By Gregg S. Everhart, Landscape Architect, Sunnyside Street Tree Team Member
Winter is a great time to observe and plant trees. Although we often love trees for their flowers, those don’t last long compared to the (seemingly) endless winter. The Sunnyside Street Tree Team (S2T2) has a new list of recommended street trees based on the 2012 inventory. Using the lists of recommended trees will result in a more diverse, healthy, and interesting urban forest.
Listed below is a selection of trees that have evergreen foliage, a particularly graceful overall form, interesting branching structure, colored twigs or buds, and/or unusual bark. Recommended lists of trees, with links to information on each tree, can be found under the S2T2 tab at http://sunnysideneighborhood.wordpress.com/trees/ The website also includes a list of trees at Sunnyside addresses so you can look for them on neighborhood walks. If we resolve some technical issues, there will also be a tour map. Names shown below in bold are trees that are infrequent on Sunnyside streets. Enjoy!
NO OVERHEAD POWER TRANSMISSION LINES
- 2.5-3’ planting strip: Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, Seven Son Flower Tree, Fragrant Snowbell, Snowcone Japanese Snowbell
- 2.5-3.5’ planting strip: Crape Myrtle, Chinese Pistache, Amur maackiai, Golden Glory Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, Japanese Snowbell
- 3-5.5’ planting strip: Cascara, Vanessa Persian Ironwood, Pink Chimes Japanese Snowbell, Japanese Stewartia, Tall (or Orangebark) Stewartia
- 4-5.5’ planting strip: American Hophornbeam
- 4-8.5’ or larger planting strips: Heritage River Birch, Columnar European Hornbeam
- 6’ or larger planting strip: Sourwood, Rivers Purple Beech, Bald Cypress, Frontier Elm, Turkish Filbert, Hackberry, Sunburst Honeylocust, European Hornbeam, Espresso Kentucky Coffee Tree, Burr Oak, Swamp White Oak, Dawn Redwood, Green Vase Zelkova, Village Green Zelkova
OVERHEAD POWER TRANSMISSION LINES (look for ceramic insulators)
- 3-5.5’ planting strip: Chinese Pistache; American Hornbeam; Persian Ironwood; City Sprite Zelkova
- 4-5.5’ planting strip: June Snow Giant Dogwood; Forest Green (or Hungarian) Oak; Moonglow Magnolia
- 4’ or larger planting strip: Crape Myrtle; American Hornbeam; Chinese Dogwood; Chinese Fringetree; Edith Bogue Southern Magnolia
- 6’ or larger planting strip: American Hophornbeam
- 8.5’ or larger planting strip: Sourwood