I've been researching wind resistant trees. I disagree on beech. They are rated as very wind resistant by most sources, and are among my favorite trees.

Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) is supposed to be very wind resistant and have great Fall color. It has super-strong cross-grained wood and among large native trees is considered second only to sugar maple for fall color. It grows slowly, so you are going to have a long wait for it to match the sycamore in size.

American Persimmon is wind resistant, although not long lived. Since they come in male and female, you can get a male if you think the fruit are too messy. Decent yellows.

White oak (Quercus alba) is also wind resistant. Most oaks are pretty wind resistant, but they have acorns of course and are inconsistet when it comes to Fall color...White Oak is one of the ones that gives you your best chance of good red color and one of the longest lived oaks.

Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) is one of the few fast growing trees that is very wind resistant and long lived. Decent yellows in Fall.

I'd say Baldcypress or Tupelo are your best bets, based on what you say you want.

Birches are prone to pests when grown in warm climates...they are so gosh darn pretty people keep planting them in inappropriate areas. In zone 5 they should be fine as long as you avoid one of the non-native white birch. Still short lived as trees go though, and not a really large tree.

Take a look at Gymnocladus dioicus (Kentucky coffee tree). I have a large one in my woods and it's beautiful. Look for male cultivars to avoid the seedpods.

I also like Ed's suggestion of Nyssa sylvatica, with its horizontal branch structure. In fact, I bought one this year for my property! I've looked at fall pix posted by others and I am really jazzed to see the fall color...

There used to be a big sycamore tree there, but the strong winds snapped the tree right near its base.

==>>> there was no rot associated with this .. i just cant believe it would fall over.. just because of wind ...

ken

Amer sycamore has tough wood & is very wind resistant, at least the living wood. As with most trees, dead wood can be taken down by strong winds.

Have you considered a disease-resistant Elm? There are several out there and I wouldn't be afraid to plant one. Ulmus 'St Croix' is a pure American Elm, with the ortet tree found growing in a small community outside the Twin Cities. It was tested by the U of Minnesota for DED resistance and put into production by Bailey's Nursery. I intend to plant one in a woodland opening created by Oak Wilt.

Betula lenta can make for a very nice specimen if you can meet its basic cultural requirements. It is not as susceptible to borers as the more sought out Paperbark, but maybe in your area there are disease issues I'm not aware of. In any case, I'd explore it further and not dismiss it based on a few negative comments. It has a graceful habit, interesting cherry-like bark, and the fall color is a very nice gold, which I think is better than Ginkgo.

Speaking of Ginkgo...

maackia, how's the fall color on that elm? I agree with you on the birch fall color which seems to last for a relatively long time.

I would go with an oak. Maybe willow oak or white oak. Without your hardiness zone I cannot make detailed suggestions.

I haven't been able to find the mother tree, which grows in Afton, MN. The few clones I've seen at nurseries are pretty typical of the species. Decent, but not great (yellow-gold with brown mottling).

Logan, last sentence states z5a upstate NY.

Oh, oops.

Well, my suggestions should work.

My parents live near the coast and have American Linden (basswood) that have thrived in a very windy environment that has destroyed other trees. Tidy trees with no Fall color to speak of...not huge. Somewhat prone to minor insect problems

Willow Oak is somewhat borderline in Zone 6...wouldn't trust it in Zone 5. Most oak are pretty wind resistant, but willow oak less then most. I would second the white oak suggestion.

In this situation, an oak would be best. There are many native oaks with beautiful fall color that would fit perfectly. Red oak (quercus rubra), White oak (quercus alba), etc, should work here.

Wow, so many good suggestions! The tupelo tree looks amazing. I'm surprised I've never heard of them. Unfortunately, after a quick check online, it seems none of my local nurseries carry them. I'll have to do some hunting for one.

In the event that I don't find one, it's good to hear that yellow birches shouldn't be too susceptible to pests in my area and that an American beech shouldn't be that likely to tip. The Kentucky coffee tree is also a nice looking tree. I definitely will have some pretty good backup options!

As far as my old sycamore, I have read that some sycamores are prone to rot in the base of their trunks, sometimes so bad that the whole bottom of the trunk becomes hollow. I didn't notice that in mine, but there definitely could have been some dead, soft wood in there. Combine that with my super windy hillside field, and it's no wonder it tipped.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the suggestions. If anyone has anything else, feel free to mention it!

The big drawbacks to tupelo (aka Black Gum) is they grow slow and don't take well to being transplanted. Beech have similar problems. Makes commercially growing and selling them a nuisance. Most good nurseries can probably order them.

River Birch is probably the most disease resistant birch.

Sycamore grow fast...most trees that grow fast have somewhat weak wood.

While both yellow birch and American beech are great trees, and while both are reasonably pest-free, depending on where you are, both are forest species, shade-tolerant, and unable to come up in open, sunny field conditions. Yellow birch in fact only ever comes up in the woods from seed that lands on rotten stump or log, never soil. It just doesn't work that way-yellow birch is a denizen of deep, moist forests, not windswept hillsides. Same is true of beech. Great trees, just very unlikely to be suitable for this job. I'd be looking at things like bur oak, swamp white oak, Schuette's oak, etc. Wonderful stand-alone trees.

I'll agree w/maackia that cherry birch (B lenta) is a very nice and underutilized tree -- mature trees are IMO aesthetically superior to river birch as the foliage is denser & doesn't yellow in mid-summer. Some nice specimens along the stream near my lot. In hotter climates it appreciates some shade and moist, cool soil.

wisconsitom: There is a difference between where something will spring up naturally and where you can plant a larger specimen. I've seen happy looking beech in generic suburban locations...I had thought it was fine if it got through the first few years. Was I incorrect in this assumption? Would Tupelo have similar problems?
The OP already has some red oak and wants something "different" and with good fall color.
You know more about native trees then most people on this forum...do any of the other suggestions sound good?

I'm also surprised you didn't suggest Norway Spruce.

The Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia Glyptostroboides) might be an option. This wouldn't be a northeastern US native tree but would look nice and I don't think would be out of place. They withstand strong winds, tolerate clay soil, have nice rust-orange Fall color and will grow quickly to replace your lost tree. I would probably plant a small grove to protect from lightening if you have the space.

These 3 are growing nicely in New York:

Not in New York but shows Fall color potential:

That's a fair point Ed, and one which I was thinking about just now; Indeed, while a yellow birch or an American beech would never......and I really do mean never...come up in such an area, a human-planted tree may still succeed. Thus, we do occasionally see a beech in a yard somewhere, perhaps doing OK. Likewise, it is true-right down the street from me, someone long ago did exactly that and planted a yellow birch in their yard. The tree grew quite large. So yes you are correct Ed.....while neither of these species would come up on OP's hill there in a million years, he may still achieve success by planting one!

Yeah Norway Spruce! Few cases in my brain where this tree couldn't do some good! Big things, they really take up space and they really grab the wind and slow it down. These are legacy trees. You don't plant a Norway spruce as a temporary planting; They will outlast you and all of your kids.

Tom, I think you may be confusing B. alleghaniensis (Yellow Birch) with B. lenta (Cherry Birch). Neither likes hot & dry conditions, but Cherry Birch would be more tolerant of open, full sun than Yellow Birch. Cherry Birch may not be ideal for the OP's site, but of these two birches, it would be the more likely to succeed.

If you are set on the tupelo, why not plant a tupelo and a willow. The willow will grow quick and provide shade, and by the time the willow dies the tupelo will be mature. Also, 'wildfire' tupelo is an interesting cultivar.

Why not try a burr oak? They are massive, strong, long-lived trees. They don't have vivid fall color, but they are a gorgeous tree. As second choice, I do like the black gum.

Theres' just nothing about this that suggests "foresty" types.....it seems to me that what is needed here is a classic savanna-type oak. That is the most fitting here. Sure, many, many trees can work here, but when I see talk of this birch versus that birch....all is beside the point; this is an extremely open, windswept site. Insisting on only working with inner forest type species strikes me as going down the wrong path immediately. You want stand-alone tree types here. When you say yellow birch, you're talking about one of my very favorite trees, but just because I love the species doesn't mean i'm going to advocate for it where it is not likely to do well. This just doesn't strike me as a suitable location for beech, yellow birch, nor would I suggest hemlock, another tree more suited to cove-like situations. Do as thou wishest, but if it were me, I'd be considering things other than our most shade-tolerant mesic forest species.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/227658994_fig4_Figure-1-Distribution-of-Metasequoia-fossils-plotted-on-palaeogeographical

It is somewhat debatable but you are not wrong if you say Metasequoia was native to North America

Thats a tall order that you have there!

Doesn't get that large but this is by my favorite elm. It has a consistent rich burgundy fall color. Sometimes purple.

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Newintro/frontie1.html

That thing is interesting for sure. I wish it was more full-sized at maturity, although if you read between the lines, it appears as though the folks that introduced this cultivar aren't too sure about ultimate size yet. The growth rate indicated does not look like a dwarf plant. Not a fan of small-leaved elms myself...too much like Siberian elm for my tastes, but yeah, red foliage! It will sell.

If I lived in a place where tulip tree would work I would have planted one yesterday.

wisconsitom: The "OP" said he has red oaks and doesn't want anything that looks too similar. And he'd prefer good fall color or evergreen. What "savanna type" trees fit those criteria?

It's near a horse pasture. Honeylocust are way over planted, but if he planted a species female that produces pods, the horses would like it...

Any savanna tree can have "fall color". I disagree with those who don't consider orangey-tawny-tan to brown as colors. But indeed, if he doesn't want similarity to red oak....and if those white-oak-group members I mentioned do look too much like red oak to this person...then yes that could be a barrier. I sure don't care one way or another.

Tom, its a fairly fast grower. Not nearly as fast or large as some of the Elms out there. Its also not as vase shaped, which I personally don't like as much.

There is an old one at Chicago Botanic Gardens, likely planted around the time the plant was released unless they trialed it prior to release.

It had closer to a 30' wide crown.

The one I had roughly a 9' wide crown. Likely 5 year old b&b plant and then 3 years in the ground.

If I had to chose 20 or so trees for zone 5, this one would be on the list.

Thanks whaas. I may have a smaller-tree situation coming up in a year or so.......as two old "Canada red cherry" finally finish dealing with black knot, gummosis, and general cruddiness. That could be ideal.