She told me that Pepco wants to remove and replace the trees on our street. I knew this was coming but I thought I could delay the decision by waiting until after Pepco’s contractors had done their pruning. But when I broached this again she asked in return, “Why wait? Why not get the new trees growing?”
Neighbors who would also be impacted had pretty much allowed me to be their proxy in this decision. And to be perfectly honest, our maples had not done well.
I told her that I wanted trees that would spread out and provide shade to the sidewalk in the summer. She offered to send me a list of trees that they consider suitable for our tree box area, 35-feet tall and under. I told her I would contact neighbors to see if they had a particular request.
Here is the list of trees with a maximum height of 35 feet.
Scientific Name | Common Name |
Acer buergerianum | Trident maple |
Acer campestre | Hedge maple |
Acer ginnala | Amur maple |
Acer griseum | Paperbark maple |
Amelancheir arborea ’Autumn Briliance’ | Downy serviceberry |
Amelanchier laevis | Allegheny serviceberry |
Cercidiphyllum japonicum | Katsura tree |
Cercis canadensis | Eastern redbud |
Cercis canadensis ’Forest Pansy’ | Forest Pansy’ redbud |
Cercis reniformis ’Oklahoma’ | Oklahoma’ Western redbud |
Chionanthus retusus | Chinese fringetree |
Cornus florida ’Cherokee Princess’ | Cherokee Princess’ flowering dogwood |
Cornus florida x kousa ’Rutgan’ | Rutgan dogwood |
Cornus kousa | Kousa dogwood |
Corylus colurna | Turkish filbert |
Cotinus obovatus | American smoketree |
Halesia tetraptera | Carolina silverbell |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Biloxi’ | Biloxi crape myrtle |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Muskogee’ | Muskogee crape myrtle |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Biloxi’ single stem | Biloxi crape myrtle single stem |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Muskogee’single stem | Muskogee crape myrtle single stem |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Natchez’ | Natchez crape myrtle |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Natchez’ single stem | Natchez crape myrtle single stem |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Tuscarora’ | Tuscarora crape myrtle |
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Tuscarora’ single stem | Tuscarora crape myrtle single stem |
Malus ‘Donald Wyman’ | Donald wyman crab apple |
Malus’Adirondack’ | Adirondack crabapple |
Oxydendron arboretum | Sourwood |
Parrotia persica | Persian parrotia |
Prunus mume’Peggy Clark’ | Japanese apricot |
Pyrus callaryana’Autumn Blaze’ | Autumn Blaze pear |
Prunus virginiana ‘Canada Red’ | Canada Red chokecherry |
Prunus x okame | Okame cherry |
Prunus x yodoensis | Yoshino cherry |
Styrax japonicus | Japanese snowbell |
Syringa reticulata | Japanese tree lilac |
The problem is that I don’t know much about them. For those who know about trees, what would you suggest from this list? If we can get blossoming in the spring, great fall color, and spreading, that would be a boon.
And does all this mean I would also be responsible for getting after the neighbors to water? This is what I get myself into when I get interested in something like Pepco’s tree-pruning program – an occupational hazard.
Laurie says
Bloom in Spring is nice, but anything that drops fruit/berries/nuts can be very messy for walkers and homeowners who bring these things in on their shoes–if you’ve walked along Reno where there are ghinkos, you know what I mean. Which trees are best for their spreading growth habit and longevity? It would be good to think long-term, even though we might not be around to appreciate them.