Several University websites offer assistance in selecting and describing
trees.
The
For additional pictures and descriptions we suggest the
The
http://www.iowalivingroadway.com/NativePlants.asp
Use this link to return to the Jo Daviess SWCD homepage
Brief Tree Packet
Descriptions from Jo Daviess SWCD
Evergreens click
here for a direct link to the UW evergreen tree page
Colorado Blue Spruce: A closely
branched pyramidal evergreen prized as a specimen tree in landscape plan or
commonly used for windbreaks.
Relatively
slow growing but will reach a mature height of 60-80 ft. with a spread of 25-30
ft. Prefers rich well-drained soil but
will tolerate
some wetness.
Norway Spruce: The most
reliable windbreak tree. Fast growing and tolerant of poor soil conditions including shallow
or wet soils.
Mature height is 50-70 ft. with a spread of 25-30
ft. Pyramidal shape
with lower branches drooping downward.
White Spruce: Similar to
the Colorado Blue Spruce in appearance and growth habit but has shorter needles
that have a whitish tinge.
Use in windbreaks or ornamental. Prefers well drained soil and tolerates
shading.
Balsam Fir: Pyramidal foliage that is
dark green on the surface to silvery white on the lower surface. Has an attractive purplish
cones,
and can be a good ornamental and Christmas tree. Prefers normal to well drained soils. Has a slow growth rate and reaches a height
of 50-60ft.
Concolor Fir: This slow growing tree exhibits blue-green needles up to
3” in length and has a zesty tangerine fragrance. Good for ornamental
or Christmas tree because of its striking
foliage and good needle retention. prefers well drained fertile soil and reaches a height of 70-90 ft.
Douglas Fir: Fast growing tree with magnificent dark green needles
radiating in all directions from the branches.
Good for ornamental or
Christmas tree because of its excellent
response to shearing. Also, prefers well drained soil and reaches a height of 60-80 ft.
Fraser Fir: Shiny green, pyramidal
foliage that is lighter on the underside.
Has delightful fragrance and attractive purplish cones.
Good ornamental and Christmas tree that prefers
well drained soil and reaches a height of 40 ft.
American Arborvitae: Also called Northern White Cedar. Fern-like evergreen leaves and tall narrow
growth habit.
May reach 50 ft. height with a
spread of 10-16 ft. Fast growing and does well in wet soils but will
tolerate dryer sites.
Plant 5 to 10 ft. apart for a
windbreak or screen. Especially useful where
space is limited. May be sheared annually for a hedge.
White Pine: A fine needled pine for
Christmas trees, landscaping or as part of a windbreak planting. Prefers deep, well drained soil but
will tolerate some wetness. Fairly shade tolerant with a fast growth rate
and attains a height of 50-80 ft. with a spread of 20-30 ft.
Tends to lose lower branches as
it matures reducing its effectiveness as a windbreak.
Red Pine: Fast growing pine tolerant to
dry, shallow to rock soils. Needs full sun and well drained soil. Mature height 60-70 ft.
Distinguished by its long, dark
green needles. Used for wildlife plantings, ornamental and
Christmas trees.
Deciduous click
here for a direct link to the UW large deciduous tree page
Black Cherry: Fast
growing with lustrous dark green leaves that turn yellow to red in the
fall. White flowers in May with edible
red fruit.
Valuable timber tree, great for wildlife. Mature height of 50-60 ft.
Black Walnut: Excellent for wood production or wildlife
plantings. Plant in
fertile well drained soil.
Prune as
needed and manage properly for veneer, lumber and nut production. Mature height 75 ft.
White Oak: Slow growing, majestic,
broad-rounded form. Prefers full sun and well drained soil.
Mature height 50-80 ft. with a spread of 50-90 ft.
Plant for reforestation or as a large, long lived shade tree. Acorns desirable to
animals.
Red Oak: One of the fastest growing
oaks. Makes an
excellent shade tree or plant for lumber, veneer and firewood.
Acorns provide food for wildlife. Prefers well drained soil
and full sun. A
large long lived tree with mature height 75 ft. and spread of 50 ft.
Sugar Maple: Ideal shade tree because of its dense and
round growth habit. Does best in well
drained deep soils and is shade tolerant.
Largest native maple attaining a height of 60-120 ft. Fall color of scarlet to yellow.
Tulip Poplar: This fast growing tree has dark green
uniquely shaped leaves that turn yellow in the fall. The tulip shaped flowers are
greenish-yellow with an orange spot at the base and make excellent honey
if used with bee hives. This tree needs
full sun, moderately
moist well drained soils, and can reach a
mature height of 200 ft.
This is a new tree for 2007. Our nursery supplier in
Golden Raintree: Fast
growing, handsome tree. Showy yellow
blossom in midsummer, followed by an attractive yellow-brown fruit in
late summer. Prefers
full sun and attains a height of 25-30 ft. with a spread of 20 ft. Tolerates drought and wind, but tends to have
weak wood.
Not always winter harder in
Shrubs click
here for a direct link to the UW larger shrub page
Red Osier Dogwood: Multiple
stem shrub reaching a mature height and spread of 6 to 8 ft. Red twigs provide color both summer and
winter.
Produces
white flowers in the spring and berries for wildlife food in the fall. Use as an ornamental or as a border
planting.
Tolerates shade and wide range
of soil conditions.
Silky Dogwood: Similar to
Red Osier Dogwood but faster growing and less compact. Provides both food and cover for game birds
and other wildlife. Often used to stabilize lower slopes of streambanks. Produces white flowers with
berries remaining until early fall.
Grows to a height of 8-12 ft.
American Cranberry: Fast
growing, dense, broad, round and spreading shrub that is tolerant of sun or
partial shade.
White-Pinkish flowers in May and June with red
fruit in August. Mature height of 8-12
ft. with a spread of 8-12 ft.
The dense growth form provides good nesting or
cover for birds and small mammals. Fall
color is red.
Nankin Cherry: Attractive shrub that grows
to 15 ft. Tolerates
extreme heat or cold.
One of the first shrubs to
blossom in the spring with pink buds that open into white flowers.
Produces
edible cherry and has an orange-brown bark in the winter. Good as ornamental and wildlife shrub.
Ninebark: Fast growing, loose spreading deciduous shrub with
shreddy bark.
Does best in full sunlight and is relatively free from diseases.
Flowers
pink to purplish in flat top clusters from May to July. Fruit resembles a bellow and persists through
winter. Grows to a
height 3-10 ft.
Red Bud: Medium rate of growth, with
round foliage. In mid April the buds swell to
produce a small but showy red flower.
It has a unique branch and leaf pattern provide
interest throughout the year. An understory tree that prefers moist, rich soils and
does well in partial shade.
Attains a height of 25-30 ft. with a spread of 12-20 ft.
Sargent Crabapple: Low dense shrubby tree which branches to the
ground with a medium growth rate. Valued
for low height and spreading form.
Attains height and spread of
6-10 ft. Prefers full sun and produces white flowers
with wine-red berries. Has a yellow to
orange fall color.
Weigelia: Medium rate of growth. Has a rounded maturity at 4-6ft. and likes
full sun.
Has dark green leaves with white margins and
produces a bell shaped dark pink flowers with pale pink-white interiors.
Nice shrub to attract hummingbirds.
Bird and Butterfly
Packet
Butterfly Bush: Perennial
root that in late spring quickly develops into a 3-5 ft. shrub. It is highly recommended by our nursery
supplier for its lightly
scented flowers that
attract butterflies. It produces tiny dark purple flowers in
long dense trusses.
Rosa Rubrifolia: Medium rate
of growth. Has a rounded maturity at
4-6ft. and likes full sun. Has reddish
purple foliage, produces pink flowers,
and
round 1/2” red fruit.
Rose of Sharon: Slow to medium growth habit; upright somewhat
vase-shaped, with showy flowers (various colors) in late summer.
Tolerates city conditions and holds foliage
till late fall. Mature height of 10-15
ft. and spread of 6-10 ft.
Trumpet Vine: A good hanging plant with leathery, fleshy
leaves. In late summer to fall has a red
to orange flower in the shape of a trumpet.
Hardwood Variety
Packet
Black Cherry: Fast
growing with lustrous dark green leaves that turn yellow to red in the
fall. White flowers in May with edible
red fruit.
Valuable timber tree, great for wildlife. Mature height of 50-60 ft.
Black Walnut: Excellent for wood production or wildlife
plantings. Plant in
fertile well drained soil. Prune
as needed and manage properly
for veneer, lumber and nut production. Mature height 75 ft.
Bur Oak: Growth to 75 ft. and is one of
the most distinctive eastern oaks with peculiarly shaped leaves, fringed acorns
and corky twigs.
Tolerates
poor, dry, clay soils and is resistant to smoke and gas injury. Fall color red to rust.
Pin Oak: Upper branches are upright, the middle branches
are horizontal and the lower branches are pendulous, giving this tree a
beautiful
and graceful pyramidal outline. Makes an excellent specimen
as a lawn tree or along a roadside.
It holds it’s leaves longest of any oaks almost
until spring, with a fall color of red/orange. Grows to height of 75 ft.
Red Oak: One of the fastest growing
oaks. Makes an
excellent shade tree or plant for lumber, veneer and firewood. Acorns provide food for wildlife.
Prefers well drained soil and full sun. A large long lived tree
with mature height 75 ft. and spread of 50 ft.
Silver Maple: Fast
growing, upright, shade tree with rounded crown. Silver-green foliage turns yellow in
fall. Adapts to most
soil conditions.
Fine
ornamental or street tree; excellent along stream banks. Height of 60-80 ft.
Sugar Maple: Ideal shade tree because of its dense and
round growth habit. Does best in well
drained deep soils and is
shade tolerant. Largest native maple attaining a height of 60-120 ft. Fall color of scarlet to yellow.
Swamp White Oak: Grows 50 to 60 ft. in height and spread. Has broad, open well rounded crown. Does well in wet swampy conditions along
rivers
and streams.
Fall color is yellow.
Thornless Honey Locust: Fast
growing tree with a mature height of 50-75 ft. with a spread of 40-50ft. Is fairly shade tolerant and withstands a
wide range of soil conditions. The small fine green leaves cast a light
shade and usually do not need raking in the fall. Some trees develop
large seed pods that fall over the winter. Seed pods are browsed by deer overwinter
White Oak: Slow growing, majestic,
broad-rounded form. Prefers full sun and well drained soil. Mature height 50-80 ft. with a spread of
50-90 ft.
Plant for reforestation or as a large, long lived shade tree. Acorns desirable to
animals.
Homeowners Variety
Packet
Black Tupelo: Medium growing oval tree that reaches a
height of 50-80 ft. and a spread of 25 ft.
Has a glossy dark green foliage and an
outstanding
multi-color autumn. Prefers moist, rich,
well drained soils and may or may not have purple fruits.
Catalpa: Fast growing ornamental shade tree. Produces a large trumpet shaped flower with
purple spots. Likes moist, deep, rich
soils, but will withstand
the summer heat.
Grows to a height of 35 ft.
Colorado Blue Spruce: A closely
branched pyramidal evergreen prized as a specimen tree in landscape plan or
commonly used for windbreaks.
Relatively slow growing but will reach a mature
height of 60-80 ft. with a spread of 25-30 ft.
Prefers rich well-drained soil but will tolerate some wetness.
Excellent disease resistance in this area.
Forsythia: Very fast, upright growth to
7 ft. with a spread of 5 ft. Can
withstand adverse city conditions and produces deep golden flowers thickly and
evenly distributed along the stem.
Ordinary to poor soil
conditions.
Hackberry: Grows fast to a mature height
of 50-80 ft. Has a triangular spread of
65 ft. and is drought tolerant. Likes
full sun and produces reddish-purple
flowers in the spring.
The purple berries ripen in late summer and hang around through most of
the winter.
Lilac: Medium growth rate with
upright round appearance. Requires
well-drained soil and is drought resistant.
Prefers full sun with white and lavender
flowers in May. Attains height of 6-15 ft. and a spread of 6-12 ft.
Ninebark: Fast
growing, loose spreading deciduous shrub with shreddy
bark. Does best in full sunlight and is
relatively free from diseases.
Flowers pink to purplish in flat top clusters
from May to July. Fruit resembles a
bellow and persists through winter. Grows to a height 3-10 ft.
Red Barberry: A dense, rounded shrub with red leaves and
bright red berries. Makes
a nice hedge or accent plant.
Flowers are a gold tinged purple.
Likes full sun and well drained soils. Grows to a height of 5 ft.
Silky Dogwood: Similar to
Red Osier Dogwood but faster growing and less compact. Provides both food and
cover for game birds and other wildlife.
Often used to stabilize lower
slopes of streambanks. Produces white flowers with berries remaining until early fall. Grows to a height of 8-12
ft.
Silver Maple: Fast
growing, upright, shade tree with rounded crown. Silver-green foliage turns yellow in
fall. Adapts to most
soil conditions.
Fine ornamental or street tree; excellent along
stream banks. Height
of 60-80 ft.
Nut Tree Packet
American Chestnut: Large
tree, crown broadly rounded attaining a height between 80-100 ft. Produces nuts that are a
delicacy.
The nut is a spiny, brown bur up to two inches in
diameter that when split reveals three flattened nut lets.
Black Walnut: Excellent for wood production or wildlife
plantings. Plant in
fertile well drained soil.
Prune as needed and manage properly for veneer,
lumber and nut production. Mature height
75 ft.
Butternut: Likes rich, well-drained soil. Walnut like nuts are
sweet and edible. Grows 40-60 ft. and
prefers full sun.
Hazelnut: An indigenous multi-stemmed
large shrub that produces small filbert nuts.
Mix in with trees in your planting or border with other shrubs.
Wildlife and humans favor the hazelnut.
Shagbark Hickory: Narrow
upright growth habit attaining a height of 90 ft. Fall color is golden brown. Very popular for its edible
nuts and shedding bark.