ARNOLDIA
A
continuation of the
BULLETIN
OFPOPULAR INFORMATION
of the Arnold
Arboretum,
Harvard
University
VOLUME 12 MARCH
7,
1952 NUMBER IFORTY-FIVE OF THE BEST TREES FOR MASSACHUSETTS
GARDENS*
MASSACHUSETTS
haslong
been a horticultural center where many newplants
were first introduced into cultivation. In colonial times this wastrue of fruit
varieties,
a little bit later it was true of many raregreenhouse plants,
and since the
beginning
of the twentieth century it has been true of trees and shrubs suitable forenriching
the ornamentalplantings
about the home.Now,
there are hundreds of treesbeing
grown in the state, so many that it isfrequently
mostconfusing
to the home owner to select a few for his owngarden.
This listof 45 of the
"best"
trees for Massachusettsgardens
isprepared
in thehope
ofstimulating gardeners
intobecoming acquainted
with some of the more unusualtrees that are now
commercially
available.One fact should be
kept
in mindhowever,
beforetaking
thefollowing
list atits face value. There are many trees
commonly
grown inMassachusetts,
somenative and some
exotic,
that willalways
be serviceable. New trees may beglow-mgly
described in thecatalogues,
but these common favorites have servedrelia-bly
for many years andprobably
will continue to do so for many more. Theseare among the trees that every
gardener
should know and use for one reason oranother.
Nothing
is meant to beimplied
in thefollowing
discussion of the 45selected types that would cast a shadow of doubt on the
serviceability
ofthese,
a few of which are listed on pages 19 and 20.* This list
was
prepared
at the request of the Horticultural Committee of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, five of the trees to be discussed at each of the nine meetings of the horticultural chairmen throughout the year. Because of wide-spread interest in thislist it is here produced for the benefit of ARNOLDIA subscribers, and is a companion list
to that
published
in ARNOLDIA for March 11, 1951, describingforty-five
of the best shrubsfor Massachusetts
gardens.
It is not perfect, and many may take exception to it. However,it does include
forty-five top-notch
trees that can be used more in our gardenstoday.
Most important, all are available in 195? from local nurseries!Keeping
these trees veryclearly
inmind,
let us consider some that are not aseasily found,
either ingardens
or commercial nurseries. It isespecially
important
to note that each
plant
in thefollowing
list is available from at least one of thelisted nurserymen. It was
impossible
to contact all the nurserymen in the stateso there are
undoubtedly
many other sources for theseplants
than those listed.Since
they
areavailable,
your local nurseryman can obtain them for you if he will.It is useless to become enthusiastic about a
plant
that is unobtainable. Eachone of these is available in 1952.
Consequently,
thegardeners
of the state areurged
to becomeacquainted
with some of these better trees,buy
a few that arehardy
(for
all are notcompletely hardy
in all parts of thestate)
forplanting
inorder to become better
acquainted
withthem,
and in this way increase thebeauty
and interest of the
plantings
about their homes.Forty-five
of the Best Trees for Massachusetts GardensAbies
homolepis
1,4.,6,9,10 Malus"Dorothea"
5,8
- koreana 4 -
hupehensis
4,5,6, 7,8,9
Acer circinatum5,10
- purpurea aldenhamensis6,7
I -griseum
5,6 - - lemoinei3,5,6,8,10
-palmatum
atropurpureum 1-10 -toringoides
6 -platanoides
columnare1,5,6,7,8
Oxydendrum
arboreum 1-8,10 - -"Crimson King"
1,~,3,4, 7 ,8
8 Parrotiapersica
5- rubrum columnare
1,~?,4,6,7,8,9,10
Phellodendron amurense 4,5,6Albizzia
julibrissin
rosea.i,6,10
Picea asperata 4,6Amelanchier laevis
4,5,8
-omorika 4,5,6,9
Cedrus libani
4,5,6,7
7 Pinusbungeana
5,6Cercidiphyllum japonicum
2,5,6,7,8,9
- thunbergi
2,4,6,7,8
Cercis canadensis alba
5,6
Prunus aviumplena
6Elaeagnus angustifolia
‘?,4,6,7,8,10
-serrulata
"Amanogawa"
5,7,8
Evodia danielli 5,6 - -
"Fugenzo"
7 Gleditsia triacanthos"Moraine"
1-4,6-9 - -"Kwanzan"
1,2, 7 ,8,9
Halesia monticola4,5,6,7,8,10
Pseudolarix amabilis 5Ilex
pedunculosa
5,10Sciadopitys
verticillata3,5,7
7Kalopanax pictus
6,8Sophora japonica
1,4,5,6,7,8,10
Koelreuteriapaniculata
1,4,5,6
Stewartia koreana 5Larix
leptolepis
4,7,8
Syringa
amurensisjaponica
1,3-7,9
Magnolia
denudata 6Thuja plicata
4,6,10
-
virginiana
5,6,7,8,9,10
Sources for Trees Listed
1. Adams
Nursery, Inc., Westfield,
Mass.2.
Bay
StateNurseries,
NorthAbington,
Mass.3
4. Harlan P.
Kelsey, Inc.,
EastBoxford,
Mass.5.
Kingsville
Nurseries,
Kingsville, Maryland
’
6.
Henry
Kohankie &Son, Painesville,
Ohio7.
Littlefield-Wyman Nurseries,
227 CentreAve.,
Abington,
Mass.8. Weston
Nurseries, Inc., Weston,
Mass.9.
~Vy man’s Framingham Nurseries, Framingham,
Mass.10.
Tingle Nurseries, Pittsville, Maryland
Forty-five
of the Best Trees for Massachusetts GardensHardiness note: Trees listed as
hardy
in Zones ~~, 3 and 4 arehardy
through-out most ofMassachusetts ;
thosehardy
in Zone .i can besafely
grownonly
inthe
southern,
eastern, and southeasternparts
of the state.Abies
homolepis
90~ Zone 4 Nikko FirOne of the best firs for ornamental
planting. Easily distinguished
from other firs because of the horizontal decurrent linesalong
the one year twigs. Darkgreen,
vigorous-an
excellent conifer for use in anylandscape
where it can begiven
plenty
of room to grownaturally.
Like all otherfirs,
thisJapanese
nativeis
stiffly
pyramidal
in outline withdefinitely
horizontal branches.Abies koreana 50~ Zone .5 Korean Fir
This tree grows very well but few trees in this country have reached their
ma-ture
height.
It grows moreslowly
than some of the others andmight
be theonly
one considered for small
gardens
because of this fact. It is stiff and formal but the whitish undersurface of the needles shows togood advantage.
A native of Korea and introduced into America in 1918by
the ArnoldArboretum,
it too, isstiflly pyramidal
in habit.Acer circinatum ~?5~ Zone .i Vine
Maple
A native
maple
of the Pacific Coastadapted
for use ingardens
because of itssmall,
compact size and itsability
to grow inpartially
shaded situationsespecially
under evergreens. It is somewhat similar in habit to .4.
palmatum
except that itsstems twist and turn in a most
interesting
manner, thusgiving
rise to its name.The wood is very
tough - the Indians, according
tolegend,
used the wood tomake fish hooks.
Acer
griseum
25’ Zone 5Paperbark Maple
Very
difficult to propagate inquantity
becauseonly
a very smallproportion
of the seeddevelops. Otherwise,
it couldeasily
be one of the mostpopular maples.
The bark is cmnamon-brown and exfoliates in
paper-thin
strips
similar to that of4
away,
making
this tree ofoutstanding
interestthroughout
the entire year. It ishoped
that a reliable method can be found for propagating thisplant
on alarge
scale for it
certainly
merits wide use and has beengrowing
in the ArnoldArbo-retum for
fifty
years.Acer palmatum atropurpureum 20~ Zone 5 Bloodleaf
Japanese llaple
This is one of the best forms of theJapanese Maple. Frequently
these forms are notasexually propagated
but grown fromseed,
a very poorpractice.
Thetrue Bloodleaf
Japanese Maple keeps
itsgood
redfoliage
colorthroughout
theentire
growing
season and isfairly hardy
in Massachusetts. It is well worthtry-ing
to obtain the trueform,
since so many of the substitutes either will notkeep
the
foliage
color or aremjured by
winter cold.Acer
platanoides
columnare 90~ Zone 3 ColumnarNorway Maple
This columnarvariety
of thecommonly planted Norway Maple,
has all thegood
traits of the latter and in addition a very narrow habit. Trees 20-30 feet inheight
may be less than ten feet in diameter of branchspread.
Fortall,
narrowaccent
points
on the small property or for treesalong
narrow streets, thiscity
dweller is excellent.Acer
platanoides
"CrimsonKing"
90~ Zone 3This is a
seedling
of Acerplatanoides sch~e·edleri,
originating
atOrleans, France,
in the nurseries of Barbier andCompany.
It was first introduced into Americaby
the Gulf StreamNurseries, ~’achapreague, Virginia,
in199.8,
and has beenpatented
(No. i 35)
by
this company. This tree is farsuperior
to the SchwedlerMaple,
in that itkeeps
its richpurplish
redfoliage
colorthroughout
the entiregrowing
season.Up
to the time this clone becameavailable,
the SchwedlerMaple
hadproved popular
for its coloredfoliage; but,
as manyknow,
thiscolor,
while a
pronounced
red in theearly
spring,
gradually
turnsgreenish
in thesum-mer.
During
the fourgrowing
seasonsthat
"Crimson King"
has beengrowing
in the Arnold
Arboretum,
it haskept
its color uniformthroughout
the entireperiod
ofgrowth,
fromspring
to fall.Consequently,
it is an excellent shade tree in situations where its coloredfoliage
isthought
desirable.Acer rubrum columnare 60~ Zone 3 Columnar Red
Maple
Like the Red
Dlaple
infoliage
and texture, butdensely upright
in habit. Itis not as narrow as the Columnar
Norway Maple
but is a fastgrowing
type.Albizzia
julibrissin
rosea 36’ Zone 5 Silk TreeThis tree of
exceedingly dainty foliage
and flowers is now threatened in the South with a serious wilt disease which kills the tree. Thisfungus
occurs in the soil and infests the treethrough
the roots.Jlany
clones arebeing
tried and somePLATE I
The Umbrella Pine,
Sciadopitys
verticatlata, makes an excellent dense,pyramidal
[ 6
have been found to be very resistant to the disease.
Fortunately
it may not affect trees grown in the northern states at all. Thehardy
variety
rosea isprobably
like thespecies
in that it is difficult to get established at first. Sincevegetative
growth
is made late in the season it can be killed somewhat
during
very cold winters.Although
it can be grown on manysoils,
the Arnold Arboretum has found thatit does well on poor,
dry,
gravelly
soils and so has animportant
use.Being
alegume,
the seed is borne in small flatpods.
The flowers areconspicu-ous, not because of
petals
(which
areinsignificant)
but because of inchlong pink
colored stamens, borne in ball-like clusters. The
plant
has the very desirabletrait of
opening
its flowersconsecutively throughout
the summer months. Theplants growing
in Boston start to bloom aboutJuly
1 ~th and arecontinuously
inbloom until
early September -
a long flowering period
which cannot be matchedby
any other northern ornamental tree. The leaves fall at the first frost withoutchanging
color.A
splendid
ornamentaltree,
very much worthexperimenting
with in the North(hardy
variety
only)
untiljust
theright
soil and winterprotection
are found sothat it will live over the first few winters and become a sizeable
plant.
The treeblooms
early
inlife,
sometimes when theseedlings
areonly
two to three yearsold.
Propagation
iseasily accomplished
by
3 inch rootcuttings
made in veryearly
spring using
roots thatare
inch
or more in diameter. Smaller roots donot root
nearly
as well.Amelanchier laevis 86~ Zone 4
Allegany Serviceberry
A small native tree,
delightfully
prominent
in the veryearly
spring
when itsprofuse
white flowers appear before the leaves. The orange to scarlet autumncolor
brings
it intoprominence
a second time in the year, and itslight
gray barkis
especially
distinctive.Admittedly
anative,
this tree has severalqualities
(other
than its
short-lasting
flowers)
suggesting
that it should be used more in natural-izedplantings.
Cedrus libani 1 °?0~ Zone 5 Cedar of Lebanon
Widely
grownthroughout
theSouth,
it was not until the Arnold Arboretumsent a
special expedition
to Asia Minor in 1903 to collect seed at thehighest
al-titudes where these trees were native thatplants
could beperfectly hardy
in the northeastern United States. Mature trees are very wide at thebase,
but trees of;30-40 years of age have about the same dimensions as Abies
concolor, although
they
are notnearly
as dense. The dark greenfoliage,
stiffhabit,
picturesque
andrigidly upright
cones, some of which areusually
on the tree sincethey
take twoyears to mature,
give
this tree apopular
interest.Frequent
reference is made toit in the Bible and Solomon’s
Temple
wassupposed
to have been built with its massive timbers. It does notproduce
much shade andcertainly
is very formal m0:
A U L ry
O
.c~
oFn
Q) U C ro .~a
x a a Q) ,.., x .. aW ,~
E. o ~ 8 .2 ’"Oa. ~
~~
Ii: a0
TS
~
0’"’
0.
ai N x 0 u0
H < Q) xE~
habit,
butapparently
hasgreat
popular
appeal
nevertheless. Thishardy
strain is theonly
form of true cedarreliably hardy
in Massachusetts.Cercidiphyllum japonicum
60-100’ Zone 4 Katsura TreeA wide
spreading
tree withfoliage
very much like that of Cercis canadensisusually
growing
with several main stems or trunks. The flowers areinsignificant,
but the small
dry
fruitcapsules
on thepistillate
trees-the sexes areseparate-remain on the tree most of the winter. The rounded leaves are
nearly
4 incheslong.
Valued as a shade tree because of itswide-spreading
habit but also valued because of the rather loosefoliage
which allows for agreat
amount of aircircu-lation. An excellent
specimen
tree ofparticular
value for itsgraceful
leaves whichremain unattacked
by
any insect pestthroughout
the entire season.Normally
wide-spreading
inhabit,
it has been used as a substitute forLombardy Poplar
(see
PlateVI)
when grown with asingle
trunk.Cercis canadensis alba 86~ Zone 4 Eastern Redbud
A common
sight
in the eastern UnitedStates, especially
in the woods ofPenn-sylvania, Maryland,
andVirginia
when it bloomsearly
in thespring
is the Red-bud. It is oftenplanted
with theFlowering Dogwood, blooming
at the same time. The white floweredvariety
is almost ashardy
as thespecies,
andcertainly
. worthy
of wider use.Eleagnus angustifolia
~?0~ Zone 2 Russian Olive The flowers and fruits of thisplant
are none tooconspicuous,
but the grayfoliage
isoutstanding
and theplant
can be used for this one feature.Hardy
andvigorous,
it growseasily
in many kinds of soils and itsunique
crooked trunk caneasily
be of interest in its ownright
for it is covered with a brownshredding
barkwhich is of considerable interest
throughout
the winter.Evodia danielli 25~ Zone .5 Korean Evodia
The Korean Evodia is fast
becoming
of interest because of its late summerflowers,
at a time when fewwoody plants
are in bloom. The flowerclusters,
nearly
6 inches across are made up of many small whitish flowersquite
similarto the flowers of Viburnum
lentago.
Thismight
be considered a"new"
tree for the smallgarden, especially
where late summer bloom andearly
fall fruits(red)
are desirable. As a street tree it will not provesatisfactory
for its wood iscom-paratively
weak andsplits easily,
andapparently
is a short-lived tree( 15-40
years).
Gleditsia triacanthos "Moraine" 100~ Zone 4 Moraine
Honey-locust
The thornlessvariety
of theHoney-locust
has beenwidely
recommended as asubstitute for the American Elm because it can be grown in so many situations.
PLATE III
Kalopanax pictus
is an excellent foliage tree, but as yet very rare in American10
long
after the leavesfall,
yet under certain conditions can be troublesome sincethey
must be raked off. It is notsubject
to borers as is the true Locust(Robinia),
has noparticularly
interesting
flowers nor autumn color. The newvariety
"Mo-raine," developed
andpatented by
the SiebenthalerNursery Company
ofDay-ton,
Ohio,
is thornless and is said to besterile,
hence no fruitpods
aredeveloped.
This observation is based on the
original
tree which is over fifteen years old and16 inches in diameter.
Halesia monticola 90’ Zone .i Mountain Silverbell
With
larger
flowers than the Carolina Silverbell thisspecies
and itspink-flowered
variety
areplanted
more becausethey
are moreeasily
seen when inbloom. The
pendant flowers,
appear allalong
thetwigs
of theprevious
year’s
growth
before the leaves appearmaking
a well grown tree aunique
and beautifulsight
when in bloom. At other times of the year, the tree is not meritorious butit has no serious insect or disease pests, an
important point
to consider where annual maintenance and carefulsupervision
will not begiven.
Because of itsloose
foliage,
andcomparatively
smallflowers,
itmight
best be used where it canbe
closely observed,
or elseplanted
with an evergreenbackground
of whitepine
or hemlock.Ilex
pedunculosa
30’ Zone 5Longstalk Holly
This is one of the hardiest of evergreen
hollies,
and should be better knownespe-cially
in northerngardens.
The fruits are often aslarge
as those of I.aquifolium.
Kalopanax
pictus
’ 90’ Zone 4This tree should be grown much more than it is.
Typically
atall,
roundedtree, its
large maple-like
leavesgive
it somewhat atropical
appearance, and adeep
rich soil withplenty
of moisture seems to be much the best forgood growth.
Some of the younger branches and
vigorous
shoots havesharp prickles,
but mostof these
disappear
atmaturity.
The small balls of flowersappearing
in the latesummer are
unique,
and the small black fruits arequickly
eatenby
birds.Pos-sibly
the reason it is not grown more is because of the fact that the seeds taketwo years to
germinate
and there are very fewfruiting
trees in this country, eventhough
it has beengrowing
here for almost a century. Agood
shade tree devoid of insect and disease pests it should beplanted
morewidely.
Koelreuteria
paniculata
30’ Zone 5 Golden-rain TreeThis and the Laburnum are the
only
trees withtruly yellow
blossoms that canbe grown in the Arnold Arboretum. It is
quickly
andeasily
grown from seed and Itslarge, upright
andpyramidal,
conspicuous
flower clusters inearly
summer, fol-lowedby
itsequally
conspicuous
fruits,
make itprominent
throughout
the sum-merperiod
when most other trees have few if any flowers or colored fruits. It is11
1being
used a great deal in the OhioValley,
even as a street tree. Because of itsweak
wood,
thismight
be none too advisable. It has no autumn color and unless desiredspecifically
for its summerbloom,
other treesmight
be used instead which would have alonger
life of ornamental usefulness. This much must be said in itsbehalf, however,
it does seem to grow well in a wide range of soils.Larix
leptolepis
rJOr Zone 4Japanese
LarchThis is the best ornamental among the larches and seems to grow faster than
some of the other
species.
However,
it is not immune to the various troubles whichplague
most of the larchspecies,
but it is lesssusceptible
to canker disease than are theEuropean
and American Larch.Magnolia
denudata 45’ Zone 5 YulanMagnolia
Many people
have learned to know this excellent tree under another name,M.
conspicun,
nowsuperseded by
the name denudata. It has been cultivated inthe
gardens
of central China since the earliest times -a splendid
tree withlarger
pure white
conspicuous
flowers inearly May
and should not be crowdedby
otherplants
butgiven
plenty
of room in which todevelop.
This means it should beallowed a
ground
space of about 30’.Magnolia
virginiana
fi0r Zone 5 SweetBay
The very
fragrant,
waxy white flowersappearing
in June andearly
summer,the gray bark and
good foliage
with leaves white on theundersurface,
make this an attractive nativespecies.
In thedeep
South thisplant
is a tree andnearly
evergreen, but ~n New
England
it is much moreshrubby
and deciduous. It canbe grown well m wet
soils, although
it does notrequire
such situations to growwell -
an excellent native
plant.
Malus "Dorothea" 25r Zone 4
This
seedling
was first noted in bloom when it was 5 feethigh.
Thefoliage
resembles the Parkman Crab
Apple somewhat,
while the fruit resembles that of :Vl. arnoldiana. It is one of the very few semi-double flowered crabapples
which also bearfruit,
andparticularly
beautifulyellow
fruit, 2 inch
in diameter. Anothervery
important
characteristic is the fact that it bearsdouble, slightly pinkish
flowersannually, something
whichunfortunately
cannot be claimedby
all crabapples. Also
it bloomsearly
inlife,
youngplants grafted
one yearfrequently
bloom the next.
Malus
hupehensis
14r Zone 4 Tea CrabApple
The Tea Crab
Apple
is the mostpicturesque
of all crabapples
because it is vaseshaped
in habit withlong-reaching single
branchesgrowing
from the trunkPLATE IV
Top: The flowers of the Silverbell, Halesia mo~aticola. Bottom: Flowers of the oriental
cherry "Fugenzo"
one of the few which can beplanted
in the warmer parts of Massa-chusetts.13
marked habit is
clearly
evident every season of the year. The white flowers areproduced
on small spurs or short branches up and down the entirelength
of thelong straight branches ;
the red fruits are small and notespecially
colorful.Malus purpurea aldenhamensis 25~ Zone 4 Aldenham
Purple
CrabApple
Superior
to thePurple
CrabApple
because of alarge
number ofpetals
(5-8),
hence alonger period
effective in flower. Itfrequently
bears a few flowers asecond and even a third time.
Malus purpurea lemoinei 25’ Zone 4 Lemoine
Purple
Crab
Apple
Lemoine’s
Crab
Apple
has the darkest red flowers of any of the Malusspecies.
It isdecidedly ornamental,
and isprominent
anywhere.
It is farsuperior
to M.purpurea or ’VI.
~umila nieds~etskyana
because of the darker colored flowers andalso because
they
do not fadenearly
as much.Malus
toringoides
15~ Zone 5 Cutleaf CrabApple
One of the last crab
apples
to bloom(late
May)
and one of the best in fruit--thepear-shaped
fruitsbeing
colored red andyellow
remain on theplant
insplen-did condition until after the first hard freeze. E. H. Wilson used to consider this the best of all
species
infruit,
but because its flowers are pure white it must beadmitted that there are several
superior
to it for colorful flowers.Oxydendrum arboreum
75~
Zone 4 Sorrel Tree or Sourwood This is one of thesuperior
ornamental treesespecially
while it is young andcan be
kept
clothed with branches from top to bottom and grown in a situationwhere it is
exposed
to full sunshine. Its leaves are similar in size andshape
tothose of
Mountain-laurel; they
are lustrous and effectivethroughout
thegrowing
season. The late summer
flowers,
brilliant scarlet autumn color andgraceful
py-ramidal habitgive
this tree additional interest every season of the year.Parrotia
persica
50~ Zone 5 Persian ParrotiaAn excellent tree for
foliage,
itusually
grows with several trunks from thebase and has leaves somewhat similar to those of the Witchhazel but more
lus-trous. The
flowers,
appearing
before theleaves,
areinsignificant,
but theinter-esting
bark flakes off inpatches leaving
a colorful trunk like that of the Stewartias or Pinusbungeana
giving
itspecial
interest in winter. Also the branches tend tobe more or less horizontal and covered with leaves all in one
plane.
When allowedto grow with branches to the
ground,
olderspecimens
can become verygraceful
indeed. This tree is not
apparently
infested with any serious insect or diseasePLATE V
Top:
The southern Sourwood,Oxydendrum
arboreum, has flowers in late summer.[15
Phellodendron amurense 45’ Zone 3 Amur Cork Tree
There has been some
misunderstanding
about the Phellodendronspecies,
becauseC. S.
Sargent
states back in 1905 that P. sachalinense was best under cultivation.This statement has since been
copied by
many authors. The fact of the matter is that of the fivespecies growing
in the Arnold Arboretum P. amureu.se has beenoutstanding
and C. S.Sargent
has noted this in some of his writing in 1924. The otherspecies
are similar but P. amurense has thelarge
branches ofpicturesque
habit and
corky
bark which is of interest all winter. Like otherspecies
in thisgenus the sexes are
separate
andonly pistillate plants
will bear the numerousclusters of black berries. The autumn color is
only
ofpassing
interest since the leavesquickly drop
oncethey
have turnedyellow.
It is avigorous growing
treeand
easily
andquickly
grown from seed(seedlings
arecontinually
sprouting
upall over the Arnold Arboretum-more so than any other
plant)
and the roots arefibrous, making
it easy totransplant.
Thiswide-spreading
treeproduces only
light
shade and is of little interest inflower,
but ofparticular
interest inwinter’
because of the massive branches and
interesting
bark.Picea asperata
7~~
Zone :iDragon Spruce
Somewhat similar to the
Norway Spruce
ingeneral
appearance while young, this tree isfinding
aplace
for itself in seasideplanting
where it does better thanmost spruces. The needles of this
species
remain on the treeapproximately
sevenyears, the main reason
why
thefoliage
is so dense.Picea omorika 90~ Zone 4 Serbian
Spruce
One of the best spruces for
landscape planting.
It has done very well indeedin the Arnold Arboretum since it was first introduced there seventy years ago.
Its dense
habit,
and very beautifulglossy
greenneedles,
which show much oftheir whitish under-surfaces as
they
move in thewind,
make itdecidedly
beauti-ful the entire year. Some of the trees have
pendant
branch lets which addma-terially
to itsbeauty.
The SerbianSpruce
can be termed almost columnar inhabit,
for oldplants
in the Arnold Arboretum 60 feet tall have a branchspread
of no more than l.i feet at the base. If
only
one spruce is to be chosen for aplanting
this shouldcertainly
be considered first.Pinus bungeana
( 3~
Zone 4 Lace-bark PineA rather slow
growing,
dark greenfoliage
tree, with excellentpossibilities
as aspecimen
plant
because of its habit ofgrowth
andinteresting
bark.Very
youngplants
will show the characteristic forexfoliating
bark when the branches areonly
an inch in diameter.Also,
this tree has the most desirable trait ofholding
its needles about five years,
longer
than mostpines.
Consequently
this excellentspecimen pine
should beplanted considerably
more than it is. Itspicturesque
habit ofgrowth
with severalmajor trunks,
is also one of its desirable traits.PLATE VI
Top:
TheJapanese
Tree Lilac,Syringa
amurensisjaponica,
blooms in mid-June. Bottom: The Katsura tree,Cercidiphyllum
japmaicum,
when grown with a single trunkcan be very columnar in habit
(three
trees onleft).
Grown with several trunks(two
17
Pinus
thunbergi
90~ Zone 4Japanese
Black PmeThe best
pine,
possibly
the best evergreen, forplanting along
the seashore inthe northeastern United
States,
is thisJapanese
Black Pine. It has done verywell on Nantucket and Martha’s
Vineyard
where otherplants
havefailed,
for itwithstands salt laden winds
right
off the oceanremarkably
well.Prunus avium plena 60’ Zone 3 Double Flowered Mazzard
Cherry
This
splendid
tree has been in North Americanearly
75 years but it is stillnot seen very often. Its beautiful double white
flowers, nearly
l~
inches indiameter,
appear inearly May
and are not borneprofusely
butthey
do remain effective for a verylong
time -nearly
a weeklonger
than those of thesingle
flowered DZa~zard
Cherry,
which is of coursewidely planted
for its fruits. All Mazzard cherries do best when grown in the full sun, for in theshade, only
avery few flowers appear.
Prunus serrulata "Amanogawa" 20~ Zone 5
"Amanogawa"
is theonly truly
fastigiate
orientalcherry
worthgrowing.
Usually
not over 20 feettall,
flowers14
inches semi-double, light pink
andfra-grant. The varietal name means
"milky
way"
an indication of its floriferousblooms. David Fairchild is credited with first
introducing
this fromJapan
in 1906.It is
interesting
to note that a veryhigh
percentage of theseedlings
of this treeare identical with the mother
plant
in form and flowers.t
Prunus serrulata
"Fugenzo"
20’ Zone 5This
popular
variety
is also found in nurserycatalogues
under the name of"James
H. Veitch" andalso "Kofugen."
TheJapanese
name translated means"goddess
of a whiteelephant. "
The flowers are as much as2~
inches indiame-ter, rosy
pink
fading
to alight pink,
double with about 30petals, blooming
atabout the same time as
"Kwanzan."
It is ratherwide-spreading
in habit. Paul Russell in his excellent work on the"Oriental Flowering
Cherries" notesthat it was known to the
Japanese
500 years ago and is stillwidely planted.
Itis often confused with
"Shiro-fugen"
but the flowers of this lastvariety
fade.Prunus serrulata "Kwanzan" ‘?5~ Zone 4
This is
probably
the mostpopular
and the mosthardy
of all the double flow-ered oriental cherries. Thedeep pink
double flowers are2~
inches in diameterand have 30
petals. They
are borne on afairly upright
growing
tree about 1 °Z-18 feet tall. The youngfoliage,
as it first appears, is abright
reddish coppercolor, adding considerably
to the colorfuldisplay
of this tree inearly
spring.
Probably
the bestdisplay
is atWashington, D.C., along
the Tidal Basin where18
Pseudolarix amabilis
(kaempferi)
1 ~0~ Zone 5 Golden Larch The Golden Larch is one of the most beautiful exotic trees.Originally
foundby
Robert Fortunegrowing
in pots for ornament in China and eleven years laterhe found it
growing
naturally
in a monasterygarden. Unfortunately
~t has neverbecome
popular
inAmerica,
possibly
because it is not a tree for the smallgarden,
since trees even up to 30 and 4.0 feet are almost as broad as
they
are tall! Alsoit is very
likely
that seed sources,especially
in this country are very limited. Ourtrees have a
good
crop of seedonly
about every three or four years. Onlarge
estates or in
parks,
it canquickly
become a beautifulspecimen, interesting
be-cause of its beautiful
foliage throughout
thespring
and summer. In the latesummer, when the cones
begin
to mature, these too areinteresting
and in the fall its beautifulgolden yellow
autumn color is veryoutstanding
eventhough
it is of short duration.Sciadopitys
verticillata 1 R0~ Zone 5 Umbrella Pine This very beautiful tree,easily
grown and notsusceptible
to any seriousdis-ease, is valued for its dense habit and very dark evergreen
foliage. Twenty
tothirty
of the needles arearranged
in whorls about thetwigs
somewhat similar tothe ribs of an
umbrella,
from whichsimilarity
it gets its common name. These needles remain on the tree 2-3 years beforefalling off,
and one of itsgood
points
is that it
keeps
its lower branches for along
time and so makes asplendid
lawnspecimen.
Although
growing
tall inJapan,
it is rather slowgrowing
in thiscountry and
plants fifty
years old in the Arnold Arboretum are stillonly
25 feethigh.
It should havegood
soil and not beplanted
inhot, dry
situations.Sophora
japonical.i~
Zone 4Japanese Pagoda
Tree This is agood
shade tree with alternatecompound
leaves a dark green color.The common name comes from the fact that it is
frequently
used around Buddhisttemples
in the Orient. It is alsoconsiderably
used there as awide-spreading
street tree, with several desirable
quahties.
It blossoms in late summer, withlarge pyramidal
clusters ofyellowish pea-like
flowers that are mostconspicuous.
It is the last of the
larger
trees tobloom,
and so isgreatly
desired as anorna-mental. One excellent
quality
is its apparentability
to withstandcity
condi-tions. Old trees have much the same
general
rounded habit as the White Ash.The
yellowish pods, following
theflowers, frequently
remain on the tree allwinter. A desirable
large
tree,
it should be usedconsiderably
more than it is.Stewartia koreana 43~ Zone .i Korean Stewartia
Smaller
growing
than S.pseudo-camellia
but withlarger
flowers andjust
asin-teresting
winterbark,
this Korean Stewartia is very difficult to find ingardens.
The
conspicuous
early
summer flowers that are pure white and 3 inches in- 19
in flower. The habit is
densely pyramidal.
It is unfortunate that this excellentspecimen
isextremely
difficult to find for it has beenflourishing
in the ArnoldArboretum where it is
perfectly hardy,
ever since 1917 when it was first introduced.The
striking bark, irregularly
flakes off inpieces,
the older darker bark on theoutside of the trunk
breaking
off to disclose the innerlighter
colored barkbe-neath
it,
somewhat similar to the bark of theSycamore
or Pinu.rbungeana.
Syringa amurensis
japonica
30r Zone 4Japanese
Tree Lilac ThisJapanese
Lilac can be grown as a tree with asingle
trunk and it is ofspecial
value because of the late bloom of the creamy whitepyramidal
flowers inmid-June. The
shiny
cherry-like
bark isinteresting
in the winter, thelarge
leaves andconspicuously
vigorous
habit isstriking
in thespring
and summer, and thelarge
creamy whitepyramidal
flowerclusters,
make it anoutstanding plant,
eitheras a
specimen
or in a group as screen or windbreak. Thevariety
differs from thespecies
inbeing
more tree-like inhabit,
taller andslightly
later to flower. It issusceptible
to borers and scale infestations which must bekept
under control ifit is to be a well grown
plant,
sufficient reason for notusing
it as a street treewhere annual maintenance and close surveillance are necessities. This is the
only
nativeJapanese
tree which F. L. Skinner can grow in the severe climate ofDropmore, Manitoba,
Canada.Thuja plicata
180r Zone 5 Giant Arbor-vitaeThis arbor-vitae is the best of the arbor-vitaes because its lustrous evergreen
foliage
does not turn brown in the winter as does thefoliage
of most of the T.occidentalis varieties. Commercial growers in the northeastern United States have learned that it is necessary to use seed collected from
plants high
in the moun-tains of Montana andUtah,
forplants
grown from seed collected on the PacificCoast have not
proved hardy
in the East. The Giant Arbor-vitae is asplendid
tree,
large
orsmall,
and can bekept
restrained at almost anyheight
by
properclipping.
Among the Best Common Trees
Abies concolor
l, 2, 8, 4, 5, 6, i, 8, 10
Acerginnala
‘2, 4, 6, i , 9, 10
0 -platanoides
1, 2,3,
4, ~, 6, i , 8, 9,
10 0 -SSCCharUm ~ ,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7,
8, 9, 10 Amelanchier canadensis 1, 2, 4, 3, 6,7,
8 Betula lenta 4, 6 -papyrifera
I, 3, 4, 6,7,
8, 9Carya
ovata 6, 10 0Chamaecyparis
obtusa 6,7, 8,
10 Cladrastis lutea 1, 2, 3, 4,5,
7,
8, 920 Cornus florida 1, 2,
3, 4,
5, 6,7,
8, 9, 10 - kousa chinensis 2,5, 6, 7,
8Crataegus crusgalli
1, 2, 3, 4, 6,7,
8 -oxyacantha
pauli
1, 2, 3,4, 5,
6,7, 8, 9,
10 -phaenopyrum
1,2, 4, 5,
6,7, 8,
9Fagus
species
and varieties 1,2,
4,5,
6,7,
8, 9, 10 oGinkgo
biloba 1, 2, 5, 6,7, 8,
10 0 Ilex opaca5, 6, i, 8, 10
0Juniperus
virginiana 2, 4,
6,7,
8, 10 o Laburnum vossi 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 7,
8, 10Liquidambar styraciflua 4, 5, 6, I , 8, 10
Liriodendrontulipifera 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10Magnolia soulangeana
1, 2, 3,4, 5,
6,7, 8, 9,
10 - stellata 1, 2, 3,5,
6,7, 8,
9, 10 0 Malus arnoldiana 1, 2, 3,5,
6,7,
8, 9 -atrosanguinea
1, 2, 3,4, 5,
6,7,
8, 9 -"Eley"
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6,7,
8, 9, 10 ’ - floribunda 1, 2,3, 4,
5, 6,7, 8,
9, 10 0 -"Hopa"
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, i,
8, 9,
10 - robusta3, 4, 5, 6, i,
8 - scheideckeri 1,3, 4, 5,
6,7, 8,
9 - zumicalocarpa
3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 0 ,Nyssa sylvatica
2,4,
8 Piceaglauca
1, 2,3,
4, 6,7,
8, 9, 10 0 Pinus resinosa1, ~, 3,
4, 6,7,
8, 9 . - strobus 1, 2, 3,4,
6,7,
8, 9, 10 " Pinussylvestris 3, 4, 6, 7,
8, 10 Prunussargenti
2, 4, 6, 8Pseudotsuga
taxifolia 1, 2, 4, 6,7, 8,
9Quercus
alba4,
6,7,
10 0 - borealis 2,3,
4,7,
8 - coccinea 3,4, 7, 8,
9 -palustris 1, ‘?, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ’
Sorbusaucuparia
1, 2, 3,4,
6,7,
8, 9, 10 0Styrax japonica
5,
6, 10 0 Tilia cordata 3, 4,7,
8, 9, 10 -platy phyllos pyramidalis
3,7,
8Tsuga
canadensis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8,
9, 10-
caroliniana 1, 4, 5, 6,
7,
8Viburnum