ADVERTISING: ADVERTORIAL — Common trees

Purple plums, Red maples and Kwanzan cherries. These are all very common urban trees in our region. Some may even say a little too common. We all know them well, whether you realize it or not. All you have to do is drive down any public street in any of our local towns: I can guarantee you can spot all three if you know what you are looking for. The reason these are popular trees is that they adapt well to planting locations where moisture content in the soil is typically high, such as swales. They grow relatively fast, and they are attractive trees during the growing seasons. All qualities that most homeowners would look for in a tree.

If these trees have all these attractive qualities, why do some say they are “too common” and what is the problem with that? One word: variety. Variety has a couple different meanings when it comes to trees. You can have different varieties of species, such as a Norway maple (Acer platanoides) versus a Red Maple (Acer rubrum). “Acer” is the genus and “rubrum” is the species. These are ranks in the taxonomy hierarchy, which is a structured system used to classify living things into eight descending ranks.

You can also have too little variety of trees. Put more clearly, you have too many of the exact same type of tree in our urban landscape. One thing to consider regarding variety is the amount of species planted that are all the same. For example, “Krauter Vesuvius Flowering Plum” versus “Thundercloud Flowering Plum.” They are both the same species belonging to the genus “Prunus,” but they are different varieties. They have slightly different branch structure and are essentially the same shape. A couple of winters ago, we experienced a freeze unlike we had seen in decades. The consequences of that freeze we are still dealing with today. What we found out is that the Krauter Vesuvius couldn’t handle the cold, but the Thundercloud Plums survived just fine.

My point in all this is that variety in your trees can be a great thing. Too little variety is when you start running into problems. When considering planting selection, whether for a new build, replacing dead trees or adding to your landscape, consider what trees are around you and how you may be able to diversify our urban forest with more variety. What we want to avoid is planting tons of the same species, or varieties of the same species. This will help us avoid mass devastation throughout our urban forests when an unexpected freeze, pest or fungus comes through that heavily impacts a single species or variety of that species.

As always, for further questions, quotes or consultations, give us a call today, 208-762-5800!

For more information on Grace Tree Service, check out our website at gracetreeservice.com.