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Over the past few years, many trees in yards were lost due to storms, drought, insects, disease, and stem girdling roots.
To combat these losses to New Brighton’s urban & community forest, the City provides a list of recommended shade trees for property owners who are interested in replacing a lost tree or enriching their landscape. While some of the species are hard to find, this list is for residents wanting guidance on what to plant.
A diverse canopy avoids problems like Dutch Elm Disease or periods of summer drought that over time leads to the loss of many mature trees.
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Small-sized Deciduous Trees Up To 25’
- Amur Maackia (Maackia amurensis); attractive foliage and flowers, tough, native to northeast Asia
- American plum (Prunus Americana); attractive flowers, edible fruit, use common plum over cultivars
- Blue Beech (Carpinus caroliniana); Best in moist organic soil, attractive “muscle-like” bark
- Canada Plum (Prunus nigra); ‘Princess Kay’ a good cultivar, attractive winter bark
- Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana); native to Minnesota, edible fruit, susceptible to black knot stem canker
- Crabapple or Apple (Malus spp.); many cultivars, use sparingly due to the overplanting of this species,
- Malus Ioensis (prairie crabapple) is the crabapple that is native to southern Minnesota
- Eastern Redbud (Cercis Canadensis); attractive spring flowers, growth form is more horizontal than vertical
- Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.); Numerous varieties exist with attractive fruit and flowers, ‘Cockspur’, ‘Crimson Cloud’, and ‘Russian’ are options, most nursery selections are thornless
- Mountain ash, American (Sorbus americana); showy fruit, not a true ash (no risk from emerald ash borer)
- Mountain ash, Showy (Sorbus decora); showy fruit, not a true ash (no risk from the emerald ash borer)
- Nannyberry Viburnum (Viburnum lentago); native, large shrub/small tree, reddish fall color, hardy
- Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia); native, excellent wildlife value, white flowers, plant in moist soil
- Serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.); good berries for birds, several varieties available, also called juneberries
- Sumac, Smooth (Rhus glabra); excellent scarlet red fall color, tolerant of dry sites, smooth branches
- Sumac, Staghorn (Rhus typhina); same as smooth sumac but with “fuzzy” branches
- Three Flowered Maple (Acer triflorum); excellent autumn color, attractive papery bark
Medium-sized Deciduous Trees Up To 25-50’
- Amur Chokecherry (Prunus maackii); showy copper colored bark, requires formative pruning when young
- Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera), fast growing native poplar species, good for honeybees
- Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), attractive bark at all stages, good for wildlife and native pollinators
- Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanths); good thornless cultivars include ‘Shademaster’, ‘Imperial’, Skyline’, and ‘Sunburst’, fast growing species, diffuse shade, subject to nectria canker (avoid pruning in humid weather)
- Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana); attractive smooth bark when young, hop-like fruit, very strong wood
- Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata); attractive smooth bark, white flowers, native to east Asia
- Magnolia (Magnolia spp.); brilliant spring flowers, 4 varieties that are hardy to the southern Minnesota Hardiness Zone 4 include ‘Star’, ‘Leonard Messel’, ‘Merrill’ and ‘Cucumber tree’
- Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra); orange-reddish fall color, ‘Autumn Splendor’ a good cultivar
- River Birch (Betula nigra); attractive exfoliating bark, much more drought tolerant than white birch species
Large-sized Deciduous Trees Up To 50’
- American Elm (Ulmus americana); very hardy and tolerant of a wide variety of sites, common Dutch elm disease resistant cultivars include ‘Accolade’, ‘Cathedral’, ‘Patriot’, ‘Princeton’ or ‘Valley Forge’
- Basswood (Tilia americana); also called American linden, excellent species for pollinators, dense shade
- Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis); native to southeast Minnesota, good wildlife value, smooth bark
- Black walnut (Juglans nigra); good wildlife value, attractive form, avoid planting near gardens
- Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa); corky bark, originally widespread in New Brighton, resistant to oak wilt
- Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoids); plant away from pavement or structures, important for honeybees Gingko (Gingko biloba); pyramidal growth form, ‘Autumn Gold’ and ‘Princeton Sentry’ good male cultivars
- Ginko (Ginko biloba); pyramidal growth form, ‘Autumn Gold’ and ‘Princeton Sentry’ good male cultivars
- Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis); very drought tolerant, corky bark, good replacement tree for diseased elms
- Heritage Oak (Quercus ‘heritage’); cross between bur and English oak, relatively fast growing
- Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus); unique flaky bark, ‘Espresso’ is a good fruitless cultivar
- Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa); cigar-like fruit, attractive spring flowers, fast growing
- Northern Pin Oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis); originally widespread in New Brighton, susceptible to oak wilt
- Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra); susceptible to oak wilt, fast growing, somewhat shade tolerant
- Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides); fast growing, attractive white bark, short-lived species
- Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata); native to southeast Minnesota, unique “shaggy” bark, good wildlife value
- Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum); great fall color, use with caution – plant only where roots will be cooler
- Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis); rare in Twin Cities but a good species to try, unique patterned bark
- Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor); good urban oak tree, tolerant of inundation, resistant to oak wilt
- Weeping Willow (Salix alba); attractive weeping foliage, fast growing but tends to have weak branches
- White Oak (Quercus alba); resistant to oak wilt, slow growing, originally widespread in New Brighton
Coniferous Trees Of All Sizes
- Cedar, Eastern Red (Juniperus virginiana); native to southern Minnesota, very drought tolerant
- Fir, Balsam (Abies balsamea); fragrant needles, very conical shape, plant in a cool and/or shady location
- Fir, Douglas (Pseudotsuga mensezii); native to western United States, a drought tolerant evergreen
- Canada Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis); attractive rare evergreen, requires shade and moist soil
- Pine, Red (Pinus resinosa); prefers sandy well drained soils, the state tree of Minnesota
- Pine, Scotch (Pinus sylvestris); unique orange bark, often exhibits crooked upper canopy growth form
- Pine, White (Pinus strobus); attractive form, plant in a cooler, moist site, leader may need deer protection
- Spruce, Black Hills (Picea glauca var. densata); cultivar of the white spruce with better drought tolerance
- Spruce, Norway (Picea abies); good landscape species that exhibits “drooping” twigs, native to Europe
- Spruce, White (Picea glauca); native to northern Minnesota, a good windbreak species
- Tamarack (Larix laricina); large deciduous conifer (drops needles in fall), excellent yellow fall color
Other Things To Know!
- Most deciduous trees need winter bark protection from rabbits by wrapping a white tree guard around the trunk
- Plant Maples with caution due to recent prevalence of hot dry summers that severely stress most Maple species
- Colorado Spruce (Blue Spruce) is not recommended because of various needle diseases that cause problems in our climate
- Although many people like Crabapples, they are overplanted in New Brighton sp we would recommend using a variety of other small fleshy fruit bearing species instead
