Selecting Trees for Your Site


Selecting a tree that will survive and flourish isn’t always as easy as a trip to the garden center. We often select a tree for its aesthetic attributes such as showy spring flowers, fall color, or unique leaf or bark without even looking at the site and conditions it will have to grow in. Before you get your heart set on a certain tree for your yard, there are several things you need to look at and think about.

  • Evaluate the above and below ground growing space. If high voltage electric lines exist overhead, select a tree species that will mature at 25-30 feet, such as crabapple, tree lilac, hedge maple, or ornamental cherry, to name a few.
  • Examine the soil texture, pH, drainage and compaction levels. If the soils are a heavy clay or drain slowly, that will limit species selection because many trees can not survive in these soils. Soil pH is a measure of acidity and 7.0 or greater will not grow healthy oaks and red maples.
  • If the tree will be planted along a road or sidewalk, select a species that will tolerate deicing salts.
  • Avoid selecting trees that have poor branch structure and are prone to branch breakage such as ‘Bradford’ Callery Pear, Willow, Poplar, Siberian Elm, or Silver Maple. Do not plant these close to homes or structures.
  • Avoid planting invasive species that will quickly take over a site and displace native plants, degrading habitat for native insects, birds and animals.
  • Avoid some species that are currently under stress and declining in our landscapes, due to introduced insects and diseases.

The best success will come from matching the planting site limitations with a tree that will tolerate those conditions. The following websites will provide you more in-depth information about analyzing your site conditions and selecting a tree species that will flourish in that site.
Penn State University publications on selecting Conifers, Shade and Ornamental Trees

Penn State University’s Landscape Factsheet - this publication contains over 200 different species and cutivars, color images for each, and facts about their growing requirements, limitations, and growth habits/mature size.

This book can be ordered at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu

It is also now available on CD Rom for digital use – call 814-865-7541 or email ForestResources@psu.edu

Penn State Article on Selecting Quality Plants

Penn State Consumer Horticulture Website

Cornell University’s Urban Horticulture Institute website

Free downloadable publication titled “Urban Trees: Site Assessment and Selection for Stress Tolerant Planting’
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/bassuk/uhi/outreach/recurbtree/index.html

Northern Trees – a tree selection website designed by Rutgers and the USDA Forest Service
http://orb.at.ufl.edu/TREES/index.html

Ornamental Plants Websites listed at University of Connecticut

Ohio State University’s Plants Facts Plant Lists

USDA Forest Service website containing many images of trees

Selecting Trees that are Compatible with Utility Lines (trees that mature at lower heights)


Selecting the Right Tree for the Right Place

National Arbor Day Foundation Guide to Selecting Trees

Selecting Quality Nursery Plants Publication


Tree Selection Guide designed by Dr. Ed Gilman, University of Florida

Saving Energy with Tree Plantings
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/treecare/energy/strategies.html

Cornell University’s Poisonous Plants Database
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/alphalist.html