Best Trees for Growing in Lawns
In order to be a good tree to grow in a lawn it needs a number of
things going for it. In particular a good lawn tree:
1.Should be deciduous, meaning it should loose all of its leaves in
the winter. This will let in light in the wintertime, when light levels are
lowest. Deciduous trees also do not block any warming winter sunlight from
reaching the house. Trees on the south or east sides of any house should always
be deciduous, never evergreen.
2.Should have roots that do not creep upward into the lawn where
they’ll be hit by lawnmowers. Roots that grow up into the lawn are a real pain,
hard to get rid of, and will easily ruin a lawnmower.
3.Should be attractive, or why else even plant it?
4.Should be fairly easy to grow, not too fussy. Always select trees
that are know to be disease resistant.
5.Should be able to adapt to the irrigation a lawn will receive.
Certain trees grow well in lawns and others, such as oaks, do not. Plant lawn
trees that will thrive in a lawn area, even if it is frequently irrigated.
6.Should be a type of tree that will not have a negative allopathic
effect on the lawn. For example, eucalyptus or walnut trees produce a substance
that kills off other plants below them.
7.Should produce shade that is not too deep. No grass can grow in
the deepest shade. Branches on lawn trees should ideally be kept fairly high.
8.Should not produce a lot of allergenic pollen. There’s no point in
planting a tree that will make you sick every year.
*Note: No lawn tree will grow well when it is young if the grass is
allowed to grow right up to its trunk! I can’t stress this enough. A young tree
in a lawn should have an area underneath it that is kept totally grass-free for
the first 4-5 years of the tree’s growth. If lawn is permitted to grow right
next to the trunk of a young tree, the tree’s growth will almost always be
stunted. Even after this period of time it is better to either keep the area
immediately under the tree grass-free, or to plant a low-growing groundcover
under it.
Trunks of young trees should never be hit with weedwackers. String-
trimmers ruin the tender bark of many young lawn trees, and then stunt their
subsequent growth. Keep a clean area a minimum of 3’wide under any new lawn
tree.
Even though a lawn has shallow roots and there is little point in
watering lawns much deeper than a foot, trees will develop deep roots. To make
sure your new tree grows those deep, drought resistant roots, give it a really
good soaking once a month from spring until fall. Just put a garden hose near
the base of the tree, turn it on low, and let it soak for a long time.
Watch mulch around the trunks of young trees! Mulching trees is a
good idea but keep the mulch a few inches away from the actual trunk of the
young tree. In the wintertime, especially where there is snow cover, it is a
darn good idea to put a wrap of ¼ inch mesh chicken wire around the trunk, to
keep mice and rabbits from eating the tender young bark. Many a new tree is
killed because of wintertime damage to the trunk from rodents.
If you live in an area where the winter temperatures get below zero
F, it is a good idea to paint the trunks of new lawn trees white. The white
paint will reflect the winter sun, and will keep the sap from warming up and
starting to flow in the middle of winter. Painted trees are much less likely to
get “winter sun scald,” which is what they call it when the bark cracks and
splits open, usually on the south side of the trunk. Use indoor grade white
latex paint for this, and it is perfectly okay too, to paint some of the larger
branches. This painting can be repeated each fall with good effect until the
tree is about 7-8 years old. As the trees mature their bark will thicken and
toughen up, and will naturally be more resistant to freezing and the winter sun.
Make sure to fertilize the new trees twice each season. Use a
fertilizer high in N, nitrogen, in the springtime, and a fertilizer low in
nitrogen and high in potassium in the fall. Lawn grass that grows under trees
may well need a bit of extra fertilizer through the growing season, as the tree
roots will absorb much of the lawn fertilizer as well.
There are devices with long, hollow spikes on them that screw on the
end of a hose. You put the fertilizer for the tree in these contraptions, shove
the spike down deep into the tree’s root zone, and turn on the hose. This is a
good way to fertilize lawn trees.
Existing trees and planting new lawns
Many a nice lawn tree has been killed when the owner decides to
plant a new lawn, and hauls in extra topsoil to spread. If you cover the roots
of a tree with several inches of additional soil, you may easily smother the
tree roots, killing the tree. If the soil around an existing tree needs to be
raised, then you need to build a “tree well,” an area around the tree, at least
four feet wide, where the original soil level is maintained. This is especially
important with oak trees, which will quickly die if the soil level is raised
right up to the trunk.
Manure and lawn trees
Never put manure right up to the trunk of a lawn tree. Fresh manure
in particular is especially toxic to young trees. I have seen some pretty nice,
large trees killed when their owners mulched them with a thick layer of
supposedly “well-cured” horse manure. Even with compost, don’t place it right
next to the trunk of the tree!
Twenty-five Recommended Trees for your Lawn
1.Red Maple ‘Autumn Glory’: Zones 3-9. a large, rounded, handsome
female, pollen-free tree, loses its leaves, easy to grow in bluegrass lawns.
Great fall color.
2.Red maple ‘’October Glory’: Zones 3-9 a female, pollen-free tree,
does especially well in lawns and does not cast a deep lawn killing shade.
3.Red maple ‘Bowhall,’ Acer rubrum ‘Bowhall,’ is an attractive,
pollen-free deciduous female tree, with excellent fall color. It grows narrowly
upright and is a good lawn tree for smaller yards. Shade is not dense.
4.Crabapple ‘Molten Lava,’ Malus species, Zones 4-9. A smaller, very
pretty, flowering crabapple tree, to 10’ tall, with great flowers in spring and
small red fruits in fall. Does fine in well-drained lawns, and is an especially
disease resistant tree.
5.Crabapple ‘Dolgo, Malus ‘dolgo,’ Zones 3-9, Pink buds open to
fragrant, white flowers in late spring. Glossy, dark green foliage turns yellow
in the fall and has good disease resistance. Large, almost florescent, bright
red fruit ripening in early summer is excellent for crabapple jelly. A hardy
tree with a spreading, upright and open habit. Does well in bluegrass lawns.
6.Crabapple ‘Red Splendour.’ Malus species, Zones 3-8. Greenish-red
leaves with rose-pink flowers. Small red fruit stays on the tree well in to the
winter. Good resistance to disease. An upright growing smaller crabapple tree,
good in lawns.
7.Crabapple ‘Snowcloud,’ Zones 4-8, profuse double white flowers,
mostly pollen-free and fruitless, bright green leaves, smaller tree, to 20 feet
tall. Good in lawns.
8.Crabapple ‘Sugar Tyme,’ Pale pink buds open to fragrant, showy
white blossoms that cover the tree in spring. A bounty of small, persistent,
bright red fruit are produced in the fall and attract birds. This vigorous tree
has crisp, dark green leaves and an upright, oval habit. One of the most disease
resistant flowering crabapples. Good in lawns. To 20 feet tall.
9.Flowering plum: Prunus species, zones 4-10, a pretty, easy to grow
tree, loses its leaves in fall, flowers in the spring, grows fast and likes
frequent irrigations, as in a lawn. Shade is not dense.
10.Apricot trees, Prunus species, Zones 4-10: attractive, loses its
leaves in fall, easy to grow in western areas, blossoms smell great, and the
fruit is good. Should be pruned so that it is not difficult to mow under. Does
not cast a dense shade. Good fall color too.
11.Fuyu persimmon trees, Diospyros kaki, Zones 4-10: slow growing,
very attractive bark and leaves, shade not dense, fruit is beautiful, sweet and
excellent, tree is female and pollen-free. Incredible fall color.
12.Pineapple Guava tree, Feijoa sellowiana, Zones 8-10, small
evergreen tree. Best grown as a multi-trunked tree, to 18’ tall, gray-green
attractive leaves, white-red flowers, sweet green fruit. With age the tree
becomes more and more attractive, the bark ever more interesting.
13.Honeylocust trees, Gleditsia triacanthos, all Zones, a nice,
medium-sized shade tree. Loses its leaves in fall, grows well in lawns, and does
not cast a deep grass killing type of shade.
14.Variegated Box Elder, Acer negundo ‘Variegata’, an attractive,
smaller three-leafed maple tree, with beautiful variegated green and white
leaves. Deciduous, female and pollen-free, easy to grow, and does well in lawns.
Shade not dense.
15.Fringe tree, Chionanthus virginicus, Zones 5-10. If you can find
one that has small black fruits on it, then it is a pollen-free female tree, a
much desired lawn tree. Roots go down and stay down, foliage is very attractive,
leaves lost in winter, attractive, lightly fragrant bright white flowers, grows
well in lawns. Shade not dense.
16.Sourwood tree, Nyssa sylvatica, Zones 4-9. A small to
medium-sized lawn tree, deciduous, excellent fall color. Female sourwood trees
are pollen free; look for the exceptional cultivar called ‘Miss Scarlet,’ which
has no pollen, terrific red fall color, and has attractive small ornamental blue
fruit. These trees thrive in acid soils and will not do well with alkaline soil.
17.Japanese Raisin Tree, Hovenia dulcis, Zones 8`-10. The female
trees have small, sweet, raisin-like fruit and are pollen-free. Raisin trees
have beautiful leaves, are deciduous, grow well in lawns, and do not cast a deep
shade.
18.Hardy Rubber Tree, Eucommia ulmoides, best in zones 5-7, is a
large shade tree that does not cast deep shade. If you can find a fruiting tree,
it will be female and pollen-free too. Roots stay down and tree grows well in
bluegrass lawns.
19.Pomegranate tree, Punica granatum, Zones 7-10, makes a beautiful,
small lawn tree if grown as either a single-trunked tree, or as a three-trunked
tree. Pomegranate thrives where summer heat is high. Loses its leaves in fall,
bright yellow fall color, shade not dense, attractive orange flowers and red
fruit. Will grow well in a fescue, Bermudagrass, or St Augustine lawn.
20.Bougainvillea, Zones 9-10. Not normally thought of as a tree at
all, a bougainvillea can easily be trained into an unusual and quite beautiful
small lawn tree. The best way to do this is to pound a strong 8’ metal stake,
several feet deep into the ground, and then plant three one-gallon bougainvillea
plants around the stake. Trim the plants back to one or two of the longest, most
vigorous branches, and weave these up the stake. It takes about a year to
develop this into a tree form. Keep the trunk leaf-free and shear the top
several times a year for a lollypop shape. Best cultivars for this are ‘San
Diego Red’ or the variegated ‘Raspberry Ice’ bougainvillea. There are some
fantastic bougainvillea trees at Disneyland.
21.Quaking Aspen, ‘Pendula,’ Populus tremuloides ‘Pendula’ grows in
all Zones. This is a medium-sized, pollen-free, female, weeping aspen tree, very
attractive, good fall color, easy to grow, and is fast growing. Doesn’t cast a
deep shade and grows well in most lawns.
22. Black Poplar, ‘Theves’ Poplar, Populus nigra ‘Afghanica’ or P.
n. ‘thevestina’ is an attractive, medium-sized, tall, narrowly upright shade
tree, winter hardy in all zones. ‘Theves’ Poplar is female, pollen-free, and has
bright yellow fall color. Good in lawns where a narrow tree is needed.
23.‘Noreaster’ Poplar, Populus ‘Noreaster’ is a good, larger shade
tree for lawns. ‘Noreaster’ is a sterile female tree, so no seeds and no pollen.
Does well in most bluegrass lawns and is winter hardy in even the coldest zones.
24.Japanese Paper Mulberry trees, Broussonetia kazinoki, are
separate sexed and if you can find a fruiting tree, it will be pollen-free.
These do not cast deep shade like most of the other mulberry species and will
thrive in lawns in most cool areas. Winter hardy zones in 5-9.
Paperbark maple, Acer griseum, Zones 4-8. This small to medium-sized
maple tree has exceptionally beautiful bark and is totally handsome at all times
of the year. Paperbark maple doesn’t cast a deep shade and lawn will grow quite
well underneath it. Best in soils that are well drained and slightly acidic.
by Thomas Ogren
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