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Trees for Shade, Shelter, Flowers or Fruit

Selecting a tree (like most garden plants) depends largely on what function you want it to perform.  You may want its high, broad branches to form part of a wall, screening an unwanted view, cutting the force of the wind, or simply providing shade.  Whatever your reason, you should study a tree’s growth habits carefully before making a final choice.  If you want a tree primarily for summer shade you should consider one that loses its leaves in winter, letting through sunlight on cold days.  If you want a tree for a screen or windbreak, study the various types of evergreens whose foliage will protect you for the entire year.

 

Above all, don’t fall prey to the impulse of many gardeners and choose a tree just because it brings back fond memories of another period in your life.  For example, you may have happy memories of enjoying the shade under an elm, but, in your area, Dutch elm disease may be a problem.

 

Choosing Your Tree

 

Before choosing a tree, be sure to consider its ultimate height, and how long it will take to reach that height.  Don’t ever buy a tree thinking that you’ll cut off the top if it grows too high; you will quite likely be very disappointed with the resulting shape.

 

Another point to consider is whether you should buy a tree that has a head start in growth or one that is still tiny.  The type of tree will dictate what you should buy.  For example, most fast growing trees should be planted when they are very young plants.  If they remain in a nursery can too long, their roots may be severely damaged.  (This principal does not apply to fully mature trees that are dug from the ground by tree movers and then replanted on your property, or to large balled and burlapped trees that you can buy.)

 

Large Shade Trees

 

Ideally, a large shade tree should permit a lawn beneath it, should give a high foliage canopy, and should provide some shade within 2 or 3 years after planting. No matter what large tree you choose, don’t expect it to be free of certain shortcomings.  The professional may consider that the maple is too large for most gardens (it has a greedy root system), or that the ginkgo is too slow and erratic to grow.  However, if you want one large, magnificent tree in your garden, an invasive root system may not be a prohibitive factor if you have the yard space to accommodate it.

 

Medium or Small Shade Trees

 

Your choice of a medium or small shade tree should be dictated by the amount of litter it produces throughout the year, how much you can depend on its growth size, and whether you’ll be able to walk under it without doing a lot of difficult pruning to get the headroom. You can direct growth of the tree into the form you want by pinching out tips of branches at low levels.  Remove lower branches in the third or fourth year when the head of the tree is large enough to take over growth.

 

Trees for Sun, Wind, and Privacy

 

To achieve protection from sun or wind, or to provide a screen for privacy, choose a tree that has a low branching or weeping tendency.  The windscreen should be 12 feet or higher; it will work best if it filters rather than blocks the wind.  Many gardeners grow screen trees close together in a row, and top them at the desired height. In mild climates of the West, medium-sized species of eucalyptus make exceptionally fine screen trees. Dense branches may break in wind.  Thin to open holes.

 

Buried trunk may rot.  Make a wooden well to let air in.