooms in summer and the tropical-looking leaves.

Walt Reichert

Readers can reach Walt Reichert at gardening@kentuckymonthly.com.

Copyright Vested Interest Publications, Inc. Sep 2005

Source: Kentucky Monthly

Publish Date: 2005-09-01