tree lined driveway

13 years ago

I've read posts about tree-lined driveways but I didn't see one that 100% answers my questions, and hence I post. I just bought a 100 acre property and the house will likely go up about 2000ft from the road through a field about 300 ft wide, . I live in Canada about 200 miles north of Detroit on Lake Huron and the winters can be somewhat harsh. I won't build the house for at least 3-5 years so until then I'd like to start planting trees and I have a blank canvas to work with. The field to the house is about 25 acres and the rest is bush around the edges (native species are mostly maple, ash, ironwood, cherry, poplar, cedar, etc).....and I'm not very knowledgeable in trees so I can't give you the specifics on what type of each. I've always wanted a tree lined driveway, but I've read about the allee (although still not sure exactly what it is) and was hoping there is someone who can advise on species that are hearty to this area. The driveway will be gravel so I'm not as worried about it getting ruined. I love the red maples that are deep red all year but it sounds like they don't grow as big, and I've always loved the canopy look. I'm just looking for ideas, advice and even find pictures of long driveways to get a feel for what is possible. I'm hoping this will be an estate of sorts and would like trees that last (Oak?) even beyond my years. I currently live on 12 acres of bush with the same type of native species I mentioned, so perhaps I can save some money by digging up saplings around here. The ground is mostly clay below the topsoil. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

Featured Answer

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis

13 years ago

Sounds like you're getting a nice piece of land! Your project has me excited

One thing I always think about when planting are the "driving lanes" through my yard. Even for just my 1+acre. Occasionally I need to get equipment up the driveway, truck with trailer, truck hauling pallets to the bon-fire, do you have a propane truck which needs through?

Every so often it even comes in handy to get equipment across my yard. I have one way around in back, another in front clear of the septic.

So I leave some room. Fifteen feet would be ok, probably but you might need to prune them a bit more if you get wider spreading trees.

-Do you have any utilities likely to be dug through the yard?

-I'd temporarily fence off the row of trees to prevent construction damage. If there is a 25 foot gap between your transplants three years from now it shouldn't be difficult to miss them.

-Any grading work to be done? Get that done first. Can't be piling soil on or taking it off tree roots safely.
PERSONALLY,
I'd go with a variety of trees. Odds are even in a great spot SOMETHING will die in ten years, something else in fifteen. Everything works on odd percentages In a super formal planting row this will leave a gap.

Also, my house was largely surrounded by white ash. A beautiful tree. As Emerald Ash Borer closes in it really concerned me since at one point I owned 4 large ones. IF the previous owners had planted 1 ash, 1 sugar maple, 1 scarlet oak, and 1 black gum (nyssa sylvatica), I would have been much less concerned.

Plant fifty oak trees and you have the chance of the magic oak eating bug from China coming over and devastating the whole row. Plant twenty five and you only loose half, plant ten oaks, ten maples, etc and well you get the idea.

I'd still figure out some kind of loose pattern though and love the idea.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

poaky1
13 years ago
Burr oak is zone 3 hardy if you buy from northern sources.The red maple we have is not very wide spreading so my guess is that red maple won't give the effect you're after.I believe red oak is zone 2 or 3 hardy.Fast growing here in Pa.My 2 cents. poaky1
0
krycek1984
13 years ago
Northern Red Oak would be perfect. It is native and should grow well in that area. It is fairly long lived, and with age becomes extremely graceful and stately. Keep in mind if you need a lot of them, you can mail order them for a significant discount. They will be small, but it won't cost you a fortune.

I was thinking about maybe doing something similar. Keep in mind that you will want to lay your gravel driveway *before* you put the trees in. Trees do not react well to compaction of the soil and having tractors, dump trucks, etc. around the driveway area will irritate the oaks.

The Red Maple you speak of is not actually a red maple...it is a cultivar of a Norway Maple. Do not plant them. They are not native, invasive, and they have terrible surface root. Also, a hundred purple trees will not do justice to the natural forest in your area.

Also avoid Silver Maples and Bradford Pears.

If you aren't comfortable with the Oak, Red Maple (acer rubrum) would be an OK choice, too. They don't live quite as long, but they do grow faster. They will have more surface roots.

Digging sapplings up in the woods would be more trouble than it's worth and I've notice sapplings don't tend to do very well when removed from the forest.

I live on the shores of Lake Erie, so I am all too familiar with the clay soil you speak of!!!! :).

I'm sure the others on this board will have other suggestions and more tips.

Don't get Pin Oak though! It struggles in our area and is prone to chlorosis.
0
Related Discussions
Mullberry lined driveway?
Q
Comments (8)
The differing sizes between the mulberry and semi-dwarf fruit trees is what I was concerned about also. The driveway is gravel, and it extends from the road to a gate, after which there is another long driveway into the ranch. The first driveway is where I would put the trees. Glenn - do you already have some Illinois Everbearing trees, and if so, do you like them so far? Or are you ordering them for the first time? The type that normally grows is in KS is the Russian Mulberry. I haven't seen any of the Illinois Everbearing in person - I've only read about them. I wish I could find a semi-dwarf mulberry with large fruit!
...See More
Small trees to line driveway
Q
Comments (15)
I am not a pro, so take this for what it is worth. How about oaks interspersed with Cornus kousa? Although I love the native dogwoods, we have lost five to anthracnose in the last couple of years. I do have two Appalchian Spring that are still alive (well, we'll see if they leaf out this year!). I cannot picture a driveway lined with all evergreens (except for examples from France and Italy, but not the same look at all here), but if you do want some, they could also be alternated with the oaks and dogwoods for a natural, wide border along the drive. I would lean toward hollies in that case. Of course, this is more than your architect suggested. I agree that serviceberries are lovely, but mine has not grown very much since I planted it two years ago and it is still shrub-sized which is probably not what you are looking for along your driveway. Also agree that you want to plant the trees a decent distance away from the driveway. I think it will look lovely lined with trees.
...See More
Wood Borers Killed My Tree!
Q
Comments (3)
I'm so sorry you lost your tree, believe me I know how you feel, it happened to us, I was heartbroken as well....:-( Believe me I'm no expert, I just posted a question about Norwegian Spruces, but I'd hate to see you cut down a healthy pine tree to even up your tree line. Are there any garden nurseries around you that can locate a large pine tree and transplant it for you. Here in upstate NY, we have several tree farms that are willing to dig up a nice size tree. Your talking tractors, back hoes the works. We picked out a large birch from a tree farm when we first built our house.... they dug it up, shipped it over on a flat bed and transplanted it for us. Would you believe they gave us a years guarantee. It was a little pricey, but well worth it. It stands proud in our courtyard today. Pretty sure someone here will suggest a tree that would blend in nicely so you won't have to cut down the other tree. Your tree lined driveway is beautiful. Let us know what you decide..send a picture. Good Luck!!!
...See More
Maple trees lining driveway
Q
Comments (31)
Weeping Alaskan cedar is a full sized tree over 60' tall. Did you allow enough room for this, or are they going to overwhelm the house both physically and visually (if you are going for naturalistic will not want to be planting formal matching pairs or groups)? One I planted at the corner of my drive when I was a kid grew at least 2 ft. per year once established, some years it seemed like it might have gotten more like 3 ft. taller that year. In time it grew out over the road and began to become a bother, when I had most of the lower part of the property converted to lawn last fall the stump was something like 18 in. across - and too close to the road to grind out. Measurements of examples of the Van Den Akker clone of 'Pendula' (now listed as 'Van Den Akker' even though that is not what Van Den Akker sold it as) on a commercial site near Kirkland a few years ago produced heights of the order of 79 ft. The planting was identified as this introduction by a member of the Van Den Akker family and the measurements were obtained using a laser range finder. A section of the parking lots immediately east of the Edmonds marina has both paperbark and what look to be red - as well as some definite Freeman maples, with flame-shaped crowns - growing near one another. The former look in scale with the planting spaces and are covered in decorative bark all winter; the latter are all pokey, explosive and cement colored (except for reddish twigs) - and have been disfigured by removal of larger lower branches in an obvious attempt to keep them away from sidewalks and roads. Some of the Freeman maples are so scalped they might as well cut them down now - they are only going to get bigger and bigger, what are they going to do with them later? This post was edited by bboy on Wed, Jan 15, 14 at 14:40
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
in the US we have a govmnt dept called the soil conservation district ...

i would expect CAN to offer the same...

ours sells 2nd or 3rd year seedlings rather cheaply .... plants native for the area ...

a line of trees... is soil conservation .. per se ...

talk with some provincial experts.. IMHO ...

that all said ... as romantic as it might be... it may not be the best idea in snow load areas.... i could easily see... somewhere down the line .. you not being able to get out of your house and driveway after a great storm ....

and keep in mind .... large trees lining the driveway.. does not mean planting them right next to the driveway.. 20 to 30 feet away .. 10 meters.. might be a better idea ... eh??

ken
0
dee_can1
13 years ago
I live in Canada, too. I have an oak next to our driveway, and it drops acorns on my car, which can leave a dent. Just something to consider. I also have maples next to driveway, and it drops lots of litter - sappy stuff (I guess) in the spring/early summer; the flowers; then the 'hairy-looking stuff' attached to the seeds; then, of course, millions of maple seeds (helicopters); oh yeah, and bird droppings from birds who perch in the trees.

I have to say though that although there is mess involved with the trees so close to the driveway, they do provide shade. My neighbour just cut down a lot of trees, and now my car gets quite a bit of sun, which I'm not too happy about either. lol - can't win.
0
singsanctus
13 years ago
My only concern would be how the building of the home may affect the trees. If you get very small ones, would large trucks run them over? Would trees get "scraped" branches from construction trucks driving by, etc. You might see if you can have a temporary "construction" entrance aside from the driveway if the land permits.

I'll 2nd laying your drive before planting the trees!
0
krycek1984
13 years ago
Ken - I would say that 15' from either side of the drive would be adequate, especially if it's a gravel drive. Why 20-30'?
0
lucky_p
13 years ago
toronado makes a very good point. Here in my town, pin oak(Q.palustris) has been planted - almost to monoculture status, over the past 40 years - as 'street trees'lining major thoroughfares, and almost every new home built in the last 30-40 yrs has either a pin oak or a callery pear in its yard. All here know the problems Bradford and its ilk bring to the table, but no one foresaw the double whammy of heavy infestations of horny branch & stem gall wasps and bacterial leaf scorch decimating the pin oaks planted all around town. Nice 30-50 year old pin oaks filled with galls that functionally girdle the branches, disfiguring the tree, and eventually starving out the root system. Some of these trees take 5-10 years to reach the point of death or necessity of removal, but they're dying and being removed with increasing frequency.

I like the idea of mixed plantings - I've got about 1000 ft of gravel drive; half is lined by alternating northern red oaks and pecans, the other by various bur oak & bur oak hybrids. A wide, low-lying area also hosts an assorted planting of pawpaws, mayhaws, a couple of select hickories, and some redbuds on the better-drained edges.
Initial spacing of the large mature size oaks was initially 30-35 ft, 15 ft off the edges of the drive; the northern red oaks just 'sat there' for nearly 10 years(planted as 4 ft bareroot trees 2-3 yr old, and I'd largely given up on them, so I interplanted the grafted pecans between, with plans to take out the oaks once the canopies began to crowd - and will probably still follow that plan - but once I put in the pecans, the oaks 'took off' and really started growing.
Even at 30-35 ft spacings, after 15 years, some of the bur oaks have attained sufficient size that it's getting to be a tight squeeze to get large/long vehicles, like the semi-loads of hay we buy in for the cattle, through some of the gaps to make their way to the unloading area, as canopies expand.
0

tree lined driveway

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis

Comments (8)

poaky1

krycek1984

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

dee_can1

singsanctus

krycek1984

lucky_p

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US