There is no tree worth growing, that grows 4' to 5' per year.
Mike

Ditto. Something that's going to grow that fast will most likely be short-lived, brittle, trashy.
Half that rate is reasonable for a great number of really GREAT trees.
Most of my bur oaks, and some of the bur oak hybrids, routinely grow 1.5-2 ft/year, as do pecans. They'll be there 'for the long haul', and won't be falling apart in less than 100 years.
Tulip poplar and sycamore are fast-growing, but neither gets my vote for a specimen tree for a small residential yard. The sycamore, in particular, is best when viewed, in its splendor, from a half-mile or so away (IMO).

While most folks avoid walnuts due to concerns of juglone impacting ornamental plantings within its rootzone, the heartnut - J.ailantifolia var. cordiformis - and its hybrid with the native butternut, the buartnut, make a really nice, fast-growing, spreading shade tree, with less juglone production than the eastern black walnut.

There are oaks, as stated, that will grow at a decent rate. And some of the worthwhile maples will too.

I can get about that growth rate (2-3') with an established liriodendron, but as said above, for a smaller yard, tulip trees aren't really the best choice. The heartnut or a hybrid might well be a good choice for you.

Unless you are spending big bucks for a big tree, and will look after it really well for the first few years, you can't really get instant shade. You will have to wait on almost any tree that you want to look at 5-10 years down the road. However, don't let that caveat stop you from planting a tree - shade at some point is a lot better than never getting shade because you never bothered to plant a tree.

What sort of tree are you looking for? I think the question has been asked before, but to clarify your thoughts and to narrow down the suggestions you get, do you want an evergreen or deciduous tree? How tall and how wide a tree do you want? Do you want flowers? Do you want fall color? Do you care if it is a bit messy, dropping branches now and again/after every heavy wind?

I think, giving the size of my backyard would help as well. My backyard is 78' x 79'. I have already bought 1 River Birch, 3 Blackhaw virbinum and 6 Lilac.

My wife is looking for tree that has dense leaves like the Maplesa. A real shade tree. About the height, maybe 30 to 50 ft after 10 years would be really nice. But of course, if there is a tree that we can early benefit from like 5 years, that would be better. I'm thinking of getting a maple again but it's very common.

I already bought the Elm tree but when I saw the appearance, I canceled my order. And yes, if it flowers, that's a real plus. I heard that Dogwood aren't good here in IL. The reason I like Maple is because of it's color during fall. I think, it's like orangey red or scarlet red.

And also about the growth rate, I'm no longer concerned after you guys have explained to me. :)

By the way, I saw the sycamore in google. My first impressions: giant, massive and scary. Hehehe!

So yeah, please give me a list of real good shade trees since I'm going back to the nursery this weekend.

Thanks guys for giving time to my post. :)

Here's another choice. Yellow poplar, also called tulip tree. It's one of the tallest eastern hardwoods and has a beautiful pyramid shape. Very clean tree-very few fallen branches each spring. About 6 years ago I planted a 6" seedling and it's already about 7' tall. Very long-lived tree-250 to 300 years. As it matures, get tulip shaped flowers on it. Also has very unusually shaped leaves on it.

If a good choice for our region (I don't live far from you), based on what you've said might be the x Freeman hybrid maples. I would recommend one in particular called 'Celebration.'

I have had this one for ten years and it is now a thirty footer from a five-gallon stripling when I planted it. Nice shape, good orange color, good branching structure and NO seeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: More information about 'Celebration'

Green-zeus, the tulip tree (Liriodendron) was mentioned in my post and by Lucky P - we both said it might be too big for a small suburban yard. I have them, both native and planted, and love them, but they are BIG trees, as well as fast growing. They do also drop branches, after a certain age, from high wind, or at the least, mine do so. I think they are better suited for country, or nearly so, sites, certainly larger areas than the typical housing lot.

Do some research on the various maples out there - many of them are common in culture, and many have good autumn color - the spring color of flowers and new leaves isn't too shabby on a couple of them as well. Despite what some will say - I would avoid any trees of silver maple or Norway maple ancestry (on reading the info on the Freeman 'Celebration', I might make an exception...). The one tends to be weakly branched and to have major surface roots, and the other has surface roots that stop ANYTHING from growing under it, plus it reseeds even more freely than most maples do. There are a number of red maple and sugar maple cultivars that should give you what you and your wife want. Just be sure to check out the eventual mature height and spread, maybe Google for images, and you can always ask here, again.

There are oaks with colorful fall foliage as well, so don't count them out. Some are also pretty fast growing, belying oaks' reputation for being slow-growers.

That said, it sounds like you don't want a huge tree, nor one that gets to be huge, so do keep an eye on eventual height at maturity. 40-60' is probably OK, if on the big side, but anything maturing to over 75' will, I think, totally overwhelm the site and the house, given enough time. You can, given you probably won't still be there, ignore this idea, and plant whatever you want, leaving any future problems for the future (owner[s]).

what kind of soil do you have? if it's not too alkaline a northern red oak might be a good fit, it's a beautiful shade tree (the foliage is outstandingly cool), nice fall color & one of the fastest growing oaks.

carterobrien,

Thanks for mentioning the oak tree. I fell in love with the Northern Red Oak when I saw pictures at images.google.com. That's the tree my wife has been looking for. Actually, both of us have been weird lately when we drive the area and other areas as well. LOL. We spot/pinpoint to a tree then we start talking about it. Then we decide if we want to buy it, then we daydream where to put it, then we argue with the location. LOL. Hahaha!

Buy yeah, I would like to really have one of those. I actually have an issue now as to where I will put my Sunburst HoneyLocust. Found out that Sunburst have shallow roots and that it's not ideal to plant it close to the patio. What about this Northern Red Oak, is it bad to plant this close to the patio around 10 to 12 feet away?

Thanks again!

it's a big tree to be sure, but I'd think that would be far enough away from a patio as far as root upheaval (assuming the patio is substantial and not just bricks sitting in the dirt).

I planted one only a few feet from a patio, but I put the patio in myself and it's 18" of compacted limestone, sand and pavers. if the tree still wants to upheave it down the road, I'm cool with that & will change the patio to suit the tree.

it will have a massive canopy, so do keep in mind how close it will come to your house.

I have a red oak over my patio. It drops pollen and catkins in the spring and large acorns on the fall. There will be times where it may make your patio difficult to use.

Very true, that doesn't bother me but it is good to know up front!

so from the main trunk where the flare is, how far(in feet) is it from the edge your patio?

There will be times where it may make your patio difficult to use.>

In what way it will be difficult? I'm sorry, I've never seen an oak tree in person.

Also, there is another huge tree that my wife loves. We have noticed this tree is always dark red/maroon all year. The leaves resemble like that of maple. It's very dense, rounded and wide too. What could be it?

Thanks folks!

I live in SW Michigan, not too far from you. Red Oaks are awesome trees. Never have had any problems with drought issues, pests, weird stuff etc and they do well in our climate. They do grow very fast when young and are tough. Really nice fall color and the leaves (at least on ours) do drop in the Fall. (My wife loves Oaks but doesn't like the dead leaves on the tree all Winter thing like some Oak species do.) We just planted a 12' Red Sunset Maple too which is quite a fast grower and have heard nothing but good things about these Red Maples. However, I can't give a good recommendation yet because it's just too new. They do have gorgeous silver bark and pretty red "flowers" in the Spring and brings a beautiful "formal" look if you would like it as a specimen tree.

Someone id'd my maple which is in front of my house and they told me it's a Red Maple. Is Red Maple the same as Red Sunset Maple? And also since I'm new to trees, what did you really mean by specimen tree?

I am answering v1rtu0s1ty 's question...
"Also, there is another huge tree that my wife loves. We have noticed this tree is always dark red/maroon all year. The leaves resemble like that of maple. It's very dense, rounded and wide too. What could be it?"

Sounds like you are looking at the variety of Norway Maple that is called 'Crimson King Maple. Since you said it has maple like leaves, it cannot be a Purple European Beech.

Other fast growing trees that give good fall color are:
Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum
Red Maple - Acer rubrum
White Ash - Fraxinus americana
Scarlet Oak - Quercus coccinea

"Ok, I would like to seek advice as to what fast shade tree I can grow in Northern IL? I was hoping the growth rate that treeguy mentioned which is 4 to 5 ft per year."

Cucumbertree Magnolia - Magnolia accuminata
English Oak - Quercus robur
Pin Oak - Quercus palustris
Red Oak - Quercus rubra
Sawtooth Oak - Quercus acutissima
there are more, but these are strong wooded with proper training. Most trees will grow faster with proper fertilizing and watering.
~ Gerry

Maybe it's wise to think about maples in this setting--their roots go everywhere. Are big offenders when it comes to them getting into older sewer lines or into a leach bed. I love maples too but in an urban setting, you have to be a little careful.

This is true about maples... Plus they procreate heavily so you will have copious volunteer seedlings to deal with...
Speaking from experience,
~ Gerry

oh, so regarding roots, 800-JULIE marked the parts were we should put tree or plants. The spot were we would like to put the shade tree is like 10-to 12 feet away from the main trunk. I remember, the color of the paint the guy put was color red and orange. The small flags that I see right now are colors red and orange.

"so from the main trunk where the flare is, how far(in feet) is it from the edge your patio?"

4 feet. closer than is ideal, but in Chicago proper space is at a premium, I want the tree's canopy/shade/privacy enough to outweigh any potential problems with the patio (I can always manipulate the patio as its composed of individual pavers, not a big slab of cement that will crack).

and I'm not concerned about acorns, they are great sources of food for wildlife, a broom will get out of my immediate hair anyway.

I love maples and have a red sunset, but I wouldn't put one that close to a patio just in case there are surface root flare ups, although the jury seems to be out on whether this is really a widespread issue. I also think samaras would be more of a hassle than acorns on a patio.

Wow, this post is going in 15 directions at once. My ADD is kicking in! :) To answer your question (about 10 posts ago) a Sunset Maple is a type of Red Maple. So yes, it is the same species that is in your front yard. Growers have tweeked the wild Red Maples to have faster growth, prettier color in the Fall,longer lasting color, more intense color, earlier or later color changing, etc. etc. A bit like Gerraniums at the greenhouse. Different colors, the tendency not to be woody, etc. but still Gerraniums.The same with Apple trees for example. Lots of different types, but still Apples. And admittedly, a lot of this is to sell more Maples. Other varieties or cultivars of Red Maples are "Autumn Blaze", "October Glory", "Pacific Sunset" and so forth. If you choose this tree do a google search or see pics at your local nursery. Please forgive the jargon "specimen tree". It is just a name for your "centerpiece", most eye catching, or the one you're most proud of tree in your yard. The nurseries have a ton to choose from, it was so fun to pick ours out this year. Admittedly, we did it based on the shape and health of the tree, not the cultivar. With Summer coming on, I might recommend waiting to plant in the Fall though. Or if you do it, do it soon!