8 Gardening Pros Pick Their Favorite Must-Have Trees

We went straight to the experts for their top picks

Treesare among the most majestic plants in the landscape painting , and they are essential components of Earth ’s ecology . We literally could not survive without these large , beautiful , and biography - nourish botanical wonders . However , unlike herbaceous plants , trees often involve a considerable investing of metre and money to reach their full voltage in cultivated landscapes . Because there are a slew of tree diagram to opt from , we want to get our treechoicesright the first clock time .

Learn more : The Best Trees and Shrubs for 2024

To aid you narrow down your options , we went to some horticultural experts and asked , “ If you could only have one tree , which one would it be ? ” We recognize that postulate them to choose just one pet industrial plant is a near - impossible request , but they obligate us with some fantastic Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that are right at the top of their lean of favorites . Next fourth dimension you need a tree diagram , consider adding one of these survival to your inclination .

‘Avondale’ Chinese redbud is a compact, reliable performer with stunning blooms

Name:Cercischinensis‘Avondale’

Zones:6–9

Size:10 to 12 feet grandiloquent and wide

Conditions : Full sunlight to partial ghost ; average , moist , well - debilitate soil

Native range : China

Cercisis a pocket-size genus of roughly 10 mintage with a planetary distribution . These tree diagram , normally eff as redbud , are delicious for many reasons , both aesthetic and practical . They break open out in a gorgeous give floral display that can range from pale pink to mauve . Like ornamental stone - yield trees , such as cherry and peach ( Prunusspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–8 ) , redbuds are smaller trees that bloom before thumb out . to boot , when the blossom display is finished , they offer attractive leafage that hold out for much of the year . The center - shaped leaf , similar to those of orchid tree diagram ( Bauhiniaspp . and cvs . , Zones 9–11 ) , can straddle from a merry green to deep maroon , with many cultivar variation in between .

westerly Cercis canadensis ( C. occidentalis , Zones 6–9 ) is our regional species in Southern California . Like many of our native plant life , it has minor piss demand . At The Huntington Botanical Gardens , we also spring up a miscellany of redbud cultivar , such as the beautiful ‘ Avondale ’ Chinese Cercis canadensis , which is among my favorites . This smaller option perform reliably and produces stunning blooms that really remain firm out in the landscape painting . And like all redbuds , ‘ Avondale ’ is beautiful , good to wildlife , and easy to manage . It grows well as a companion to woodland understory plants such as ferns and aquilegia ( Aquilegiaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) , as well as with give bulbs .

The Expert

Nicole Cavenderhas spent her career dedicated to found science , conservation , and pedagogy . She is currently director of the Botanical Gardens at The Huntington Library , Art Museum , and Botanical Gardens in San Marino , California .

Nicole’s recommended companions

Oregon grape . Photo : Jennifer Benner

Camas . Photo : Michelle Gervais

Heuchera . photograph : Jennifer Benner

For the ultimate beneficial shade tree, choose white oak

Name:Quercus alba

Zones:3–9

Size:50 to 80 foot tall and across-the-board

Conditions : Full sun ; moist to dry out , well - drained land

aboriginal kitchen stove : Eastern North America

An archway without a mainstay is destined to crumple ; likewise , a garden without a keystone coinage is ecologically vulnerable . From New England Dame Rebecca West to Minnesota and south to easterly Texas and northern Florida , whitened oak is the image of a anchor shadiness tree and is without disinclination my favorite . It ’s long - live , of striking height — often broad than tall — and hold out to a great eld . It maturate quite fast when planted in undisturbed , highland conditions , often with two growth spurts a time of year .

Looking spiffy year - orotund , white oak ’s sluttish gray shaggy-haired trunks brook out in wintertime , and the come forth leaf in give shines from silvery to rap before maturing unripe ( photograph flop ) . The foliage host many beneficial insect that support the web of liveliness . Fall semblance can be outstanding shades from sienna to purplish red ( photo above ) . young trees or the lower branches of older ones often make their bleached to buff - color marcescent leaves through winter . The acorn crop is occasionally robust , a feast for more species of wildlife than that bring home the bacon by any other tree . There are no cultivar of white oak tree , but pick out a tree of local to regional line of descent for unspoiled effect .

Alan Branhagenis a natural scientist , horticulturist , and author specializing in botany , butterflies , and birds . His career focus has been on the sustainable nurturing of public garden and undetermined spaces , and he is currently theatre director of the Natural Land Institute in Rockford , Illinois .

Alan’s recommended companions

Pagoda dogwood tree . exposure : good manners of Alan Branhagen

False Solomon ’s sealing wax . Photo : gapphotos.com/Richard Wareham

Interrupted fern . pic : courtesy of Alan Branhagen

expert recommended trees

Photo: gapphotos.com/Howard Rice

Seven-son flower is a pollinator favorite for the late-season garden

Name:Heptacodiummiconioides

Zones:5–9

Size:20 to 25 feet grandiloquent and 15 to 20 feet wide

condition : Full Dominicus to light shade ; moist , well - drained soil

Avondale Chinese redbud

Photo: gapphotos.com/Howard Rice

I appreciate seven - boy flower for its essential contributions to the late - time of year landscape . Blooming toward the end of summer , this tree is at its peak peach and fragrance when other plants are evanesce into the background . Its common name was coined by Arnold Arboretum taxonomer Alfred Rehder to discover its inflorescence : six delightfully perfumed livid blossoms bear in whorled 6 - in - foresightful panicle , terminated by a seventh flower . The salad days , which are highly attractive to pollinators , give way to showy , vibrant - red sepal that persist through fall and somehow exceed the splendor of the blossoming ( photo properly ) .

Seven - son flush exhibits a handsome , receptive growth use ( exposure above ) , with greyish - browned out bark that exfoliates to reveal a promiscuous inner barque , adding wintertime interest . Grown as a small tree diagram or big shrub , it fits well in modest urban preferences as well as heroic landscapes . The best flowering occur when it is sited in full sun and well - run out dirt .

Tiffany Enzenbacheris a grower and plant life scientist . Most recently she exploit as the promontory of flora yield at Harvard University ’s Arnold Arboretum in Boston .

Oregon grape

Oregon grape.Photo: Jennifer Benner

Tiffany’s recommended companions

genus Epimedium . photograph : Jennifer Benner

politic hydrangea . pic : Jennifer Benner

Foamflower . photograph : Jennifer Benner

Camas

Camas.Photo: Michelle Gervais

‘Ivory Silk’ Japanese tree lilac is big on fragrant spring blossoms

Name:Syringareticulata‘Ivory Silk’

Zones:3–7

Native range : Japan

There ’s a grounds I always look frontwards to seeing the efflorescence bud on the ‘ Ivory Silk ’ Japanese Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree lilac at Powell Gardens . It means that spring has truly get in in the Midwest and there will be no more moth-eaten picnic or random ice storms . The Brobdingnagian panicles of creamy white bloom can be encounter from quite a distance , and the flowers ’ sweet sweetness roll across the garden .

Heuchera

Heuchera.Photo: Jennifer Benner

‘ Ivory Silk ’ is so loaded with blossoms that a few wo n’t be lack if you take them for cut - efflorescence arrangements . This small tree diagram is the arrant size for most home garden , and it also has attractive reddish - brown bark on younger stems . ‘ Ivory Silk ’ is well-heeled to grow and rarely nark by pests and disease . I particularly roll in the hay the dark centers of heucherella ( ×Heucherellaand cvs . , Zones 4–11 ) leaves combined with the tree ’s bark . Snowdance ™ Japanese tree lilac ( S. reticulata‘BAILNCE ’ , Zones 3–7 ) , a famed variety show with big leaves that are a sullen shade of green , is another fantabulous choice to consider .

Susan Mertzis the director of horticulture at Powell Gardens in Kingsville , Missouri . She has a heat for plants , putting the right specimen in the right post , and botanical photography .

Susan’s recommended companions

‘ Serendipity ’ genus Allium . Photo : Proven Winners

Summer Wine ® Black ninebark . pic : Proven Winners Color Choice

two-fold Play ® Candy Corn ® spirea . Photo : Proven Winners Color Choice

white oak with fall color

Photo: courtesy of Alan Branhagen

Riveting Rosie™ magnolia won’t get zapped by surprise early-spring freezes

Name:Magnoliasieboldii×M. insignis‘Riveting Rosie’

Size:15 to 20 foot tall and 10 to 12 feet spacious

Conditions : Full Sunday ; well - drained , acidulent stain

Native range : loanblend

close up of white oak foliage

Photo: courtesy of Alan Branhagen

In 2012 , I received a seedling magnolia from Kevin Parris at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina . Unfortunately , the label was turn a loss and the seedling ’s identity in limbo until it flowered in 2013 . And what a show it was — with exquisite , chalice - form , satiny , iridescent pinko , fragrant flowers emerging from upright to arching , egg - shaped buds . The flowers , 4 to 5 inches in diam when fully open , are write of six to nine tepals , with the gynoecium ( pistils ) and stamen pinkish to deep blush wine . Each tepal is saturate pink on the proscribed and internal surface , and white-hot at the base . Flowers , disperse throughout the lustrous dark green foliage intercellular substance , heart-to-heart in midspring and continue for several weeks . This late - flowering sequence avoids the traditional early spring freeze that obliterate flowers of saucer magnolia ( M.×soulangeana , Zones 4–9 ) and star magnolia ( M. stellata , Zones 4–8 ) in Zone 8 and modest .

center Rosie ™ is an absolute standout . Remarkably , it inherited the evergreen plant foliage ofM. insignis(Zones 7–9 ) rather than the average - green deciduous leafage ofM. sieboldii(Zones 4–8 ) . In Athens , Georgia , the leaf is evergreen to semi - evergreen , while in Hamden , Connecticut , a baby seedling , ‘ Oyama Rose ’ ( Zones 6–9 ) , is deciduous and flowers reliably . The latter is standardized , but the tepals are livid on the inner and pinkish on the exterior .

The 10 - class - old Riveting Rosie ™ tree in my garden is 12 feet high and 8 base broad . extrapolate from its parentage , I count on that the mature landscape size will be 15 to 20 feet tall by 10 to 12 feet encompassing . This magnolia is heating system and drouth adaptable once lay down , making it an excellent tree for small and large gardens likewise . Although I have noticed flowers sporadically developing on the current season ’s growth , the flower buds predominantly form on the previous season ’s growth , so prune it after flowering . This Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is a rarity at nursery , but it ’s deserving the effort to find .

Pagoda dogwood

Pagoda dogwood.Photo: courtesy of Alan Branhagen

Michael Dirr , Ph.D. , is an award - deliver the goods plantsman , stock breeder , and author with more than 40 age experience as an educator in the green diligence . He spent much of his career as a horticulture professor at the University of Georgia in Athens .

Michael’s recommended companions

‘ O’Kagami ’ Nipponese maple . Photo : courtesy of Michael Dirr

Baptisia . pic : courtesy of Michael Dirr

‘ Rachel Jackson ’ aster . Photo : courtesy of Michael Dirr

False Solomons seal

False Solomon’s seal.Photo: gapphotos.com/Richard Wareham

Native flowering dogwood shines with multiseason interest

Name:Cornusfloridaand cvs.

Size:12 to 20 feet tall and 8 to 15 feet all-inclusive

Conditions : Full Lord’s Day to fond ghost ; moist , well - drained soil

Flowering dogwood has often been hail as the most beautiful native florescence Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the easterly United States . I heartily agree — it ’s a stunner . The flowers themselves are midget , but each cluster is surrounded by four vast white bracts that array like jumbo saucers amid the expand folio in springiness . Each bract is curiously cleft at the baksheesh , which give the heyday an endearing , slightly dishevelled character . bunch of raisin - sized , scarlet red berries ripen in fall just as the paired ellipse leaves flex spectre of maroon and ash grey . The fat - fertile fruits are relished by dozens of songbird , though Old World robin and waxwings take most of the berries on my trees .

Interrupted fern

Interrupted fern.Photo: courtesy of Alan Branhagen

Flowering cornel is a small Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree of the woods understory and bound , with a graceful , superimposed canopy designed to intercept the maximal sunlight useable to it . In the mid-1970s a disease called dogwood anthracnose began pretend the trees , causing branch dieback and even last . Trees toward the northern demarcation line of their cooking stove and those in emphasize locations such as bass ghost and droughty territory are peculiarly susceptible . ‘ Appalachian Spring ’ ( C. florida‘Appalachian Spring ’ , Zones 5–9 ) , a selection found spring up angry in Maryland , has proven to be highly repellent and is wide available .

add editorWilliam Cullinais the executive director of the University of Pennsylvania ’s Morris Arboretum and Gardens in Philadelphia and the writer of several books , include the definitive guideNative Trees , Shrubs , and Vines .

William’s recommended companions

Eastern redbud . Photo : Jennifer Benner

Virginia bluebell . Photo : Jennifer Benner

Pinxterbloom azalea . Photo : gapphotos.com/Elke Borkowski

Seven-son flower

Photo: gapphotos.com/Nova Photo Graphik

‘Pacific Fire’ vine maple sets the scene aglow in gardens big and small

Name:Acercircinatum‘Pacific Fire’

Size:12 to 18 foot marvelous and 10 to 15 invertebrate foot wide

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; fertile , moist , well - drained dirt

aboriginal image : Western North America

close up of seven-son flower inflorescences

Photo: William (Ned) Friedman, courtesy of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

In the Pacific Northwest , vine maples are commonly used native trees . If you ’re count for something similar to the straight species but with a petty more dynamism and multiseason interest , however , consider ‘ Pacific Fire ’ vine maple . This selection has the same rotary leafage figure and multistemmed branching social organization as the straight species , but it ’s slower maturate and more compact , make it a nifty choice for urban landscape . Where it really stands out , though , is its coral - red stems that glow against our hoar winter skies . I ’ll never forget a client tell me once how a grouping of three that I set on the front edge of her timberland was her favorite thing to see from her bedroom windowpane .

‘ Pacific Fire ’ grows best in fond tone . The more Lord’s Day it get , the more the leaves take on a bronze chromaticity . In gloam , their colors range from lucky yellow to burnt orange . ‘ Pacific Fire ’ is also unco adaptive to multiple land precondition . From a designing perspective , it can be used in numerous means — as a single specimen at a front entranceway , as a pigeonholing for privacy and screening , or , as I did for my client , as a transition from a more formal garden to the woodland beyond .

Courtney Olander , a professional landscape painting designer , is the proprietor of Olander Garden Design in Seattle . She has a passion for create outer space that blend lifestyle and gardening .

Epimedium

Epimedium.Photo: Jennifer Benner

Courtney’s recommended companions

‘ Jack Frost ’ brunnera . Photo : courtesy of Courtney Olander

Sunset fern . exposure : good manners of Courtney Olander

Scarlet Ovation ™ California huckleberry . Photo : courtesy of Courtney Olander

Smooth hydrangea

Smooth hydrangea.Photo: Jennifer Benner

Chinese ironwood serves up striking fall color in locales where it’s hard to come by

Name:Parrotiasubaequalis

Size:25 to 30 ft improbable and 10 to 15 feet wide

Conditions : Full Sunday to fond shade ; moist , well - drain , acidulous soil

Chinese ironwood should be a furore anywhere in the Gulf South , where decline colour is hard to find . introduce into culture in North America in 2004 by horticulturist Ozzie Johnson , it ’s still seldom encounter . What ’s alone about this mintage is that it was found in eastern China , about 3,500 miles away from the natural range of Iranian Ostrya virginiana ( P. persica , Zones 4–8 ) , which has been in culture for over 100 old age in North America . What sets Chinese iron-tree asunder from its Iranian relative is fall people of colour , which starts off maroon and transition into fire railway locomotive red . It ’s marcescent , hold the leaf well into the wintertime .

Foamflower

Foamflower.Photo: Jennifer Benner

Chinese ironwood spring up tight and is very well-situated to spread from cuttings taken in belated spring . It ’s been bone hardy in East Texas . In fact , in February 2021 it outlast an East Texas all - time record low temperature ( below zero ) with no hurt . It appreciates well - drained , slightly acidic dirt , and with age it produces attractive exfoliate barque . I surmise that at full maturity it will top out at a manageable 30 feet tall and half as all-inclusive .

David Creech , Ph.D. , is a retired prof of horticulture and the current director of Stephen F. Austin State University Gardens in Nacogdoches , Texas . He have the Outstanding International Horticulturist Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science in 2022 .

David’s recommended companions

Clethra . exposure : Steve Aitken

‘ Florida Sunshine ’ anise seed . exposure : good manners of Plant Delights Nursery

downy ® westerly arborvitae . photograph : courtesy of Proven Winners Color Choice

Ivory Silk Japanese tree lilac

Photo: millettephotomedia.com

How to plant and care for a tree

plant a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is a big investiture . Besides choosing the right one for your land site circumstance and infinite ( trees need a lot of elbow room to grow ) , how you establish and care for it also matters . Before sinking your shovel into the ground , ensure you are implant your tree at the right sentence of year and follow these basic planting and forethought strategies .

1. Choose the right time

While summer is a beautiful time of class to be outdoors , it ’s the inviolable tough clip to engraft Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . The heat and thin moisture are big stressors for plant , especially new tree with sizable root and structural system that need to become established . The best fourth dimension to plant a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is in spring . spill is acceptable too , but perfectly void planting in summertime .

2. Dig a proper hole

The sizing and depth of your tree - planting hole matters greatly . Roots do good from large holes where they can diffuse easily and become established . However , do n’t go too deep or you ’ll bury the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ’s ascendent arrest , which will deoxidise the plant life ’s vigour and might lead to death . The linguistic rule of quarter round is to dig your hole two to three metre wider than the tree ’s root clump . The depth should be no more than the height of the root ball .

3. Wet well and often

Trees generally need 1 to 3 inches of water per week throughout the year , but even moisture is peculiarly of import during establishment , hot spells , and dry periods ( even in wintertime ) . The best fashion to water a tree is lento and deeply . Building a temporary land shoulder at the perimeter of the backfilled maw helps to preclude runoff and allow H2O to pluck in slowly during establishment . A 3 - inch - deep layer of organic mulch also helps to retain soil wet .

*Invasive Alert: Japanese spirea (Spiraea japonica)

This industrial plant is considered trespassing in AL , GA , IN , KY , PA , TN , and VA .

Please visitinvasiveplantatlas.orgfor more information .

source

Serendipity allium

‘Serendipity’ allium.Photo: Proven Winners

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Photo: courtesy of Michael Dirr

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