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klsm54

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Seems to be lots of experienced gardeners here, I need some tree advice.

 

We built a new house 2 years ago, now it's time for landscaping.  I'm looking for ideas for trees. Nothing for right around the house but something to spruce(no pun intended) up the yard. My wife wants a Lilac tree, so I suppose we'll get that, but maybe a couple other trees.

 

I don't want anything that makes to much of a mess. Maybe some flowering trees, or a fairly fast growing shade tree. Obviously something that does well in this area. I'm open to ideas.

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Crimson King maple.

 

I have a Flowering Plum in my yard. It's really pretty with tiny pink flowers covering it right now and then it gets deep purple leaves. It stays small. I also have a flowering pear and a magnolia that are blooming right now.

 

If you do a silver maple or other fast growing shade tree, make sure you don't plant too close to the house. They are a weaker tree and usually have invasive root systems that can damage your septic system or foundation.

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You absolutely cannot beat a Sunburst Locust.  It is agolden yellow canopy tree with medium shade,  excellent for street or city lot planting, practically no leaf debris as the leaves are small and degrade almost immediately, and this locust doesn't have many, if any, of the beans.  We've had one for about 30 years and have never raked or found more than half a dozen beans in the fall.

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Thanks, gives me some food for thought. I like the Flowering Plum idea. Looking mostly for smaller trees like that, though I might put a shade tree out back. The Locust would be an option for that.  I'm not a big fan of the Crimson King Maples.

 

I had a Silver Maple, won't do that again.

 

I'll have to look into the Magnolia and Flowering Pear. Also thinking of a Dogwood or Washington Hawthorne.

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I have a genuine Crimson King Maple and it always looks dry and sun baked.  It has grown very slowly into a nice sized tree but I would plant one of the newer varieties.

 

Dogwoods aren't tremendously hardy around here but I see a lot of Magnolias now.  The Redbuds going to Gettysburg this last weekend were gorgeous!  Although they aren't normally considered hardy here either, the neighbor has a couple that flowered berautifully this year.

 

I've always wanted a Scarlet Hawthorne but my last two attempts died.  Be sure you get one of the newest varieties of flowering Pears, not Bradford.  We got a couple dirt cheap, and while they grew fast and are beautiful, we lost a whole 1/3 of one last year in a mediocre storm that damaged nothing else.  

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You might want to look into a Cleveland pear which is just as beautiful as the Bradford pear but much sturdier.

If you get a dogwood consider the Kousa dogwood. Our native dogwoods (Cornus florida) are susceptible to anthracnose. I'm not sure if it is a real problem around here yet but it was said to be heading this way. They come in pink and white too.

If you plant a magnolia try to put it in a protected position. The trees are hardy but the flower buds tend to get zapped by the late frosts.

I'm partial to the Japanese maples with the finely cut foliage. There are so many cultivars to choose from. They come in colors from silvery green through dark mahogany.

I'm planting ginkos. I know they are messy and so slow growing that I probably won't ever see them get very large but the leave shape is so pretty.

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I agree. My Magnolia is stunning, but the leaves drop late and the spent flowers are slimy. I'm glad its away from the house where i can just let the mess dry up and blow away.

 

My ornamental pear is a Cleavland Pear and it's absolutely gorgeous.

 

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Okay, you're keeping me busy just reading about all these trees..... 8)

 

You've talked me out of the Magnolias. I'm disabled so my wife has to do all the yard work. I really don't want to add to her work with a messy tree, and I have no protected area so frost would probably get the magnolia most years too.

 

The Cleveland Pear sounds like a winner. We're on a hill, so the Bradford Pear was out as it gets pretty windy here. I had a Bradford Pear that did good at our old house, but it was close to our house and well protected. I don't have that option here.

 

Our daughter loves the Dwarf Japanese Maples so a couple of them will get worked into the foundation plantings,

 

Thanks for the tip on the Dogwoods, the Kousa looks like another winner. The Lilac tree and a Washington Hawthorn, along with the Kousa Dogwood and Cleveland Pear, should be enough for this year. Hopefully I can find them all.  Oh....but there was that Purpleleaf Plum too.... :-/

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I bought a yellow lilac and it died. Wasn't real sure if it would grow here or not ... but I know I will never buy another one. Our purple, white and red lilacs are getting ready to bloom within the next week.

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Mine will be awhile yet. I have two from the lilac festival that I bought a couple of years ago. I remember one being purple with a white border but I can't remember what the other one was.

I had one for years that would bloom in the fall as well as the spring but I think it died last year.

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