Street Trees for Guilderland

Guilderland Tree Preservation Committee
- Street Trees for Guilderland

The lists below were compiled by Laura Barry and members of the Committee, using professional sources and with regard to the local climate zone and soils.
These emphasize trees that are native species and omit a number of those once commonly planted, some of which are now not recommended.
When choosing trees to plant along the street verge, or in your garden, it is most important to plant a variety of species, with not more than 10% of the same single species in any area, in order to minimize the chance of infestation and destruction of many trees by a single invasive insect or fungus.
An introductory page lists the important practical considerations for making choices.
We offer references and online resources of some of the sources used to make these selections.
Links in the tables below are to pages in the Cornell Woody Plants Database, unless that lacks a page for that tree, when pages from other sites, e.g. Morton Arboretum, Missouri Botanical Garden or other reputable sites are used; the intention being to lead to informative photos of each of these trees.

- pdf file of these lists, formatted for printing on letter size pages: Street Trees for Guilderland

In the tables below, non-native tree species are marked by a

to the name (e.g. see Cornus mas - the Cornelian Cherry, in the first table)
species that are compatible with the Pine Bush ecosystem have a

to the name (e.g. see Amelanchier - Serviceberry)

Street Trees for Guilderland: Mature Height Under 30'
Scientific Name	Common Name	Form	Image	Tolerances	Wildlife	Notes/Cultivars
Acer saccharum ‘Sugar Cone’	Sugar Maple					a small cultivar
Amelanchier laevis	Serviceberry	Rounded, Multi-Stemmed or Single Stemmed		Shade and wet site tolerant	Pollinators,Small Mammals, Birds, 124 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars, ‘Princess Diana, ‘Autumn Sunset’
Betula nigra, ‘Fox Valley’	Dwarf River Birch
Carpinus caroliniana	American Hornbeam, Musclewood	Rounded		part shade and tolerates wet soil especially sensitive to drought, heat and soil compaction slow growing	Pollinators,Small Mammals, Birds, 78 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars "Ball of Fire” 15’x15’ superior fall color
Cercis canadensis	Eastern Redbud	Rounded		Tolerates some shade	Pollinators,Small Mammals, Birds, 12 species of Butterflies and Moths - One of the top 10 most important native trees for pollinators	Early bloomer. Many cultivars.
Chionanthus virginicius	White Fringe Tree
Cornus mas	Cornelian Cherry	Rounded, Multi-stemmed		Salt tolerant	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds	native to Western Asia Early bloomer. ‘Golden Glory’
Crataegus sp. ‘Inermis’	Hawthorn					thornless cultivars
Maackia amurensis	Amur maackia	20’-30’ with equal or wider spread		very hardy		native to Manchuria
Malus spp.	Crabapples	Broad		Dry sites	Pollinators,Small Mammals, Birds, 309 species of Butterflies and Moths	Choose disease resistant cultivars, ‘Adirondak’, ‘Donald Wyman’
Oxydendrum arboreum	Sourwood Tree			Intolerant of drought
Prunus sargentii 'Accolade' hybrid	Sargent Cherry hybrid	Vase some cultivars <30'			Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds	Many cultivars, ‘Pink Flair’, ‘Columnaris’
Prunus 'Snow Goose'	hybrid Cherry
Stewartia ovata	mountain camellia			sensitive to heat, drought, and soil compaction slow growing difficult to cultivate and transplant		Many cultivars
Syringa reticulata	Japanese Lilac Tree			very hardy

Street Trees for Guilderland: Mature Height 30' - 60'
Scientific name	Common Name	Height & Form	Image	Tolerances	Wildlife	Notes/Cultivars
Acer x freeman	Freeman Maple	40’-50’ Upright, Oval, Columnar			Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds,	Fast grower
Acer myabei	Miyabe maple	30’-60’				cultivar ‘State Street’, native to Japan
Acer rubrum	Red Maple	to 60’ Oval, Upright, Round		tolerates salt and moist soils	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 295 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars for size, shape and stunning fall color
Carpinus betulus	European Hornbeam	25’-40’ Narrow, Round		salt and shade tolerant	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds.	Excellent planted in groupings cultivar ‘Fastiagiata’
Celtis occidentalis	Common Hackberry	40’-60 Vase, Oval Round		tolerates salt	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 44 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars shape is similar to an Elm underused street tree
Cladrastis kentukea	Yellowwood	30' - 50'				smooth bark, lovely branch structure underused street tree
Gleditsia triacanthos var. interims (thornless)	Honey Locust	30’-70’		high tolerance of salt, drought, wet, wind, pollution		overused street tree
Nyssa sylvatica	Black Gum	30’-50’ Striking Pyramidal		tolerates salt, drought, and moist soils	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 35 species of Butterflies and Moths	One of the most beautiful fall trees. Deep roots. Many cultivars; spectacular fall colors
Ostrya virginiana	American Hophornbeam, Ironwood	25’-40’ Pyramidal, Round		tolerates dry gravelly soils and some shade	Pollinators, Small Mammals,Birds, supports 90 species of Butterflies and Moths	Some cultivars interesting shaggy bark underused tree
Prunus sargentii	Sargent Cherry	40' - 50' Vase		hardy street tree tolerates salt	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds	Native to Japan Many cultivars, ‘Pink Flair’, ‘Columnaris’
Quercus bicolor	Swamp Oak	50' - 60'		tolerates salt, drought and flooding
Zelkova serrata	Japanese zelkova	60' - 80', Vase some cultivars <30'		hardy		excellent street tree good fall color, fast growing

Street Trees for Guilderland: Mature Height Over 60’
Scientific name	Common Name	Height & Form	Image	Tolerances	Wildlife	Notes/Cultivars
Acer saccharum	Sugar Maple	60’-75’ Oval, Upright, Round			Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 295 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars
Acer nigrum	Black Maple	60’-75’ Oval, Round, Upright		prefers acid, moist, well-drained soil	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds,
Ginkgo biloba	Ginkgo; Maidenhair Tree	60' - 100' pyramidal with age		tolerates salty soil pest free slow growing		only use fruitless males, many cultivars, native to China overused street tree
Gymnocladus dioicus	Kentucky Coffeetree	70' - 80' oval, spreading		tolerates salty soil		many cultivars underused street tree
Liquidambar styraciflua	Sweetgum	70' - 100' pyramidal when young; round with age		relatively pest free		underused street tree interesting seed pods
Platanus occidentalis	American Sycamore	75' - 100' irregular, wide-spreading open crown		wet tolerant		interesting bark
Quercus alba	White Oak	50’-80’ Broad, Irregular		Dry Sites	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 557 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars for smaller size and narrowness
Quercus coccinea and Quercus rubra	Scarlet Oak Red Oak	70' - 75' pyramidal to rounded and open 60’-75’		thrives in dry sandy soils		spectacular fall color, vigorous grower Many cultivars
Quercus imbricaria	Shingle Oak	40' - 60' Round (spread equal)		tolerates drought not tolerant of salt, no tap root		a good street tree
Quercus macrocarpa	Bur Oak	70’-80’ Stately		Dry Sites	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 557 species of Butterflies and Moths	Cultivars developed for smaller size and with fewer acorns.
Quercus montana	Chestnut Oak	60’-70’ Round		Dry Sites	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 557 species of Butterflies and Moths	No cultivars. Leaves resemble chestnut tree leaves.
Quercus palustris	Pin Oak	50' - 70' pyramidal, oval with age		no distinct tap root		overplanting has encouraged insect problems
Quercus phellos	Willow Oak	40’-70’ Pyramidal, Round		Dry Sites tolerates salty soil	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 557 species of Butterflies and Moths
Quercus velutina	Black Oak	50' - 60' elongated or rounded (variable spread)		deep tap root prefers moist, rich soil
Tilia americana	American Linden, Basswood	60' - 80' Pyramidal		Very susceptible to Japanese beetles, mites, aphids, borers	Pollinators, Small Mammals, Birds, supports 153 species of Butterflies and Moths	Many cultivars

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