Styrax–commonly called snowbell–are small trees and shrubs with dainty, nodding, bell-shaped fragrant white flowers. The flowers are produced in racemes and panicles in clusters on short branches. Styrax have slender, graceful trunks and strongly horizontal branches; they are flat topped. Leaves angle upward from branches while flowers hang down; the effect is of parallel green […] More
Taxodium–commonly called cypress–are upright conical deciduous or semi-evergreen coniferous trees especially suited to very wet or boggy sites. They are native to warm regions but they readily adapt to normal garden conditions and grow stately size in cold climates. Taxodium grow tall and shaggy. They have cinnamon-colored bark and graceful sprays of short, narrow, flat […] More
Thuja–commonly called arborvitae–neat, symmetrical, geometrical evergreen plants ideal for hedges and screens. They have a soft, informal look that lends them to mass planting. They can also be grown as specimen plants. Mature Thjuas have scalelike foliage carried in flat sprays. Varieties often used in landscapes have yellow-green or bright golden yellow leaves. Thuja bears […] More
Tsuga–commonly called hemlock–are towering trees with a graceful appearance. Tsuga grows best in cool, moist climates. They have horizontal to drooping branches and are less formal than other evergreens. Tsuga are excellent specimen trees. When young they are suitable for clipped hedging and screens. Tsuga have short, flat, fine-textured needles. They have two white bands […] More
Ulmus is a genus of deciduous trees commonly called elms. Elms are commonly grown as shade trees. They are fast-growing and have high-spreading canopies. Elms are environmentally tough. But elms have notable drawbacks. They are shallow-rooted making it difficult to grow other plants beneath them; they have narrow branch crotches which can result in splitting […] More
Zelkova is a deciduous tree grown for its handsome spreading shape and autumn color. Zelkova belongs to the same botanical family as the elm tree and is used as a substitute for the disease-plagued American elm. Zelkova is a good shade tree; it grows at a moderate to fast rate and eventually reaches 60 feet […] More
Stewartia is a genus of deciduous shrubs and trees that have something for all seasons. Stewartia has green leaves in spring, white camellia-like flowers in summer, colorful foliage in autumn, and a distinctive branching pattern after leaves fall in winter. As well, Stewartia are often grown for their peeling gray and red-brown bark. Stewartia is […] More
They bear clusters of tassel-like greenish-yellow male flower catkins before they leaf out in spring, Female flowers develop into small woody cones that persist on bare branches in winter. The seeds attract birds. Alnus can thrive in poor, wet soils; for that reason, they are often used in land reclamation. They can be planted in […] More
Ailanthus–commonly called the tree of heaven–is a spreading tree that bears small flowers in summer followed by red-brown fruits in autumn. Ailanthus is a moderately tall tree that can be grown as a specimen or as a shade tree. Ailanthus is extremely tolerant of very poor soil and pollution. It is a good choice for […] More
Phellodendron–commonly called cork tree–is a deciduous tree grown its deeply furrowed, attractive bark and aromatic foliage. Yellow-green leaves turn yellow in autumn. Use Phellodendron as a specimen tree in a large garden. Phellodendrom grows to 30 feet (10m) tall and 40 feet (12m) wide. The corky bark is pale gray-brown when mature. Small cup-shape green […] More
Liriodendron — commonly called tulip tree–is a fast-growing, pyramidal-shaped tree that bears tulip-shaped flowers in spring. Liriodendron is deciduous. The leaves are squarish and blunt-tipped looking a bit like a saddle. The leaves turn from bright green to bright yellow in autumn. Liriodendron’s flowers appear in late spring. They are greenish-yellow and orange at the base. They […] More
Crataegus–commonly called hawthorn–are small trees known for their year-round beauty. They bear white to deep pink five-petaled flowers in dense clusters. Flowers are followed by showy fruit resembling tiny apples in summer and fall, and often into winter. Crataegus bloom in late spring after most other trees. Paired with early spring bloomers, they increase the […] More
Stephen Albert