Picking the Right Tree for a Place
One of my favorite sayings growing up was “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today”. Trees can enhance the beauty of your home, increase the value and make your yard an enjoyable place to be by providing shade. The wrong tree in the wrong place however can damage your property and become an issue rather than an asset. Most issues with trees that I see could have been prevented with a little bit of planning and a few simple questions.
My question when someone asks what tree they should plant is always, what is the purpose of the tree? What someone wants from their tree is going to impact my answer and my recommendation of where to plant it. Trees can provide shade, blooms, color, serve as a windbreak, a home for wildlife, the uses really are endless but there is not one tree that can provide all of those items. Having an idea what you want your tree to do will drastically narrow down the options. I’m looking at adding a tree to my front yard to eventually replace the Sweet Gum that is currently growing there. I want a shade tree that will also have some fall color and does not have large seeds. I do like my Sweet Gum, but the seeds are a pain. I don’t need a tree that will be fast growing because this is a long-term project but I don’t necessarily want one that is going to be extremely slow growing. Know what you want out of a tree before you buy one.
One of the most important and often overlooked parts of planting a tree is picking the right place. All too often I see large trees planted less than 10’ from a house or building and the homeowner wants to know how to prune it to keep it away from the house or the roots are causing issues with the foundation and they want to know how to solve the issue. The biggest mistake most homeowners make when planting a tree is failing to allow enough room for growth. A large tree should be at least 20’ away from a house to allow it enough room to grow during its lifetime while still providing shade for the house. Along with planting trees too close to a house, we often plant trees too close together. Trees are free spirits, give them room to grow. If the tag says a tree will get 40 feet across you should plant the next tree at least 50 feet away. That gives each tree approximately 20’ to grow toward each other and a little bit extra because let’s be honest, trees don’t read their tags and many will outgrow what the tag says in its lifetime.
My final question when picking a tree species is what is your yard like? Is your soil shallow, the yard rocky, does part of the yard hold water or does the area drain well? All of those questions factor into the type of tree you pick. If your yard tends to be slow draining, a Blue Spruce is not the right tree for you because they will drown. On the other side of the coin if your yard is rocky and has sandy soil a Willow tree is not going to be happy unless you water it constantly. It’s important to know the limitations of your yard (moisture, soil type, overhead power lines, utilities, etc) before selecting a tree to reduce your chances of having issues down the road.
As you select a tree, be sure to research what are some of the potential issues that tree could have. Silver Maples are fast growing and great shade trees, but they are also weaker because they are fast growing and often lose small branches during wind storms. American Elm trees are a semi fast growing tree that is very sturdy and long lived but you do have to contend with Dutch Elm disease. There is unfortunately no perfect tree out there but with a little bit of research and some planning you can find the tree that will be perfect for you and your yard this growing season.
Have questions? Contact our office where our Horticulture Extension Agent will assist you with questions.
Phone: (316) 321-9660
Email: callae@ksu.edu