We are getting a new street tree. Meaning a tree in the bit of ground between the sidewalk and the curb in front of our house.
We have a very restricted list to choose from. We had a Japanese plum in that spot which died, and now there are no fruit trees on the list. The other tree in our parking strip is a white ash, which may well die within the next several years.
The three trees listed are the ones we’re considering. Specifically, silver linden “sterling”, black gum “afterburner” or “wildfire”, and Carolina silverbell “rosea”.
I park under where the tree will be. I do not want sticky stuff, fruit, or bird poop all over my car.
I’m leaning toward the silver linden, but I have a question about them. I see some lindens around town that look messy to me at this time of year. Brownish nuts/seeds hanging down by brown bracts, which show clearly against the green leaves. But, the sole silver linden I saw at a nursery had smaller bracts, which were still green.
So, if anyone knows about silver lindens specifically, and whether they have a messy looking phase in the fall before the leaves turn, I’d love to know about it.
I’d also welcome any information, opinions or advice on any of the trees mentioned.
I volunteer for our local non-profit, which is responsible for planting over 50,000 street trees in the past (large number of) years in San Francisco, but unfortunately I don’t think we plant any of those trees, so I can’t help you specifically about messiness, except that they all drop their leaves in fall (assuming you have seasons).
May I ask roughly where you are, or what climate you have? Is this tree being forced on you? Will you be obligated to care for it in any way (e.g. watering while it’s young)? Does it matter how large the tree will get, or how fast it grows? There are some differences in these areas among these trees.
Pacific northwest. When we take out the dead Japanese plum, we’re required to replace it with a tree on the current list. Yes, we have to take care of it.
We’re OK with different sizes. The sizes these trees grow to are all OK. Fall color is nice – we have that from the ash, though, so adding flowers or some other feature is also nice.
We do prefer some degree of drought tolerance because summers are very dry here.
Also I wonder if the city (or whatever authority is providing the tree) has already evaluated all the tree species for being well-behaved around pavement and sidewalks – that is, the roots will stay deep enough not to push up concrete in 10 or 20 years. Also if any of them are especially susceptible to insect infestations or disease. That’s the sort of information that’s hard for a lay person to find out online.
These links are all from nurseries, but I think the descriptions and cautions could be useful. I hope they help. I wish we could plant trees like this, but of course we have completely different hardiness zones.
(Sterling Silver Linden (Tilia tomentosa 'Sterling') in Columbus Dublin Delaware Grove City Gahanna Bexley Ohio OH at Oakland Nurseries Inc) Susceptible to aphids
Afterburner Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica 'David Odom') in Toledo Pemberville Perrysburg Maumee Ohio OH at North Branch Nursery. “does not tolerate urban pollution”
Wildfire Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica 'Wildfire') in Columbus Dublin Delaware Grove City Gahanna Bexley Ohio OH at Oakland Nurseries Inc Attracts birds
Pink Carolina Silverbell (Halesia tetraptera 'Rosea') in Boston Hopkinton Chelmsford Hingham Middleborough Massachusetts MA at Weston Nurseries “no significant negative characteristics”
It’s interesting – what I’ve read is that all of the lindens attract aphids, except the silver linden, because the undersides of the leaves are hairy. But then some sources say they do attract aphids, but I wonder if they’re just giving the sort of general linden information.
I’m not sure what all of the criteria are that go into making the approved tree list. Some trees don’t make sense to me at all.
I know one consideration is to increase the diversity of the city’s canopy. A large number of the trees in the city are maples, so maples are out. Fruit trees are out because they are too prone to disease and insects. (This list is for street trees – you can plant anything that isn’t an invasive or nuisance tree in your yard.)
I think most of the trees that work for us on the list have some degree of shallow roots, so we’ll have to fix the sidewalk eventually.
A bunch of the trees we liked the most we just can’t get locally, or can’t get in the required size. (Oh, and we have to buy it ourselves. There was a nonprofit that helped with putting in the first two ten years ago or so, but the city recently ended its contract with that group.)
Looks like black gum (tupelo) may be the most drought tolerant of the three if that 's an issue in your area, especially in summer.
Black gum including that variety has really nice red fall color (the other two are yellow), so I’d lean toward the black gum personally.
Further note: while I see a couple of recommendations for Carolina silverbell as a street tree, its natural habitat is as an understory tree in woodlands (like the Great Smokies) where it gets light shade. In addition to drought susceptibility it does not like compacted soil, so I have doubts about its hardiness as a street tree. It also tends to branch close to the ground and can grow as a large shrub, so would require pruning in its early years to encourage single leader growth and adequate ground clearance.
Nice tree for a woodland-type border though.
I am happy to read research that people can find.
My hope in starting this thread was also to get the opinions of people who have experience with these trees “in real life” as it were.
By all means, keep the info coming. I hope also that someone with first hand experience will notice the thread and chime in.
Debbie got me a Linden after we moved into our current house. The Great Room was on a southwest corner and soaked up the heat in the summer. The tree is about 8 feet from the house and we have not had any root problems (after 20+ years). It is over a lawn, so I cannot definitely talk about sap or other droppings, but I do not recall any on the mower that is periodically parked there. It is a bit over 30 feet high, now, and I do have to prune those limbs that keep growing over the roof every couple of years, but if I catch them in the first year they are easy to clip. The house sewer line passes within 15 feet of the trunk and we have not had any trouble with the roots invading or breaking the pipes. Overall I like the tree and have no complaints.
I am afraid that I do not know what specific type of Linden we have. We are in the USDA Hardiness Zone 6 for planting.
Thanks!
That’s really helpful. After doing a bunch of reading, my research has turned to just driving around, looking at trees. Some first-hand knowledge really helps.