3/11
Best Large Landscape Trees for Quick Shade
Oaks and maples are popular shade trees, and I’m a big fan of both. But there’s an underutilized alternative worth considering: American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). “It grows fast, is long-lived, great for shade, and has really good branching structure and thus requires very minimal pruning,” says Schmitz. He chooses the native species over its European relative, the London planetree, which has issues with cold hardiness and tip dieback. “I really don’t see a reason to plant it over our native tree.”
American sycamore has unique patchy “camouflage” bark that reveals large swatches of whitish bark as it matures. American sycamore can grow quite large — 75 to 100 ft. tall and 40 to 70 ft. wide — so choose a planting site carefully. It is hardy in USDA Zones 4-9.
Smith included American sycamore with his recommendations, alongside:
• Tulip-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera): a large, fast-growing, tall shade tree that prefers moist, well-drained sites. Its leaves are shaped like the silhouette of tulips, while the yellow and orange flowers look like open tulips. Tulip-poplar can grow 60 to 90 ft. tall and 30 to 50 ft. wide. It is hardy in USDA Zones 4-9. Note: dropped flowers can be slippery, so avoid planting these trees near walkways, driveways, patios and decks.
• American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua): “It has the best fall color of any southern native tree,” Smith says. “It grows straight, with a pyramidal shape when young.” The bristly star-shaped gumballs remain on the tree for winter interest but can create cleanup problems for patios and driveways, so avoid those areas when planting. It grows 60 to 80 ft. tall, 40 to 60 ft. wide and is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9.
• Pecan (Carya illinoinensis): One of the quicker-growing hickories, it can reach a mature size of 75 to 100 ft. tall and 40 to 70 ft. wide. Pecan makes a good shade tree and has the added benefit of dropping tasty nuts in the fall. It is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9.
4/11
Best Medium-Size Landscape Trees for Quick Shade
Not everyone has room for a gigantic shade tree, so you might want to consider an alternative with more modest proportions. I like Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), also called Tupelo. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, it’s a good alternative to the overplanted Red maple (Acer rubrum).
I don’t disagree, and after one look at the striking scarlet red fall foliage, you wouldn’t either! Tupelo is a little slower growing than the ubiquitous red maple, but the wait is worthwhile. Tupelo grows 30 to 50 ft. tall and 20 to 30 ft. wide. It is hardy in USDA Zones 4-9.
5/11
Best Large Landscape Trees for Multiseason Interest
For multiseason interest in a large tree, consider the Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa). It is seriously fast-growing and has huge heart-shaped leaves and delightful white flowers with yellow and purple markings to keep pollinators happy. “Driving down I-235 in Des Moines, when catalpas are all in bloom in early summer, there is nothing really else blooming — and definitely not a 60-ft.-tall tree loaded with white flowers,” Schmitz says.
The bright green leaves turn yellow in fall, but it is the long, cylindrical seedpods that give the tree its nickname “cigar tree.” They turn brown and hang from the tree all winter, looking like long, slender cigars. Northern catalpa grows 40 to 60 ft. tall and 20 to 40 ft. wide. It is hardy in USDA Zones 4-8. The related Southern catalpa (Catalpa bignoniodes) overlaps the range of Northern catalpa but also grows further south. It grows 30 to 60 ft. tall, 20 to 40 ft. wide and is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9.
