Tree Placement
By: S. V. Scott, Master Gardener

We plant trees for their form, their fruit, and their flowers. We plant trees to alter the view, or because a yard without trees looks 'naked', or simply because we love them and they remind us of other trees. However, trees have their greatest impact when used to modify the environment, and it is this modifying characteristic that we can use to help us plan where to add trees to the landscape.

Who has never been grateful for the shade of a tree on a summer day? The transpiration of trees--taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen--makes the shade of trees cooler than the shade from buildings. Our intense summers and high energy costs make planting shade trees imperative. For greatest effectiveness, plant your shade trees across the southern exposure of your home, if at all possible, and especially at the southeast and southwest corners. This is the spot for big trees like ash and hackberry that spread out at the top as they mature, helping to shade the roof.

It is this spreading character that made the American Elm such a perfect shade tree, and that led to it's being overplanted and vulnerable to epidemic disease. For this reason, try to ensure that the trees you plant are different from those of your neighbors so as not to encourage the spread of disease across our communities.

For design purposes, it is sometimes necessary to plant a number of trees that are alike; in an orchard, along an avenue, or clustered in a corner to serve as a screen or backdrop. If this is part of your plan, study the recommendations for proper spacing; trees planted too closely together are easily deformed and look sickly.

Pay special attention to what is above you as you plant. Far too many trees are planted directly under power lines where they are both costly and dangerous to control, not to mention the annoyance we all feel when broken tree limbs shut down the electric service during high winds and ice storms.

If you are pressed for space and trying to utilize every inch of a small plot, there are some small trees that, if properly trained, are unlikely to interfere with the power supply, but you must do your research and not simply rely on the word of a person who is trying to sell you a tree! "Medium" sized trees like Bradford pear, crabapple, and redbud have been known to grow to enormous size. It's heartbreaking to nurture a tree for years, anticipating it's beauty at maturity, only to see the top cut out or the side sheared off to accommodate power lines that were there from the beginning.

Trees can be a backdrop or a focal point, they can direct our eyes out to a vista, or block off the view entirely. In autumn, a red maple back-lit by the setting sun seems to set our hearts on fire. In winter, bare branches encased in snow or ice are breathtakingly beautiful. All year, trees' dramatic black shadows accentuate the golden quality of the morning and evening light. Trees comfort us, inspire us, and give us life. Consider their placement wisely and they will pay rich dividends for years to come.