 Mature size, adaptable to the area, adaptable to the site
conditions, color, flowering, fruit (or no fruit) and other
factors all go into choosing what to plant. Life has become more
difficult the last few years for making a selection. The top
large trees over the last 25 years have included pin oak,
seedless green ash, purple leaf plum, Bradford pear and red
maple. Let's put it this way -- there have been problems to some
degree with about everything that has become popular.Pin oaks
speak for themselves. They like really acid soil pH levels;
otherwise, they get a condition called iron chlorosis. Once
chlorosis begins, a general decline of the tree sets in. This
brings on insect problems from borers. The seedless green ash
developed decline and dieback problems in some specimens, while
those in the immediate vicinity did extremely well. Ash trees in
general aren't on many planting orders because of the emerald
ash borer. Purple leaf plum and Bradford pear took off for a few
years, but they have problems with insects and diseases as well.
Red maples have been the most widely planted trees for several
years now. They aren't perfect either. They are susceptible to
verticillium wilt, and many have developed dead trunk areas from
damage to the trunk by rodents and other injuries. There have
been so many red maples planted, we have probably set ourselves
up for large-scale problems one of these years. Just remember
the American elms. When the same species of tree is planted less
than 50 feet apart all over everywhere, a problem can go from
one to another in short order.
When selecting trees or shrubs, check out the
characteristics. There are good selection criteria pages linked
off our Web page at
www.extension.uiuc.edu/logan. Go to the
horticulture page and select from
tree
selection or
shrub
selection. You can get additional information on pests,
select by size and find out other information.
[to top of second column]
 |
 Another consideration is the susceptibility to Japanese beetles.
You can drive down any street or road and pick out the linden trees.
There are many trees and shrubs seldom attacked by Japanese beetles.
These include box elder, red maple, silver maple, boxwood, shagbark
hickory, flowering dogwood, persimmon, euonymus (all species), white
ash, green ash, holly (all species), butternut, tulip tree, American
sweet gum, magnolia (all species), red mulberry, white poplar,
common pear, white oak, scarlet oak, red oak, black oak, American
elder and common lilac. Of course, this list may not contain many
species you feel are desirable.
I have told some to consider a gingko tree, but make sure you get
a male. The fruit of the female tree will send you searching for
skunks to cover the odor. Gingko trees are prehistoric, so they have
had good survival rates. Unfortunately if everyone plants gingkos,
we'll probably develop problems with them as well.
The main points are to select trees well-adapted for your site,
plant them properly, take care of them properly and try to prevent
problems.
Good luck in your selection process.
Next week I'll go into fall care in more depth.
[Text from file received from
John
Fulton, University of Illinois Extension,
Logan County Unit] |
