wow!!!!

i would put ONE SINGLE TREE IN THAT SPACE .... the white oak.....

and skip the rest ...

ken

if i were dealing with an oak.. in my zone 5 ..... i would be planting the oak in about a month.. or after its leaves fall off ...

presuming you have a fully leafed out tree.. you are going to stress it wildly ... by planting too early ... it will struggle to maintain the leaves.. and perhaps weaken its effort to start laying down a good root mass for next year ...

is your 15 footer potted.. ball and burlap???? is it going to be dug for transplant ...????

can you put it off.. to increase your odds???

ken

Ken, the white oak will be dug for transplant.

I was told by one place that specializes in transplanting large trees that for my zone, white oaks must be in the ground by Sept. 15. The place I bought it from specializes in native trees and said it would be fine to plant next week. I would certainly put off the transplant, but this is conflicting info.

Below is a photo I took of the white oak (foreground):

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And this is the pin oak I'm considering:

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Also, curious why you'd only plant the white oak. Since I won't be around to see it in all its glory, I figure I'd plant some others to enjoy now.

Let's assume you're going to prune the apples to a miniature size (say 6' across) and a comparable height... ok. Then the gigantic Oak... that would work.

Tree #2 it seems also will need to be kept in check through pruning. Perhaps a self pollinator such as a peach or apricot or plum. (Check out this nursery for all your fruit tree needs: Willis Orchard Company never have I seen better prices and positive reviews).

The tree next to the birch needs to be extremely fastigiate (narrow). To include "native trees" in your landscaping efforts, a few trees that would fit that bill if you're willing to use cultivated trees are:
Acer rubrum Red Rocket
Acer saccharum Monumentale/Temple Upright
Liquidamber styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette'

A Pennsylvania township-website I came across said, grafted/cultivated trees are considered as natives. I'll link you to that website, below.

[Acer saccharum 'Newton Sentry' =
'Columnare'
'Erectrum'
'Sentry'

Jacobson, Arthur Lee North American Landscape Trees (1996); Ten Speed Press. ISBN:0898158133]

forestfarm carries Acer rubrum Red Rocket & Acer saccharum Monumentale/Temple Upright & Liquidamber styraciflua 'Fastigiata'/'Slender Silhouette'.
forestfarm

Dax

if you have a LOCAL expert.. who is guaranteeing his advice and the tree he is digging for you ...

then go for it ...

is he also delivering it.. and planting it????

ken

The yard does not look big enough for that number of trees. From your list, sugar maple and white oak are the most desirable. Tulip poplar and locust- presumably black locust are fine for some situations but not your situation.

So one, maybe two of those large trees and perhaps some smaller trees. I'd also skip the apple, it's not going to be a source of tasty fruit but rather a source of endless mess and flies. The birch is lovely but judging from the photos it looks too close to structure.

Lots of people do have little orchard trees... it's a possibility. The guy wants to eat apples, let him eat apples.

I too questioned the Birch and something else.... that spot is for one tree, however, I supplied the narrowest forms of others I could find, if that's what he wishes to do. He can always cut one down.

Now, to the big White oak... there are certainly much better choices. That is an enormously-fast-growing, tree. I would choose Nyssa sylvatica (or something slower-growing) or, smaller/slower-growing garden specimens such as:
Shagbark Hickory
Shellbark Hickory
Chestnut Oak - my second choice.

Best I can offer -

Dax

Hmmm, now I'm not sure what to do. The birch would be free, which is why I was kind of set on getting one of those. Would a serviceberry be good next to a birch back there? Or maybe just one tree in the back.

The white oak - this is the only definite since I already bought it. Can anyone else weigh in on the fall transplant season or growth rate? Everything I've read/heard up to this point is that the white oak is the slowest-growing of all the oaks. I'm 37 (and fairly healthy) but I didn't figure on living long enough to see it become gigantic. Am I wrong?

Apple trees? I'd really like to have them, especially since we go through about 7 lbs of apples a week. But the fly thing gives me pause now. I know someone with apple trees out on a farm and they have loads of flies, but not sure if that's the farm or the trees fault. Right now, I can eat outside on the patio with only a few flies hovering around.

because this is what do.. at the link ...

and they grow faster than you might think.. like 3 to 5 feet per year.. though it will take a few years for yours to get going at that rate based on transplant shock ....

now... isnt that about 8 times the actual size of your yard ????

as for fruit trees ... i refuse to deal with them...

you need to spray them before they leaf.. and a couple more times during the season.. if you want fruit that looks like what you get at a store .... and frankly.. by that time.. you have spent more on the cost of sprays.. and your health.. than you will ever get out of a tree ... plus.. when mature ... that first apple is glory.. but what will you do with the other 50 bushels of them that come ripe all at the same time ... unless you ahve an old-fashioned fruit/root cellar to store them in

and it would take a couple years for fruiting

get the oak in... and do whatever you want..

worse thing that happens.. you have lots of fun for a few years.. and then get rid of whatever doesnt make you happy .... lifes really to short to defer to us.. just do it.. live and learn...

GO FOR IT!!!!

ken

What Ken said about the apples.
Lots of spraying and chemicals.

White oaks are slow growing. Maybe Dax was thinking of red oak. PErsonally I would plant a red oak but white oak is probably a nicer tree. They're both nice. Chestnut is nice. Don't see many of those used in the landscape.

serviceberry is nice. You've got room for several large shrub/small trees it looks like.

If I were you - and this is just me- I would plant at least 2 trees because if something happens to one, you got the other. Not the same species either.

And I would also not plant smack dab in the center of the yard. That makes the space unusable and you never know you may want to put in a pool or something.

Forgot about the blackgum. Those are pretty trees. Drop the leaves a little early for my liking but showy fall color.

>My requirements are only that they be native to the region

Apples are not native to The US or even North America, they are from Kazakhstan.

OK, I'm actually glad I didn't get the apple trees yet. I'll put more effort into blueberry/raspberry/black bushes instead.

Also, I measured my yard. 2 squares - the back square with the pond is 20' x 20', and the big square is 38' x 38'.

I will plant the white oak on either side of what would be a driveway right up to the garage, so as to ensure no one would have a reason to cut it down.

Now I'm leaning towards giving the white oak more space and maybe even putting it in place of apple #2 to the left of the garage entrance. I do want to give it plenty of room. In the back by the pond, either a birch or a black gum, and then something like a maple where ? #2 is by the house? 2 shade trees and some smaller shrub-type trees. Would that work?

Thanks for everyone's input. I just want to get this right the first time.

The 15' white oak, a 1.5-2" black gum, and a gray birch. No apples, just those 3 trees spread out over those dimensions. would it work?

If cost isn't a problem...

Then plant what you want to plant and enjoy. Trim / Remove later as necessary.

Keep in mind also, depending on many factors, some trees will grow much more slowly than expected, some may grow faster.

I have just less than 1/2 acre. If I just counted right in my head, I have 27 trees currently planted, not counting volunteers. Including 2 weeping willows, A curly willow, a pussy willow, poplars, river birches, all the things they tell you not to plant in a residential lot. Over half are 50+ foot trees when mature.

I planted about 50 dogwood bushes last summer, now many are over 6' tall, some around 10' tall. I now have 4 Japanese Maples planted, and am planning on getting more. I also have about 60 different Hosta.

I've totally enjoyed planting these trees, most just in the past year. It is a blast to watch them grow. I am particularly fond of the weeping willow I planted right by the road in the front yard. It was a 4 foot high stick just about a year ago and now is close to 15' high by 10' wide.

It's fun. I find good deals on most of my trees, and the most expensive one was about $90 for a Autumn Blaze maple (10+ gallon pot) that was rather large - I would never buy a large one again, It is growing very slowly this year, while I watched a $10 maple (that came in a 1 gallon pot) of the same type just a short distance away grow to close to the same height as the $90 maple and grow branches like mad. At this rate, next year, the $10 tree will actually look larger than the $90 tree.

In 5 or 10 years if I have to heavily prune some trees, bonsai them, remove them, or what not, then that is the way it is.

I'm planting some sumac and a tree of heaven also (in a great big pot).

I also have over 70 trees growing in pots currently. Some will be bonsai, some I will sell, some I will plant.

If you later figure out a tree is a problem, try to remove while it is small enough you can do it. If cost isn't an issue, let the sucker grow and have it professionally trimmed / removed as necessary. I can manage pruning and removal of all but the very largest trees. I took down my 60' + dying spruce last summer with a sawzall.

I get compliments on my landscaping from strangers that walk by, on a very regular basis, though some think I am crazy with all my trees, many appreciate the beauty of it, including me.

I do vote for getting some long lived trees going if at all possible, such as the oak your speaking of. The oak is a good tree that should last more than your life time with reasonable care.

Jamie

p.s. don't plant any weak wooded trees real close to the house e.g. willow, poplar, silver maple.

and

I share ken's dislike for most fruit trees on smaller lots. Were planting some new fruit trees up north on 5 acres, which is fine on that size lot. In the city I limited my fruit trees to a single semi-dwarf cherry tree - that gets cleaned up rapidly by the birds. Thought my parents have had a apple tree in their side yard (city lot) for 20+ years with few problems, it is kind of out of the way, so the bugs don't bother them and it does need to be sprayed if you want to have good apples.

jamie, I thought norway maples stunted the growth of trees withing close proximity?

Can anyone else weigh in on whether or not I should plant the white oak at this time of year? Set to be delivered next week.

I agree with Jamie. I have a similar situation where I have a number of trees on a 7200 sq ft corner lot...not as many trees...2 River Birch next to the driveway on one side, a Coonara Pygmy Japanese Maple (standard) on the other side of the driveway and a Weeping Willow in the corner area of the front yard...plus a Heritage River Birch, a Youngs Weeping Birch, a Golden Curls Willow, Emperor I Japanese Maple, 'Diane' Larch, 2 plantings of Bamboo (contained) and Autumn Blaze Maple, all in the back yard. I bought the house 6 years ago and there was only a few Hydrangea plants in the back yard and that was it...nothing more. I have intentions of planting a little more and then removing some things as needed.

Jamie, I also got a large (18') Autumn Blaze Maple in a 15 gallon pot (somewhere thereabouts). It's been in the ground 3 summers now and it is only about 20', maybe 21'. It is the slowest growing tree I've seen. On the other hand, my Heritage River Birch was planted in January 2009 at about 8' and it is now about 13-14' and about 10' wide. Half of it's growth was the first year in the ground, the other have this year. I'll likely not plant big again.

I have defiantly heard that about the Norway maples as well. If I had the choice, I would have used a different tree than the Norway, but it is 47 years old and provides a huge amount of valuable shade.

I have dogwoods, hostas, flowers, boxwood hedges, and a poplar tree all under the canopy of the Norway. Most are in beds that are at least somewhat raised. I water fairly generously, so that may help my stuff out. There are a few plants that I am not sure are growing as well as they could be and wonder if it could be due to the norway. Overall I've had pretty good luck with stuff staying alive under that tree.

tophers:
Interesting to hear that you had the same problem with your maple. I know I loosened up / cut as necessary any bound or girdling roots prior to planting. None of the other trees I planted have had this slow growth. I planted a honey locust this same size last year, and it has grown well. It has had lots of water. I'm not sure why these larger container grown trees are having so much trouble. I'm temped to move the large maple to a less prominent location and put something else in it's place.

Jamie

Just planted the white oak in a different spot than originally planned. Nothing shading it overhead in this spot.

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