Decididuous trees for Minonk

Sugar Maple: This is my favorite tree because of its beautiful fall colors and also because of its symetrical form with dense deep green foliage. Try not to plant the seedling variety because the leaves are thin and are very suseptible to leaf tatter from hot and dry summer winds. The best cultivar of Sugar Maple to plant is the "Green Mountain" variety.

Greenspire Linden: This is a species of the little-leaf linden family and has a very compact and conical shape. Its leaves are heart-shaped and dark green. Its dense foliage can cause grass to die underneath it so it is best to plant away from the house.

Swamp White Oak: Oaks are long lived trees and are planted for the next generation. They grow slower than maples or ash trees but can live up to 300 years. The Swamp White Oak grows faster than most oaks and the underneath of the leaf is lighter than the top. Its leaves do not curl up like the native White Oak trees in the area and has a very attractive shape. Allow plenty of room for the tree as it can eventually reach heights of over 100 feet.

Emerald Lustre Norway Maple: This variety of the Norway Maple trees has a very dark and dense foliage and has a rounded form that makes it appear to be almost sculptured. Its dense foliage can also cause the loss of grass under the tree so plant it away from the house. Planting a ground cover such as pachysandra under mature trees is very attractive and will cover up bare spots.

Urbanite Ash: Ash trees grow good in this area and are faster growing than the oaks and maples. Ash trees branches tend to extend upward whereas the maple and lindens tend to grow outward. The ash tree is more airy and has more of a filtered shade than the maples. Ash tree leaves are long and thinner than maples and turn yellow in the fall. My favorite ash tree is the Urbanite ash tree because of its dense foliage and formal shape. There are 11 Urbanite ash trees planted along the berm of the downtown parking lot in Minonk.

Red maple: Red maples have brilliant red fall color. The leaves are smaller than the sugar maple leaf and are more suseptible to leaf tatter and, therefore, should be planted in a more protected area. The red maple is not as dense as sugar or norway maples allowing grass to grow better underneath the tree. The two best cultivars of red maples to plant are October Glory and Red Sunset. The biggest red maple tree in Minonk is located at the northwest corner of Fifth and Walnut Streets.

Red Oak: The Red Oak tree is the fastest growing of the oak trees and has a deep red color in the fall. The tree has a pleasant open shape and does not lose branches during wind storms. A nice red oak tree can be viewed across from the Fieldcrest Elementary South Grade School in front of the second house from the corner of Johnson and Fifth.

Autumn Purple Ash: The Autumn Purple Ash tree has a nice purplish red color in the fall. Like other ash trees, it grows fairly fast, does not lose branches easily and has a pleasant vase shaped appearance that provides filtered shade.

Hackberry: The Hackberry tree is a tall vase shaped tree that looks similar to the American Elm tree when mature. It is fairly fast growing and provides filtered shade. It is long lived and disease resistance with yellow leaves in the fall.

Green Ash: All Ash trees grow well in this area. The Green Ash tree grows fast and has a vase-shape form. The best varieties to buy are the Marshall Seedless Ash which does not have the unsightly ash seeds. Patmore Ash is another good variety of Ash. I do not recommend White Ash trees because they leaf out very late in the spring and lose their leaves early in the fall.

Tulip tree: A tulip tree is a fast grower and will grow extremely tall and narrow. It has a nice deep green leaf with the shape of the profile of a tulip. It is called a tulip tree, however, because of its creme and rose colored tulip shaped flowers that bear in the spring in mature trees.

While all trees are a thing of beauty there are a few trees that I would recommend against planting for the reasons that I give below.

Trees not to plant

Pin Oak: The pin oak tree does not grow well in the Minonk area because of the lack of iron in the soil. Twenty years after planting the tree the leaves may start to turn yellow due to this deficiency and the tree may eventually die. Not all pin oaks are affected because of the variability of the soil. However, unless you want to test your soil for its PH factor, why take a chance on planting a tree that may die in twenty years?

Poplar trees: Both the Lombardy and the Bolleana Poplar tree are extremely fast growing and start to die off after ten years when you will have to cut them down and replace with a better tree.

Weeping Willow: These trees are extremely messy and should not be planted in an urban yard. They also are notorious for plugging up sewer tiles. The only appropriate place to plant them is near a pond because the roots love to go to water and they create a nice reflection in the water.

Redbud: These trees are shortlived in this area and will probably die within 20 years. They do best in the wilds of a forest or timber.

Mountain Ash: They die very easily in this area and probably will not last very long.

Tree of Heaven: This tree gained fame as the tree in the book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". However, it is not a tree for Minonk. Its flowers give off a very noxious odor and the leaves are very sparse. Not a pretty tree.

Cottonwood: These trees become huge and attract lightning. Unless you buy a cottonless variety, take a pass on this tree. It is appropriate for country plantings but not for the city.

White birch: The white birch tree does not live very long in this area because it usually attracts bugs that eventually kill the tree. The river birch, however, will grow well in this area although it does not have the brilliant white bark of the white birch.

Box Elder: These trees attract box elder bugs and also starts losing branches and dying off at an early age. These trees used to grow along the creek beds in the Minonk area but have been mostly eliminated.

Evergreen trees
Ornamental trees

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