Native Tree Suggestion

17 years ago

Hello fellow gardeners,

I am looking for native suggestions on replacing an ornamental plum(Newport) that is dying. It is in the lawn in my back yard. I am looking at something that is not too tall or wide.

Your input is appreciated.

Comments (9)

Judy_B_ON
17 years ago
Serviceberry is my favourite small native tree. White flowers in early spring, edible berries in late June, yellow foliage in the fall, attractive grey bark in the winter. Tree types get to 25 to 30 ft tall tops, 10 to 12 ft wide.
nativenut
17 years ago
Halesia (silverbell) is a favorite of mine, little white bells dangling under the branches and clear yellow fall foliage. Pagoda dogwood (cornus alternifolia) great fall color, viburnum type white blooms. Hollies or hawthorns, or a large shrub pruned up to tree form. Did you want to attract anything in particular?
NN
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I have not seen any mention of Blackgums! Beautiful, large trees with truly blood colored foliage in the fall (They also provide little blue berries for the birds!). They grow fairly quickly and are pretty tolerant of drought conditions. Something we put in last year was a Princeton American Elm. Unbelievably fast grower and was bred to have resistance to Dutch Elm disease. There really is a reason they were so widely planted as street trees and would provide high shade for your front yard relatively quickly. They are also reputed to be very tolerant of city pollution. No mention of Red Cedar, either. Grows quickly, immune to virtually everything and has a nice grayish color which contrasts nicely with the dark greens of other trees. I have mixed them into our overstory oaks/maples etc. with podocarps, firs and deodars for a nice tapestry of color and texture. They give good cover for camellias from winter burn. Any kind of magnolia does well! We have planted virtually every kind we could find and they have distinguished themselves into overstory and understory nicely over the years. The Sweet bays smell particularly wonderful and are a good open, midsized tree without too much spread. They tend to get very thin in winter, however. The Little Gems have the advantage of blooming until frost without getting overly large. American Hollies are magnificent, but are difficult to get started for some reason. Once one is happy, however, they will take off. Mary Nells or Oakleafs might be a good compromise. River Birch, of course, is incredibly fast growing and would do well in your seasonally wet areas. They have beautiful yellow leaves in Fall, nice open shade in summer and gorgeous exfoliating bark. Finally, esh had a good suggestion in bald cypresses. We have one that is always commented upon by those who come over, especially in the Fall when the needles turn golden and carpets the ground around it. A truly beautiful tree and a fast grower. As he mentioned they do well in both dry sites and wet. The only difference to my eye is speed of growth and density of needles/boughs.
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Yeah, I was going to say that too. Why plant a non-native magnolia when the Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana) is so nice? Also the Bay Laurels (Myrica) might work well too and I'm fairly certain several of them are native to your area. I have no Idea if it grows that far north, but fringe tree is another small (and fragrant!) tree that might work. Lastly, you might try one of the native witch hazels. There is a fall blooming and a spring blooming one (and the both bloom after/before almost anything else).
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Hi asonnenshine, There was a similar question posted on the Natives Plants forum a few months ago by a fellow in Orange County. I'm on the East Coast so couldn't recommend any plants from experience, but a couple of people stressed the issue of fire safety in your state when selecting native plants. The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County may be able to advise you on selecting native plants that will have the least amount of fire risk. Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County: http://www.rcdsantacruz.org/index.html They have a whole web page devoted to fire prevention in Santa Cruz County: http://www.rcdsantacruz.org/Resources/fireprevention.html The page above also has fact sheets on fire-resistant plants, as well as links to the local Fire Protection District Offices in your county. The Santa Cruz County Native Plant Society may also be of some help: http://www.cruzcnps.org/index.html Your local Fire Department may also be able to assist in selecting native plants that are fire-resistant.
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Great suggestions! First I have heard of the American smoketree. We're in southern Ohio so that doesn't typically grow in this area, so I will have to look to see if we have the right soil type. Definitely intrigued though! One that I am considering is the green hawthorn (Crataegus Viridis), often sold as "Winter King." Seems pretty tolerant of various soil types and full sun and good for wildlife, year round interest. Downside, given its name... thorns. Last fall, we did plant some of the suggested trees in other parts of the yard where there's naturally loamy soil and protection from the afternoon summer sun - carpus carolina (american hornbeam), fringe tree, franklin tree, serviceberry, and Magnolia Acuminata subcordata (a dwarf variation of cucumber tree). We'll see how some of them do in our more alkaline soil but there are lots of healthy flowering dogwoods and magnolias growing in our neighborhood, so there's hope. :)
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fairy_toadmother
17 years ago
how about an eastern wahoo, though good luck at finding it! i love them. also known as eastern burning bush, but is native. not that devil. it is also native in my area of illinois.
the fall leaf color is just awesome.

Here is a link that might be useful: Euonymus atropurpureus
ladyslppr
17 years ago
I like the above suggestions, especially the Serviceberry (aka Juneberry, Shadbush). Don't overlook Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) and Eastern Redbud. Both have great spring flowers, and Flowering dogwood provides one of the berries most favored by birds in the fall. Neither gets very large, perhaps 20 feet tall at most.
User
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for your responses. I have a serviceberry nearby. My sons and I love to eat some of the berries before the birds. I tried a Redbud in the front of my home but it only hung in for a couple years, probably not a good spot. I will look into the wahoo.(love that name!)
fiddlrs3
17 years ago
Wahoo is available through Possibility Place, in Monee south of the Chicago area, or through a cooperative agreement of theirs (and requesting through)The Natural Garden in St. Charles, which stocks some Possibilty Place trees and can sometimes arrange to have a request added to their shipment.
knottyceltic
17 years ago
Serviceberry is ALSO my favourite small tree. I have six shrubform serviceberry and the fall colour is AMAZING! Blazing Orange. You can buy it in shrubform or treeform.

Barb
shadowgarden
17 years ago
Witch hazel has interesting flowers in the winter when there is nothing else blooming. I also like dogwood but there is a fungus on them going around now I think.
nywoodsman
17 years ago
I think you may want to rethink the whole idea of a sea of grass with a tree sticking out of it as a landscaping concept.All the sugestions you got are of beautiful plants that in nature exist as part of an intwined ecosystem.Isolating them misses the point.How about decreasing the amount of turf, increasing the borders around that turf,and planting a comunity of species on the edges.

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Native Tree Suggestion

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Judy_B_ON

nativenut

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