Thursday, November 13, 2008

Hardy Pecan

The Hardy Pecan tree, Carya Illinoinensis, is a good-looking, majestic tree that grows to a height of 70 to 100 feet with a spread of 40 to 75 feet. It has low wide dispersal branches. The tree provides a reward of sweet edible fruits and lots of summer shade after reaching maturity. Hardy Pecan trees have moderate water requirements and have a reasonable tolerance to salt and alkali soils.

This deciduous, resilient, shade tree is ideal for lawns because it does not shed its leaves until late fall and it is almost resistant to the attack of insects. It begins to bear nuts in 12-15 years.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Chinese Chestnut

The Chinese Chestnut, Castanea mollissima, can be used as a nut tree and a shade tree, or planted in rows as a windbreak. The nuts are sweet-flavored and create edible nuts in winter. This deciduous tree has moderate water requirements and it has a reasonable tolerance to salt and alkali soils. Landscapers plant the Chinese Chestnut as an decorative. Chinese Chestnut trees do well in hot dry climates and are blight resistant. The foliage is dim green in summer.
This hardy tree will bear fruit in 7-8 years when placed on a good site. The dark green leaves are 5”-8” in length with a easy shape that turn yellow and gold in the fall. It produces edible chestnuts after organization. The outer shell of the nut is prickly and must be detached. This variety of chestnut is resistant to chestnut blight (but not resistant). This tree tolerates heat, drought, transplanting, and dehydrated and acidic soils.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Carpathian Black Walnut

The Carpathian Black Walnut tree, Juglans nigra, 'Carpathian', can be planted as a nut manner landscape tree. Common names for the Carpathian Black Walnut tree are Persian Walnut, English Walnut, Carpathian Walnut and Madeira Nut. This deciduous tree bears nuts that are thin-shelled and simple to open. The best enlargement and nut production comes when it is located in deep, dry, light loamy soils.

Carpathian Black Walnut trees are self-pollinating but they will usually do better with one more adjacent Black Walnut. This selection comes from parent trees in central Michigan where trees crop in abundance although winter temps thrust to -34' F. It is an outstanding shade tree that bears excellent thin shell English Walnuts.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Quaking Aspen

The Quaking Aspen tree, Poplus tremuloides, is the most widely dispersed tree in North America. It is recognized by a lot of common names: trembling aspen, golden aspen, mountain aspen. This deciduous tree grows on a lot of soil types, particularly sandy and gravelly slopes, and it is rapid to pioneer troubled sites where there is disturbed soil. Quaking Aspen trees are quick growing and extremely hardy.

Poplus tremuloides provides benefits for many kinds of nature. It will produce both as a single or multi-stemmed tree. The Aspen is esthetically attractive with light bark, wobbly leaves, and yellow fall color.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Emerald Arborvitae

The Emerald Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd', also known as white cedar, exhibits a thin, dense pyramidal form with bright green green foliage which holds its color well through winter. This arborvitae makes an outstanding screen, and can grow at a rate of about four feet for each year. When young, the Emerald Arborvitae has a bright green color to its foliage which darkens as the plant ages. This arborvitae makes an exceptional hedge plant, but also used for foundation plants, informal hedges, entranceways, privacy screens, non-thorny barriers, or specimen shrub. It will grow particularly well in marshy areas and in alkaline soil. This resilient arborvitae prefers full sun to flourish and will do best in an area with high atmospheric moisture. Because this plant often grows of course into a perfect pyramidal shape, little pruning is essential. If the winter is particularly cold, the foliage of an emerald green arborvitae will twist yellow-brown. This pyramidal beauty will become one of your favorites with its excellent cold and heat tolerance.

Friday, September 5, 2008

American Hornbeam

The American Hornbeam tree, Carpinus caroliniana, is a shade tolerant below story tree. American Hornbeam trees are also recognized by the common names of Musclewood, Ironwood, Blue Beech, and Water Beech trees. The word "hornbeam" comes from the words "horn" for "toughness" and "beam" an old English word for "tree" and refers to this tree's extremely hard, rough, wood. This deciduous species provides nuts that are eaten by a lot of birds such as grouse, bobwhite, pheasant and wild turkey. Cottontail rabbits and deer nibble on the shoots of this tree.

Carpinus caroliniana exhibits leaves that are thin and beautifully transparent. This shade tree will give cool, dense shade in the summer because of its many leaves giving a dense look. In late autumn the leaves twist deep scarlet and orange as long as good fall color tree.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Emerald Arborvitae

The Emerald Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd', also known as white cedar, exhibits a thin, dense pyramidal form with emerald green foliage which holds its color well through winter. This arborvitae makes an excellent screen, and can produce at a rate of about four feet for each year. When young, the Emerald Arborvitae has a intense green color to its foliage which darkens as the plant ages. This arborvitae makes an outstanding hedge plant, but also used for base plants, tranquil hedges, entranceways, solitude screens, non-thorny barriers, or specimen shrub. It will grow particularly well in swampy areas and in alkaline soil. This hardy arborvitae prefers full sun to thrive and will do best in an area with high atmospheric damp. Because this plant often grows obviously into a perfect pyramidal shape, little pruning is essential. If the winter is particularly cold, the foliage of an emerald green arborvitae will twist yellow-brown. This pyramidal beauty will turn out to be one of your favorites with its exceptional cold and heat tolerance.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Black Walnut

The Black Walnut tree, Juglans nigra, is valued for its wood and shade. Black Walnut trees are a big, moderately growing, majestic tree. This deciduous tree makes a magnificent shade tree, and when planted for a wood plantation, makes a huge long-term asset. This tree has reasonable water requirements and is broadminded to drought. It has enormous, upright spreading, open branches.

The nuts are big and plump and break out of the shell easily. The roots of the black walnut create a substance known as juglone (5-hydroxy-alpha-napthaquinone). This biochemical is toxic to a lot of plants such as the tomato, potato, black and blue berries, and other plants that may grow inside a 50 to 60 foot radius of the stem. Not all plants are responsive to juglone and many trees, vines, shrubs, and flowers will thrive in close nearness to a Black Walnut tree.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Green Giant Arborvitae

The Arborvitae Green Giant, 'Thuja plicata 'Green Giant’ is a giant arborvitae that has glowing green, fern-like plants. This plant is very flexible to wet or dry soils. The Green Giant is fast rising for an arborvitae and it is also very thick and they are used extensively for borders, screens, windbreaks or as an accent tree. When used as a evade, the Green Giant can be trimmed and reserved to a dense 6 foot hedge.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

American Arborvitae

The American Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, is a conifer evergreen tree that is extensively used because an accent tree or as a privacy hedge tree. American Arborvitae trees contain a broad pyramidal shape with upright branches that are thick and crowded jointly. The scale-like leaves are abruply pointed. The leaf color is bright green on top of and light green below and they may turn a yellow brown is some winters.

This evergreen tree prefers a bottomless well drained site. When established it can stand substantial heat and drought. It is one of the most well-liked of all trees for windbreaks and year around privacy screening. It may be sheared and shaped to fit into the majority every landscaping need.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Boston Ivy

Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, is also known as Cottage Ivy and Japanese Ivy. This deciduous vine has tendrils which contain 5 to 8 branches, each ending in adhesive-like tips; it has the aptitude to literally cement itself to the wall and so needs no support; good on trees, will also move slowly along the ground; secretes calcium carbonate which serves as adhesive. This vine can arrive at a height or spread exceeding 30 feet.

The plant tolerates dry soil .The glossy, dark green, three-lobed leaves twist bright red in the fall. The showy leaves are detained late into fall or early winter. The plant produces bluish fruits that are not extremely ornamental. The blooms of the Boston ivy are quite inconspicuous but they attract multitudes of bees. Use in full sun to full shade, salt broadminded, handles most all conditions.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Sherwood Moss Arborvitae

The Sherwood Moss Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Moss', is a dwarf, cone-shaped Arborvitae with strange soft, feathery foliage. It requires sun and deep, well-drained soil. The sole texture makes this a very unusual multicolored plant that shines in winter with its figurine winter color. It is not a sphere, not a pyramid, but a well shaped heap that has no equal. Arborvitae is one of the most adaptable, easy-to-grow evergreens right to cold, northern landscapes. They are frequently used as specimen plants, hedges, foundation plantings and windbreaks. Arborvitaes are extremely adaptable plants.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Aristocrat Flowering Pear

The Aristocrat Flowering Pear tree, Pyrus 'Aristocrat', is a beautiful tree that is good-looking in all four seasons. It produces masses of white flowers in near the beginning spring, followed by bright, glossy green, disease opposed to foliage. Leaves turn a deep to reddish-purple in middle to late fall to give spectacular fall color. The clean winter outline is standing to pyramidal when young and becomes generally oval at maturity.

Aristocrat Flowering Pear trees have a more dominant trunk and open form that helps this deciduous, flowering species, to be less vulnerable to wind damage. Home owners and landscapers place this tree in prominent locations because of the year approximately beauty it provides.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Autumn Blaze Red Maple

The Autumn Blaze Red Maple, Acer fremanii, 'Autumn Blaze', is an very fast-growing maple with brilliant red fall color. Under good conditions it can produce 3ft. or more per year. It is broadminded of clay soils and droughty circumstances. This deciduous tree develops a thick oval head with strong branching which makes it a popular shade tree as well as an ornamental tree.

Autumn Blaze Red Maple trees were urbanized in North Central Ohio. This tree will produce in a wide range of climates from Michigan to Central Florida. Landscapers and home owners use this well-liked tree in many settings.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Pygmy Globe

The Pygmy Globe, Thuja occidentalsis, is a sphere shaped dwarf arborvitae tree. These Arborvitae trees have bright green foliage. This slow dense growing evergreen tree does not need to be sheared to uphold the globe shape.

The Pygmy Globe tree or shrub thrives in full sun or light dark. It has great appeal as a specimen planting or as an pronunciation shrub in a yard or garden area.

The Pygmy Globe Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Pygmy Globe', is a dwarf, globe-shaped evergreen with bright green plants that grows gradually and is very compact. It needs no shearing to maintain its form; this arborvitae makes an excellent, low maintenance foundation plant or dwarf hedge.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Holmstrup Arborvitae


The Holmstrup Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Holmstrup', is a solid evergreen with dense branching which creates a pyramidal shape. The bright green color and light thick foliage gives this plant a textured look in the landscape. The Holmstrup does well in light shade and tolerates poor drainage. The colorful apple-green needles make a dense tree with the compressed sprays that overlap and give out in vertical manner. A very versatile dwarf evergreen tree, Holmstrup Arborvitae is used as a landscape pronunciation, windbreak or screen. They are very attractive when planted in pairs to border a focal point in your landscape.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Hetz Midget Arborvitae

The Hetz Midget Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Midget', is a dense, slow rising evergreen that requires no shearing to maintain its obviously round, globe form. Being one of the negligible miniature landscape evergreens, with a very neat and neat form, it can be used in a front row of layered base plantings or as a pronunciation or border in recurrent beds. The Hetz Midget can also make a great casual hedge. It has fine rich green foliage during the summer that takes on a purple shed in the winter months. This arborvitae prefers sun to incomplete shade; moist, well-drained soil; defense from strong winds. The tree is recognized primarily by unique flat and filigree sprays made up of tiny, scaly leaves. The tree loves limestone areas and be able to take full sun to light shade.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Globe Arborvitae

The globe arborvitae is a quick, compact growing arborvitae tree. They produce as globe shaped trees. One of the hardiest of the arborvitae, the globe arborvitae will cultivate best in zones three through eight. They need little to no pruning to stay the globe shape, as this is done obviously.

Globe arborvitae will grow to a grown-up height of three to five feet and an equivalent mature spread. They have great appeal as a specimen planting or as an pronunciation shrub in a garden area. Globe arborvitae is also very simple to grow from a pot. Grown en mass, the globe arborvitae will make a high-quality wind block for shorter, more easily broken plants.

The mature form of the globe arborvitae is global. They prefer full sun to incomplete shade, and can grow in a diversity of soil conditions. The globe arborvitae is quite drought resistant, and can endure cold temperatures. In areas of hotter summer temperature, partial shade should be provided to prevent browning on the tips of the leaves.

The globe arborvitae is inhabitant to the northeastern United States and Canada. Once planted, a globe arborvitae requires little maintenance, and is fairly lack resistant. Fertilizer may be practical every few years or so to aid in faster rising. Pruning, if desired, be supposed to be done early in the growing season before new enlargement emerges.

Friday, July 25, 2008

American Sycamore

The American Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, is a extremely adaptable and rocky tree. American Sycamore trees are quick growing, large shade trees with a huge trunk and a have a wide-spreading open crown of big crooked branches. This deciduous tree has a smooth roughly white bark when mature. The bark will flake off in unequal thin pieces which give American Sycamore trees an imposing mottled appearance.

Sycamore trees have light green tinted leaves that turn golden in the fall as long as contrasting fall color. The American Sycamore has reasonable water supplies and exhibits a moderate tolerance to salt and alkali soils. It is a very well-liked city tree for unfavorable urban conditions and soils.

Monday, June 30, 2008

The Black Cherry tree can be found in the northeastern section of the United States. It's also found in the Appalachian Mountains, which are located in Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky. These trees grow to sometimes 30.5 meters (100 feet) tall, but most of the time they're around 21.3 meters (70 feet) tall. Imagine trying to pick cherries from one of these trees! This tree has dark green oval-shaped leaves. You can recognize the tree in the spring because of its beautiful flowers.
But how does this tree reproduce? Well, that's for you to figure out! These trees are not only pretty to look at, but they also are tasty, at least the fruit is! Cherry trees drop purplish red cherries in the fall.

This fruit is sometimes used to make delicious drinks. The seed of this plant is kept inside this delicious fruit, inside a thin hollow shaped pit. The cherry tree drops these seeds once every three to four years. Now here's the big question: How do you think the Black Cherry tree disperses its seeds?

By Animals Yes, you are absolutely correct. These seeds are eaten by animals. After they are eaten, the seeds are dropped when the animal goes to the bathroom. But instead of dropping them in the boy's or girl's bathroom, they drop them amid the wilderness.

By Wind Sorry, the cherry seeds may get blown around a little bit, but they are too heavy to really be spread by wind. Cherry seeds are distributed by another means. Hint: cherries are delicious, even for non-humans.

By Water Sorry, if you will recall where these trees grow, we didn't say much about water. Cherries sometimes fall into the water, but most would probably rot before they got very far.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

American Beech

Mature Size: 60 to 80 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in diameter.

Form: Thick trunk and a broad, rounded crown.

Habitat: Rich, well-drained bottoms and moist coves.

Leaves: Alternate, simple, 2 to 6 inches, oblong to oval and pointed, with small incurving teeth on the edges; bright yellow in autumn, later turning light tan and often remaining on the tree until spring.

Values & Uses: The wood is very hard, strong and tough, though not durable when exposed to weather. The wood can be used for furniture, flooring, veneer, rough lumber, tools, wedges, novelty items, baskets, charcoal, fuel and a type of creosote used as a medicine.

Beech nuts are eaten by many birds and mammals, including mice, squirrels, chipmunks, black bear, deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, ducks and blue jays. Large, older trees often become hollow, providing den sites for wildlife.

Did u Know?
People frequently scar this tree by carving in its smooth bark. Beech is highly tolerant of shade. It often forms thickets by root suckering, so that old trees may appear to be surrounded by a ring of young ones.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Cootamundra Wattle

Small tree or large shrub to 10 m high by 6 m across. Leaves are grey, bipinnate and leaflets are linear. Profuse, gold, ball-shaped flowers occur in late winter. Pods are bluish when young.

Cootamundra wattle is a widely cultivated species that invades drier areas where annual rainfall exceeds 400 mm and is found on a range of soil types, although not permanently sodden or waterlogged soils (Muyt 2001). Cootamundra wattle invades heathland and heathy woodland, lowland grassland and grassy woodland, dry sclerophyll forest and woodland, and riparian vegetation (Carr et al 1992). It is also a weed of pine plantations (Blood 2001).

Monday, April 28, 2008

Cedrus Atlantica

A tree up to 40 m high and up to 2 m in diameter. BARK on old trees fissured. CROWN pyramidal, with few branches, open. BRANCHES strongly ascending and relatively short; leading shoot erect and bent at the tip. SHOOTS thickly pubescent. LEAVES silvery bluish or green, usually not longer than 2.5 cm, between 19 and 28 in a whorl. FLOWERS appearing from June to September. CONES cylindrical, with level or concave top, 5-7 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, glossy, light brown, maturing in September and October and shedding seeds into the spring; seed scales about 3.5 cm wide, with tomentose keel. SEED 12 mm long and wing 12-15 mm long.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Basswood

Basswood (Tilia americana L.) is commonly 18 to 23 meters (60 to 75 feet) in height and 60 to 85 centimeters (24 to 34 inches) in diameter, but it can reach a height of over 30 meters (100 feet) and 120 centimeters (48 inches) in diameter. In the forest, basswood trunks typically are straight and clear of branches for much of its height. The narrow, oblong or pyramidal crown is composed of many small slender branches. The leaves are alternate, simple, heart shaped with coarse teeth that are 12 to 15 centimeters (5 to 6 inches) long. Basswood produces yellow flowers in July that are 1 to 1½ centimeters (½ inch) long and borne in clusters attached to the leaf. In October, a pale brown nut-like berry fruit is shed. Basswood trees prefer a deep loam soil on low slopes and streambanks. Basswood usually grows in the company of other hardwoods. Basswood never forms pure stands.

Since basswood trees are shade tolerant, they should be managed by ‘selective harvesting’. Basswood usually grows in clumps. Individual trees should be harvested rather than full clumps. Basswood provides habitat and food for many bird species, therefore it is important to maintain a number of cavity trees in you woodlot.

Basswood is one of the softest and lightest of the Canadian hardwoods. It is very easy to work with and is highly valued for hand-carving, modelling and interior trim. It has good gluing characteristics. Its lack of taste and odour makes it valuable for food containers. Basswood has been used for specialty products such as piano keys and Venetian blinds.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

American Hornbeam

American Hornbeam also known as Musclewood, Blue Beech, Water Beech, or Ironwood. 20 to 30 feet in height and 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Small, bushy tree with a spreading top of slender, crooked or drooping branches. Rich soils on low slopes and along streams, ponds and lakes. Alternate, simple, 2 to 4 inches, oval, long-pointed, doubly toothed along the edges. Males in slender, yellow-green 1 to 2 inch hanging catkins; females in fuzzy yellow-green ½ to ¾ inch catkins on new branch tips. 4 to 6 inch hanging cluster of slightly folded, 1 inch, 3-lobed leafy bracts; each bract contains a 1/3 inch ribbed nutlet; nutlets fall with bracts attached, aiding their distribution by the wind. Light brownish-gray to dark bluish-gray; trunk fluted, resembling rippling muscles.

Hornbeam wood is tough, closed-grained, heavy and strong. Although seldom harvested, it has been used for levers, tool handles, wooden cogs, mallets and wedges. The seeds are a valuable food source for gray squirrels and a variety of birds. It is also used by beavers for food and building material.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Aesculus Glabra

The tree species Aesculus glabra is normally known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye. It derives its unpleasant common name from the offensive aroma generated from the flowers, crushed leaves, broken twigs, or injured bark. It is resident primarily to the Midwestern and lower Great Plains regions of the United States, extending southeast into the Nashville Basin. It is also found nearby in the tremendous southwest of Ontario, on Walpole Island in Lake St. Clair, and in isolated populations in the South. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15-25 m tall.

The leaves are palmately compound with five leaflets, 8-16 cm long and wide. The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2-3 cm long with the stamens longer than the petals. The fruit is a round or oblong spiky capsule 4-5 cm diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, 2-3 cm diameter, brown with a white basal scar.

The fruits contain tannic acid, and are venomous for cattle, and possibly humans, although they are often eaten by squirrels. Native Americans would lighten them, extracting the tannic acid for use in skin.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Thuja Plicata

Western Redcedar is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada, from southern Alaska and British Columbia south to northwest California and internal to western Montana.

The shrubbery forms flat sprays with scale-like leaves in opposite pairs, with succeeding pairs at 90° to each other. The flora sprays are green above, and green marked white with stomatal bands below. The cones are slight, 15-20 mm long and 4-5 mm broad, with 8-12 thin, overlapping scales.

Western Redcedar is a large tree, to 50-60 m tall and 3 m (extremely 6 m) trunk diameter. The Quinault Lake Redcedar (left) is the major known Western Redcedar in the world with a wood volume of 500 cubic meters. Located near the northwest shore of Lake Quinault north of Aberdeen, Washington, about 34 km from the Pacific Ocean, it is 53.0 m high with a diameter of 5.94 m (Van Pelt, 2001). A Redcedar over 71 m tall and 700 years old stood in Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, before it was set on fire and destroyed by vandals in 1972.

It is among the most extensive trees in the Pacific Northwest, and is associated with Douglas-fir and Western hemlock in most places where it grows. In addition to growing in lush forests, Western Redcedar is also a riparian tree, and grows in many wooded swamps and streambanks in its range. The tree is shade-tolerant, and able to replicate under opaque shade.