This article is in NO way to dissuade you from your future planting plans, BUT…
As a professional arborist, I must lay down the facts. There are a plethora of trees that, with proper planning, will survive in your local landscape.
That said, I have a S#it list of trees that will, in the end, break your heart…
For the most part, and this is very subjective, the average expected lifespan of ANY municipal tree in the urban landscape is way lower than you imagine. So much so, that it doesn’t make sense!
My list of trees that will live long enough to capture your heart, and then stomp a mudhole in your dreams, gets longer as the days pass.
Yes, you can plant any tree in your space, but at what cost?
Eastern redbuds, for starters. Stunning spring flowers, tough as heck, they take everything from bumbarf to spilled diesel, but in the end, yep, they flag and croak. Not your fault, mind you, that is just the way the ball bounces.
White birches, back in the day were the go-to, everybody-loves-em, must-have-em
tree de jour. Except for the beetle that didn’t get the memo. Poof! Like magic, they hit the ground faster than a prom dress. I tried everything in my power to save them. Short of insecticidal stem injections, I mulched. I watered. I areated. I inoculated soils with microbial goodness. I prayed and double uncrossed my fingers, and doubleprayed (while crying) and every damn one of them died!
Meh, whatever…
Grafted pines. The coolest tree you could own. Well, except for the, I’m gonna’ croak when you just start to enjoy my grace! UUUGH! Back to the nursery you go…
Not counting short (50ish) year lifespans, maybe some trees are worth the heartbreak. I would like to think every tree I ever touched will outlive me. Pretty much every tree guy, or gal, has the same outlook, but perception doesn’t equate with reality… I have by the grace of the floaty thing in the sky, remain standing amongst a myriad of stumps that were, for lack of a better term, previous clients. Yeah, it sucks when your beloved (enter tree name here) kicks the bucket. But then again, your slate has been wiped clean, you get to go on a nursery mission.
Most urban plantings that I deal with are doomed from the start! Either crappy specimens to start, or an environment that will NEVER be conducive to longevity, I am tasked with making ice cream out of S#$%!
So what would be my list of trees you should NEVER plant?
Not gonna happen, because every tree I would condemn has the exception, the exception to the rule.
Let’s pick a crappy tree, shall we? Alright, Leyland cypress for example. What’s not to hate about a Leyland? They grow fast, die young, croak right about the time they block the view from your bedroom window and the nosey neighbors breakfast nook… Do they suck? Yep. Do they crush your soul when they croak? Check. Did it give you 10ish years of private nakidity from said nosey neighbors? BINGO! 10 years of winning…
NO, I will not plant a Leyland in your space! Are they the worst thing to plant?
Depends on your neighbors nosieness, I guess, but there’s that…
Where you stand depends on where you sit, they say. Maybe your time/space dictates a certain color, shadow, fragrance, sound, etc. and in the end, you may have to do do-over every x number of years, not a deal breaker…
I’m just getting soft, I guess, every tree that I get attached to that goes toes up, well, I cry a little…
On that happy note, enjoy summer and as always,
plant high and often!
