Trees to Plant Question
- Thread starter bld1942
- Start date
If you're a Mid American customer, they do a shade tree program in the spring and fall where you can get trees for $30. Planting trees is very easy, but is rather tedious. Multiple how to guides on the internet.
I second the Blaze Maple. I have had dozens of trees planted on my property and there is no tree I like better than the Blaze Maple. I wouldn't have said that before I planted them as I tended to prefer a slower growing tree that can handle high winds. The Blaze Maples have grown fast, hold up great in high winds and are among the most healthy and beautiful looking on my property. A variety of trees is great, but if you are planting one you can't go wrong with the Blaze Maple. Just confirm with the nursery that it is a seedless tree. Those helicopters from my neighbors trees are a real problem when they get in my landscaping and 1000's of trees start sprouting up.
I'm thinking about faster growing shade trees, and holy cats, the pictures of this tree are gorgeous! I want that one, the one that turns orange, and the purply one. I really love maple trees
I have planted a number of trees on my property over the last 17 years. As far as fast growing trees, it is hard to beat maple trees. We planted two Autumn Blaze maples. We still have one and it is really starting to produce a lot of shade. One of the Autumn Blaze tree went down to high winds. It was about 32 feet tall at the time. I don't care what anyone says, a tree that has silver maple in its background has the potential for getting broken up by high wind.
My personal favorite shade tree is a beautiful red oak in our back yard. If you are young, plant an oak tree. Whether it be red, northern pin, heritage, or burr oak, they will make for a very sturdy tree that will last for generations.
My personal favorite shade tree is a beautiful red oak in our back yard. If you are young, plant an oak tree. Whether it be red, northern pin, heritage, or burr oak, they will make for a very sturdy tree that will last for generations.
Maybe I'll be in for trouble with winds in the future. I wasn't clear in my comments, but I was commenting on it holding up well to the recent winds that was really hard on trees. I lost a lot of branches and leaf clusters (I don't know what you call them), but my maples held up great. Mine aren't very old though. One is maybe 5 to 10 years and it was a good size tree (maybe 3") when it was planted. One or two others were planted last fall.
I've got some large old Oak trees and some 10-15 year old Swamp Oaks that I've planted. Neither the large old ones or the young ones look all that great. The old ones might be getting too old and I'm afraid that I'm going to have a big bill when their end comes. The young ones have hardly grown at all and just don't look all that great. Maybe in another 5 years or so they will fill out better and improve their looks.
I'm 61, so I admit that influence what I plant these days. It's not that I want all fast growing trees either. For many locations I like that younger look it gives your lot with slow growing trees that just don't change much from year to year. But when you need shade, which I did for my 3 season porch, you needs something that gets with the program fairly quickly. The Blaze Maple was perfect. My 3 season porch is 15 degrees cooler with the first maple. The second one planted last fall will take about 2 or 3 more years to block more of that direct sun.
Definitely not a sliver maple. Unknowingly planted one in my front yard only to discover a few years later that this was a really bad idea. Grows crazy tall and fast but has shallow roots and a weak limb structure. Not a tree to be 15ft from a driveway and 10ft from my house.
If you go with a maple tree try to find a seedless variety or you will be cussing why you ever planted it when you are picking thousands of these out of your gutters and everywhere else on your property it finds a place to annoy you with a voluntary sapling.
