Shade Trees In The Landscape
Some of my favorite shade trees are Chanticleer Pear, Japanese Zelkova, and Red Maple.
They all cast wonder shade and each of them have their own wonderful attributes. There are many other great landscaping trees that provide shade also.
The main thing is to include them in your landscape. To me, a landscape without trees is pretty barren looking. You will be amazed how they can enhance your landscape design.
Think about where you would like shade on your property and where the sun is during the hottest part of the day.
A  tree will cast its shade in the opposite direction and under the canopy of the tree. The shade will also extend out a bit in other directions. When selecting your tree, find out how tall and wide it grows. In this way, you can judge where the shade will be. There might be an area that you really do not want to be shaded. Of course, these trees will take quite a long time to reach their maximum sizes. Give them lots of open space. One out in the open lawn, as it ages, will look beautiful
American Sycamore...a nice one also.
Chanticleer Pear - Pear trees are one of the first landscape trees to flower in the Spring with an abundance of small white flowers.
- They are one of the last trees to turn color in the Fall.
- Fall colors can be a beautiful mix of purples, golds, and reds.
These are also very nice landscape trees to line a driveway with. They are a good choice if you have some space restrictions because they are narrower than some of the other large trees. Although they can get 40' to 50' high their spread is 15' to 20'. Japanese Zelkova - A beautiful vase shaped tree.
- A Zelkova in the lawn makes a stately picture.
- It is similar to the Elm, yet hardier.
Large populations of the Elm Tree were ruined years ago by Dutch Elm Disease. Although there are new disease-resistant varieties, Elms are susceptible to insect damage. Red Maple - A lovely choice for a large tree.
- I like the shape of the tree and the shape of the leaves.
- Choose the varieties 'Red Sunset' or 'October Glory'. These have dazzling color for the Fall landscape.
Other lovely shade trees are the Beech tree and Ginkgo Biloba tree. These two trees are beautiful, but slow growers.
Tips on Design
- These large trees can either go in a bed with other plants or may be placed in the lawn.
- Provide a 4' to 5' diameter bed around trees in the lawn to protect the trunk when mowing the grass.
- Add a 3" layer of mulch.
- Now, how does a nice bench or chair under the tree sound? Sounds good to me!
- A shade tree can also be placed near a patio. Besides the shade it offers, it creates a nice visual canopy.
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