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Writer's pictureKristi Duffy

Selecting a Shade Tree for Your Landscape



Trees are my absolute favorite. Fun fact about me, I am working on getting my ISA Arborist license because I am passionate about trees and the benefits they give us. So here I will be sharing a series of posts about trees, sharing tips for selecting a tree, good varieties to consider, and proper planting for your beautiful new specimen.

First off, why plant a tree anyway? Well trees can help cool our outdoor spaces and make them more comfortable to enjoy during the warmer months of the year (good enough reason yet for living in the Central Valley?). They also help to reduce cooling costs for our homes and increase the lifespan of AC units. Trees increase our home's equity and add aesthetic value, as well as providing structure to our landscaping. Flowering tree species provide beauty and color to the landscape, deciduous trees provide fall interest, evergreen trees supply winter attraction. However, with increasingly smaller lots, we need to make sure to choose the appropriate tree species to prevent interference with solar panels, as well as power lines, sidewalks, foundations, pools, and any other hardscaping we may have. Trees can be a great asset in the landscape and provide many benefits, but we also need to consider how much litter they produce, and how aggressive their root systems are, and how much water they require. Below, I will give suggestions on what to consider when purchasing a tree to plant in your yard and in a future post, list some good species and their characteristics.

Before we get into that I want to share a few things about trees in general. First off evergreen versus deciduous? Evergreen trees are going to hold onto a majority of their leaves all throughout the year. This does not mean that they drop no leaves whatsoever. Evergreen trees will typically do most of their shedding in the springtime, though they tend to drop a few leaves all throughout the year. Evergreen trees can often have the misconception of being less messy than their deciduous counterpart, but in reality they can often produce more leaf litter as they shed year round. Deciduous means that the tree will go into a period of dormancy that includes shedding all of their leaves in the fall as the weather starts to change. The color that deciduous trees will change to in the fall depends on their species, as well as the climate and any health considerations of the tree throughout the year. You may even find that one tree can have varying shades of its color from year to year based on these considerations. 


Second, the way you irrigate your tree plays a huge role as far as how many root issues you will have in the future. Some tree species do have more aggressive root systems and I always would recommend to steer clear of those varieties unless you have a lot of space (over 1 acre lot) and it’s away from anything you want to keep roots out of. I cannot stress enough that trees should not be watered with lawn sprinklers alone. If your tree is in a lawn and it gets watered with the grass and no additional irrigation you will likely have root issues in the future even with well behaved tree species. Trees need to be watered deeply to encourage downward growth of their root systems and keep them from competing with the grass for water and nutrients. (I will share recommendations on watering trees in the future)

Third, I know everyone wants shade right away and it's hard to wait for the benefits that trees give, but the faster growing the tree is, generally speaking, the more aggressive the root system will be. The quicker the above ground portions of the tree grow the more aggressive the support and nutrient uptake system needs to be to allow for that growth. So keep that in mind if you want to create the best chance that you will not have root issues and opt for tree species with slower or moderate growth rates. Also trees that grow at a faster rate more typically are shorter lived species (an exception being redwoods). 

And finally, if you plant the right tree in the right place it will thrive in the landscape and be an asset to you. An improperly placed tree or a poorly chosen variety will be expensive and time consuming for maintenance and potentially cause the need for repairs to its surroundings and possibly even removal. A well placed tree will need less maintenance and not become a hazard in the landscape. In addition, taking care of a tree well when it is young will lengthen it’s life, be more aesthetic in maturity, and reduce the need for pruning in maturity. In the future I will share information about properly pruning trees when they are young to set them up for long term success and share tips on pruning mature trees. 


Now for the fun part; shopping for and selecting your tree. When browsing a nursery looking for a tree to plant in your yard, consider how much space you have to plant. If you are planting near a pool or patio it's best to look for trees with low litter. This can mean staying away from fruiting trees and potentially avoiding flowering trees as well. If you want to plant a tree but there are power lines nearby make sure the tree species does not reach a max height of more than 25 feet. If you have a lot of hardscaping around the area, or if the planting area is small, make sure it's a species that has a non aggressive root system and is a smaller to moderate sized tree. Also do you want shade and color in the area year round or would you like fall color and winter light? Is this a tree that is acting as a barrier or screening plant as well? Feeling overwhelmed? There is a lot to consider about the site when selecting a tree but ask yourself a few questions and it will significantly improve your satisfaction with the final choice. Before you start looking at all the different tree species at your fingertips you should have an idea first if you want it to be evergreen or deciduous, general height that the area can support, and tolerance for litter. After you have these attributes pegged down you can think about what else you want the tree to bring to your landscape. What style is appropriate and do you want flowers and if it will match what plants you have already in your landscape. It seems like a lot to ask of a plant, but trust me, there is a good tree out there for you, they are incredibly diverse.

One more quick note. In the realm of horticulture you may hear the phrase “once established” a lot and will likely hear it from nursery personnel while you pick out your tree. This means that once the plant has established a good root system. The duration of time will vary by type of plant. For trees this phrase will usually mean after the tree has been planted in its location for 5-10 years depending on its growth rate. If you are using this as a frame of reference for considering a tree drought tolerant and cutting back on the watering, be very generous with the time and give the tree a few extra years to set up a good root system. As always when changing a watering schedule for a plant, monitor them closely and make changes slowly.

I hope all this information has helped you think about what type of tree to plant in your yard if you are in the market for a new sapling. If you have any questions or need clarification about any of this information don't hesitate to reach out! You can send me a message through my contacts page or send me an email directly. Also keep checking back for the next post about good species to consider. Happy Planting!


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