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Tree Species and Benefits

A Guide to Tree Species and Benefits

Common Name (Species)	Mature Height (Feet)¹	Soil Preference¹	Tolerances¹	Light Needed¹	Large Mature Diameter in Inches²	Value of Annual Energy Savings²	Annual Stormwater Reduction in Gallons²	Special Considerations¹
Serviceberry (Amelanchier species)	25	moist, well-drained		full sun to partial shade	15	n/a³	n/a³	Berries are edible. Multiple species and varieties are available.
Crabapple (Malus species)	25	moist, well-drained	wind	full sun	15	$38.00	667	Size varies by cultivar. Choose disease resistant trees.
Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata)	25	moist, well-drained	wind	full sun	15	$38.00	667
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)	30	moist, well-drained	alkaline soil, wind	full sun to partial shade	15	$38.00	667
American Hornbeam, Musclewood, Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)	30	moist, well-drained, also tolerates wet and dry	dry and wet sites, wind	full sun to partial shade	20	n/a³	n/a³
Eastern Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)	40	moist, well-drained, also tolerates dry	alkaline soil, wind, dry sites	full sun to partial shade	20	$45.00	1089
Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis)	40	moist, well-drained, wet	alkaline soil, soil compaction, wet sites	full sun	20	n/a³	n/a³	Frequently damaged by deer; prone to ice and snow damage.
Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata)	50	moist, well-drained	alkaline soil, wind	full sun	25	$58.00	3285	Japanese beetles are very damaging.
Norway Spruce (Picea abies)	60	moist, well-drained	wind	full sun	25	$39.00	4059	Not suited to small sites; often used in windbreaks; deer resistant.
Black Hills Spruce (Picea glauca var. densata)	60	moist, well-drained, also tolerates some wet and dry	alkaline soil, dry sites, wind	full sun, partial shade	25	$39.00	4059	Not suited to small sites; often used in windbreaks; deer resistant.
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)	60	moist, well-drained	salt, wind	full sun	25	$36.00	1174	Somewhat prone to insects and diseases.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum)	60	moist, well-drained, acid soils, tolerates wet soils	wet sites	full sun to partial shade	25	$61.00	2867	May develop chlorosis in alkaline soils.
Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)	60	moist, well-drained, wet, dry	dry sites, salt, soil compaction, wet sites, wind	full sun	30	$71.00	3764	May develop chlorosis in alkaline soils; oak wilt is possible.
Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)	60	moist, well-drained, dry	alkaline soil, dry sites, salt, wind	full sun	30	$74.00	4685
Freeman Maple (e.g. Autumn Blaze) (Acer x freemanii)	60	moist, well-drained, also tolerates wet	wet sites	full sun	30	n/a³	n/a³	Surface roots can interfere with sidewalks.
River Birch (Betula nigra)	70	moist, well-drained, also tolerates wet	soil compaction, wet sites, wind	full sun	30	$71.00	3764	May develop chlorosis in alkaline soils.
Hybrid Elm (Ulmus hybrid cultivars)	70	adaptable, prefers well-drained	drought, moderate tolerance to clay and wet sites	full sun	30	n/a³	n/a³	Cultivars vary widely-description based on Accolade Elm.
Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum)	70	moist, well-drained		full sun	35	$80.00	5914
Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)	75	moist, well-drained	salt	full sun	35	$55.00	3030	Oak wilt is possible.
Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)	75	moist, well-drained	alkaline soil, dry sites, salt, wind	full sun	25	$66.00	3492
Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)	75	moist, well-drained, wet, dry	alkaline soils, dry sites, salt, wet sites, wind	full sun	35	$85.00	6073	Oak wilt and bur oak blight are possible.
Hickory (Carya species)	75	moist, well-drained, dry	dry sites, wind	full sun, partial shade (some species)	30	$76.00	4717	Multiple species are native to Iowa, but few are grown in nurseries because of transplant difficulty and slow growth.
Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)	75	moist, well-drained, also tolerates wet and dry	dry sites, salt, wet sites	full sun, partial shade	45	$91.00	7692	May develop chlorosis in alkaline soils; surface roots can interfere with sidewalks; weak wood is prone to storm damage; roots can invade septic systems.
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)	80	moist, well-drained		full sun	40	$38.00	4605	Easily damaged by salt spray, wet soil, and soil compaction; needles eaten by deer.
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba))	80	moist, well-drained, dry	dry sites, salt, wind	full sun	35	$49.00	1857	Be sure to get a male cultivar if you don't want stinky fruits.
American Basswood (Tilia americana)	80	moist, well-drained	alkaline soil, wind	full sun to partial shade	35	$80.00	5105	Japanese beetles can be damaging, especially on young trees.
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)	90	moist, well-drained, dry	alkaline soil, dry sites, wind	full sun	40	$92.00	7239	Nuts are edible but problematic on streets and sidewalks.
Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)	90	moist, well-drained, wet, dry	alkaline soil, dry sites, salt, wet sites, wind	full sun	40	$102.00	6493
Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)	100	moist, well-drained, wet, dry	alkaline soil, dry sites, salt, soil compaction, wet sites	full sun	45	$99.00	7239	Cotton can be messy, but male cultivars don't have cotton. These can be VERY large. Roots can invade septic systems.
Tuliptree (Liriodendron)	100	moist, well-drained		full sun	45	$99.00	7239	Not suited to dry or small sites.
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)	100	moist, well-drained, also tolerates wet and dry	alkaline soil, wet sites, dry sites, soil compaction, wind	full sun to partial shade	45	$99.00	7239	Grows to be very large - a smaller and more disease resistant hybrid (London planetree) may be better for street tree planting.
1 Tree size and growing conditions data collected from: University of Illinois Extension website- Selecting Trees for Your Home (http://urbanext.illinois.edu/treeselector/); Morton Arboretum website (http://www.mortonarb.org/); Missouri Botanical Gardens website (http://www.mobot.org/); Ohio Public Library Information Network website- What Tree is It? (http://www.oplin.org/tree/). Tree heights listed are the higher end of the range, but some individual trees may grow taller.
2 Annual tree benefits were calculated using the National Tree Benefits Calculator (http://www.treebenefits.com/calculator/). Benefits are esimated values for street trees near single-family residential homes in the Midwest. Tree diameter at breast height (DBH) is the diameter of the trunk measured at 4.5 feet above the ground. The DBH for large mature trees was entered into the National Tree Benefits Calculator to estimate tree benefits. Large mature tree DBH was estimated using Trees Forever tree inventory data and tree diameter estimates from the Ohio Public Library Information Network website- What Tree is It? (http://www.oplin.org/tree/). The maximum allowable DBH is 45 inches, but a few species may grow even larger than that. The actual DBH of mature trees can vary widely, and the benefit calculations should only be used as estimates.
3 This tree species was not included in the National Tree Benefits Calculator. Its benefits would like be similar to other deciduous trees of similar size.