When adding value for your landscape, whether driving up appraisal for selling functions or simply for your fulfillment, planting trees is a simple, easy way to achieve your desired aim. Among the features that give a tree value are beauty, usefulness and ecological awareness. Given the broad array of varieties to choose from, you can landscape with one or more of these characteristics in mind.

Shade

One of the most valuable characteristics trees offer to the house landscape is shade. Among the numerous shade trees available are varieties of maple and oak. The Amur maple (Acer tataricum subsp. Ginnala “Red Fruit”), that grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 to 8, has a rounded shape with a canopy width of up to 25 feet, providing dense shade inside and from leaf. The chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) additionally provides dense shade even when not in leaf, throwing a very long shadow at up to 80 feet tall. It’s a narrow, rounded crown and is located in USDA zones 5 to 9.

Display

Many trees are useful for screening your house from wind and sun, or if you need privacy, the rest of the neighborhood. Just about every single maple serves this purpose, while several varieties of smoke tree can also be suitable. The hedge maple (Acer campestre) includes a dense canopy that may be trained to grow erect, spreading or as a hedge, based on screening needs. Its tolerance of the full sun and full shade allows for much more flexibility in yard placement. The very low canopy of this “Flame” smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria “Flame”) is compact and bushy, its branches and leaves dense enough to provide screening year around. It tolerates full sun or partial shade. Both trees grow in USDA zones 5 to 8.

Ornamentation

Beauty is a precious asset for the home landscape. The Japanese flowering cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis), also called the Yoshino, growing best in full sun, is a prolific producer of fragrant light pink blooms, covering the tree from the spring. Its glossy Oriental and bark branching add extra appeal in USDA zones 5 to 8. The pink dogwood (Cornus florida “Rubra”) is similarly dramatic, producing a showy variety of pink flowers in the spring and shiny red berries in the fall. It grows best in partial shade in USDA zones 5 to 9.

Drought Tolerance

Drought-tolerant trees are a valuable addition to this landscape, saving you money while providing utility. The willow acacia (Acacia salicina) grows in all soil types and pH ranges under full sun or in partial shade. Suited to USDA plant hardiness zones 7 to 10, it does not mind moist soil so long as it’s well drained. The drought-resistant blue palo verde tree (Cercidium floridum subsp. Floridum) provides interesting thorny bark, tolerates moist to dry alkaline loam or sandy soil, and grows best under full sun in USDA zones 8 and 9.

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