they are being planted primarily for privacy from passer-by on the road

= privacy screen in which case I would use evergreen conifers

^^ No, that's not what I want -- I want a feeling of openness, an evergreen screen would make me feel closed in. If planted down by the road, deciduous trees will screen my house quite nicely. Also, the neighbors have a lot of conifers, and they have needlecast -- I'm not about to spray every year.

We picked a linden for the scent of its blooms, red maples for fall colour, paper birches for the bark color and blue spruces for year round color. We made sure our choices were appropriate for our area (diseases & hardiness).

chestnut can be slow in MI .... pick the right one ....

i defined my tree choice .. by what i wanted to do under it ... grow hosta... so roots were a consideration ....

presuming you are just talking about lawn .... and dont really care about grass under it.. based on lot size.... the sky is the limit ... i might even not argue with maple ... lol ... its just a tree in a small park ... rather than some postage stamp lot ....

oak grow surprisingly fast out here in adrian ... 2 to 4 feet per year.. once they get going ... i believe april is the preferred planting time for oaks. in MI .... but stay away from the red oak family .... new bug on the way ... causing sudden oak death ...

5 to 6 footers.. planted bare root in 2000 are now over 30 feet ...

consider nothing MARKETED as FAST GROWING .... fast to grow.. fast to disease and bugs.. fast to die ... [exponential tree time.. lol]

ken

I am with Ken to a point - fast to grow, fast to die...but I am also a fan of smaller, short-term plantings (25-30 years) of little trees such as crabs, sorbus, amelanchiers, Chinese and Himalayan birch.Most trees grow fastest between 8-15 years (adolescence) then settle down.

Always useful to check out the locale...but I assume you already have a good idea of your local soil, but as a rule, I am looking for at least 2 good seasons out of 4 (winter bark, autumn colour, spring flowers and summer foliage...and if they can tick 3 out of 4 (amelanchiers, say) then so much the better.

I'll be dead or too close to it to care if a tree dies in 25-30 years. I want something I will enjoy and that isn't too messy or disease prone, larger trees for this side of the property.

I have a tulip tree and agree it is a lovely tree, and the blooms are really cool. I'd like to put in some serviceberry on the other side of the property where I need something smaller due to overhead lines; I've seen them in standard form in nurseries around here, they're native and readily available.

I'll be dead or too close to it to care if a tree dies in 25-30 years.

==>>> consider the alternative.. you dont have the budget in your golden years.. to remove a problem .... ergo.. plant a tree that should last 100 years ... then its definitely not your problem ...

but again... you are planting in a field.. rather than 3 feet from your house.. where a carp tree might fall on it ... trees falling in the middle of a park are not really all that much of a problem ... unless you happen to be stupid enough to be holding a golf club in a rain storm.. and standing under it.. then it was your choice.. lol ..

in our MI ... you can plant trees in early spring .. preferably dormant.. no leaves ... thru about mid april.. 6 to 8 weeks before leaf out ... time for the roots to settle and start pumping before the heat of july hits ...

or in fall AFTER dormancy ... so they have 6 to 8 weeks or more.. for root settling .. before the ground freezes ...

this double preferred planting option is a bit unique to our zone ... but the key is.. tree stuff is best done in dormancy ... you can push the envelop with perfect aftercare .... but why bother .... if you can avoid it ...

beyond all this.. you want a carefree.. no messy no problem tree ... good for you ... lol .. we have all been dreaming about that tree.. and have come to find out.. its plastic.. and usually in the lobby of a building .... its all about tradeoffs .... there is no perfect tree .. so just pick one that is close enough ...

ken

ps: how far is the planting site.. from water???

When you have a list of possibles, please choose those that benefit wildlife. I'm partial to oaks and dogwoods.

"how far is the planting site.. from water???"

A ways away. I did the haul-the-watering-can routine when I planted an "Ivory Silk" Japanese lilac last spring. Not fun, but no easier alternative -- too far to drag the hose.

or in fall AFTER dormancy ... so they have 6 to 8 weeks or more.. for root settling .. before the ground freezes ...

You meant BEFORE right?

mxk3,

Can you clarify what you mean by privacy from passer by? Do you want a low branching tree?

If so there are several species to consider like a Hybrid buckeye. Autumn Splendor would be a good choice as its usually more readily available.

i meant when the leaves color or fall off ... when it appears dormant above ground ... but we know the roots are still active.. until the ground freezes ...

drove to ann arbor sunday ... not only was his city maple dripping sap ... but the sugar maples along the road.. had their blue collection bags strapped on.. and filling ...

sooooo .. i thought of you.. and wondered how old a sugar maple would have to be to tap to make sugar maple.. and then i chuckled.. and wondered if you might be interested in maple maple syrup when your in the 70 to 80 year old range.. lol ...

since they will be out in the lawn.. and your not trying to garden under them.. these might be fun to grow ...

heavy mulch offsets the need for constant watering in the year of planting ... just keep checking it in july/august .. and water when it starts drying 3 to 6 inches down ... where the roots are ...

ken

^^ My next-door neighbors tap their trees! I'm tempted to learn how to do this, I have mature maples on my property. Not sure if they're the "right" kind for syrup, though. I did have one of them pruned in February, learned my lesson last year when I pruned too late (DIY) -- what a drippy MESS!! Enough maples, though -- want something different.

"Can you clarify what you mean by privacy from passer by? Do you want a low branching tree?"

My house sits back from the road, so you can't see into the house from down there. But, you can still see the house and property, and more than that it looks like a giant orange wooden box plopped in the middle of a few acres. So, I would just like a bit more privacy (maybe screening is a better word?), and would also like to soften the look of the house from that vantage point (which is also my view as I approach my property).