Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Advice Need:Trees for Sunny Front Yard, 5 by ViburnumValley

ViburnumValley wrote:
OK, Wee - no fair throwing in the towel so easily. I like the plants you've listed, but I'd venture that KY Coffee Tree, Black Maple, Yellowwood, and Blackgum (while fabulous plants) don't fit the small tree designation.

Take a gander at Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America (Gary Hightshoe, 1988) for a starter text. About as thick as Dirr, and I've been using it for 20 plus years. It doesn't have every single plant in it, but it has enough to suit most users. It has a distribution map for each species (including western NY). It is great for its categorization of plants by form, branching, foliage, flower, fruit, habitat, soil, hardiness, susceptibility to problems, urban tolerances, and its associate species. Under each of these headings, the subject is broken down to even more subsets. Many will find this somewhat older reference still a stellar backbone of their library of knowledge.

That said: roberta1977 will do well to make the longer list of trees that are interesting for all the reasons mentioned, but then start fitting them together categorically along with other plants that "play well together" - shorthand for being natural associates in the wild in similar soils, hydrology, aspect, light conditions, etc. That's when the whole idea of using native plants pays off in spades for the gardener and the local flora/fauna intended to benefit.

I'm not averse to using non-native ornamentals (as long as they have no damaging invasive potential) for these conditions, either - but that question was not raised.

So - to dessert:

•Acer spicatum or other understory Maples (Moosewood fits here, Wee?)
•Alnus rugosa and other small Alders
•Amelanchier canadensis, A. laevis, and others of the diverse Serviceberry clan
•Asimina triloba
•Carpinus caroliniana (as mentioned by Weerobin)
•Cercis canadensis (this may be a slight stretch)
•Cornus alternifolia (as mentioned by Weerobin) and all the other shrubby Dogwoods
•Cornus florida
•Crataegus crusgalli and many more native Hawthorns
•Euonymus atropurpureus (didn't realize my favorite Wahoo went this far north)
•Hamamelis virginiana
•Ostrya virginiana
•Prunus americana and other small native Plums/Cherries
•Ptelea trifoliata
•Rhododendron maximum (another plant I didn't realize occurred north of the middle Appalachians)
•Rhus copallina and other Sumacs (Note: these colonize, so don't use if you don't want many stems around)
•Viburnum lentago
•Viburnum prunifolium
•Viburnum rufidulum

All of this is your choice, of course, but I must say that using native plants must come with the realization that there are native flora/fauna that use those plants. That means insects that eat foliage; birds that eat fruit; and yes, fungi that colonize parts of the plant. Healthily grown, however, these resident pests are ephemeral. The goal is to recognize where the limitations are, whether they are acceptable, and focus elsewhere when at less than peak appearance.

The example of Hawthorn is a perfect one. You mention you'd like some winter interest to carry through the long cold gray. Hawthorns are almost at the top of this heap (Holly would be right there with them) for interesting habit and bark, and long persistent fruit. To leave this off the list because of some rust or other foliar problems would be a big mistake to me. There are many species of borers that each have their favorite species of tree to invade. If that was a threshold, we would never plant anything. The keys are always:

•Procure a healthy plant
•Site and plant it properly
•Take care of it

OK, I'm through barking. Get after making your list and assessing your site - and then shop. I'll add a few more plant ideas here that stray from the strictly local natives, but are high quality plants for landscapes.

•Malus - there are so many great Flowering Crabapples for landscapes
•Hamamelis vernalis and other hybrid Witch Hazels
•Magnolia - there are many deciduous Magnolias that are very hardy
•Acer sp. - there are many Asian maples with fantastic bark and interesting samaras (the seeds we call helicopters)
•Cornus mas and other non-native Dogwoods
•Sorbus alnifolia
•Syringa reticulata
•Syringa pekinensis
•Viburnum sargentii
•Viburnum sieboldii

A couple more to consider: the deciduous Holly group. Ilex decidua challenges the more common Crabapple as favorite for persistent fruit through winter months - still attached and colorful when new foliage is emerging in spring. The larger selections of Ilex verticillata should never fail to impress for their copious fruit display, though usually considered a shrub for landscape character. Both of these will prefer more moisture than average, but don't absolutely require it.

Here are some images to prime the pump...Blackhaw Viburnum, Flowering Crabapple, Possumhaw Holly, Winter King Hawthorn, Three Flower Maple.