Tree recommendations

B

BostonBull

Location
North of Boston
I am going to be planting two ornamental flowering trees in my FIL front and side yards for him this spring. He wants a tree that is flowering, deciduous, smaller the better @ maturity, and it has to handle pollution and compaction well, as well as large amounts of salt. He lives on the corner of a side street and a busy main rd in a Manchester, NH.

I have the following 3 species earmarked for him......

Cercis canadensis

Sophora japonica (he is at the northern end of its range and I hope it would stay smaller?)

Koelreuteria paniculata
 
Jim, Sophora is a large tree, range won't matter. Golden raintree also goes 30-40'. Redbud is OK, but they're a little touchy, and it sounds like this is almost a street-tree environment.

May I suggest:

Craetagus crusgalli 'Winter King'
Cornus mas or officinalis
Kwanzan Cherry (I know, I know, boring, but tough!)
Sargent Cherry (A bit more upright if ya need it)
Parrotia persica (hard to find tree; somewhat inconspicuous flowers in March)
Malus sp.

These are some of the small trees that have had success with for our street tree planting program, and it sounds like this is what you need.

-Tom
 
this is a little off topic, but anyone familar with this species http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/AESPAVA.pdf

being a native ohioan, it sparks my intrest. plus I have read that humming birds love the flowers. i bought some from arbor day to grow in my make shift tree farm.

looks like it prefers warmer climates though
 
this tree is gorgeous.especially in bloom it is very dense, it needs a good bit of room. loves moist soil. the crown is just huge very wide will cover the trunk. a client of mine has one. i am also from ohio akron, but now live in ct. this is one of my favorite trees. what else you need to know. the flowers are shaped like lilac flowers (pannicle i believe)
 
too big and they are known for fungal problems i am pretty sure. ginko (male) or turkish filbert are very urban friendly pollution tolerant, no insect or big disease problems. they are not that big.
 
Ginkgo? Not that big? I have worked on 40+ DBH X 80' specimens!

Corylus is a great tree, but not a flowering ornamental like Jim needs. Medium (40-50') tree. He stated that 'smaller is better' at maturity, so I would rule out Corylus, Koelreuteria, Ginkgo, and Sophora so phar-a.

The Winter King Hawthorn is a great selection for the described site IMO. Fireblight resisitant, tough urban tree with nice winter interest.

Syringa reticulata is another thought. They get better with age.

-Tom
 
I agree w/ Tom. Cercis cand. was my first thought, but they can be tempermental, syringa retic, was my second thought, but just to throw it out there (because I've only seen one out here in Colorado) howabout a PawPaw tree?
 
Its not very often I see a big Ginkgo, and big is generally not very big anyway.

If salt is a factor, the Ginkgo may be a really slick choice.

Here's a photo of some variety someone posted on the UBC forums last year:

Ginkgo Image Link

Someone posted that they thought it may be a 'Fastigiata' form if there is such a variety available.

I thought it was one of the grooviest looking street trees I've seen. Tidy like a hornbeam without looking that formal.
 
Can't go wrong with Redbud.

I've always found PawPaw to be pretty picky about soils, not at all happy with urban sites. If you can find it and get it established (and those are BIG ifs...) it is also colonizing. You could end up with a forest. It's also not really "flowering' in any traditional sense.

How about Amelanchier? Small, tree forms, flowers, fall colour, edible fruit, adaptable. Especially A. arborea: "adaptable to acid and high pH soils, and to moist or relatively dry situations... At home in Chicago, BOSTON, and Atlanta". I didn't even make up that Boston bit- it's right out of the book!

The only downside I can think of is the blue staining bird crap. But that's alright too - it atracts birds!
 
Redbuds are so common, disease issues are getting common too. be SURE there is no stem canker if and when you buy it.

I like my Syringa but most say the flower stinks, the perfume is way strong for most noses.

Prunus mume is a fave--blooming sweetly today, after yesterday's snow--but only goes up to zone 6 dirr sez.
 
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