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Terry, what are your favorite trees?

I get asked a lot what are my favorite trees for this area, so here goes. Don’t forget it is deer rutting season so protect your trees with deer guards. Rutting season goes from August until the New Year. Remember, Cincinnati is in zone 6 when choosing trees and shrubs.

Large Trees

  1. Nyssa sylvatica common name: Black Gum  30-50 feet. Great native tree  Beautiful fall color, fluorescent yellow to orange to scarlet to purple
  2. Acer rubrum   common name: Red Maple  40-60 feet. ( Trees that are in the Montgomery road islands from Montgomery Park to Pfieffer Park.) Fall colors vary from yellow to brilliant red
  3. Acer saccharum  common name: Sugar Maple 60-75 feet. Fall color, brilliant yellow, burnt orange to red
  4. Quercus bicolor  common name: Swamp White Oak 50-60 feet. Normal fall color is yellow to reddish-purple
  5. Fagus grandifolia  common name: American Beech 50-70 feet  fall color beautiful golden bronze

Medium Trees

  1. Pyrus calleryana ‘ Aristocrat’  common name: Aristocrat Pear  30-40 feet  fall color ranges from yellow to red
  2. Gleditsia triacanthos ‘ Skyline’ common name: Skyline Honeylocust  30-40 feet  Bright golden yellow fall color
  3. Betula nigra  common name: river Birch 40 feet  Bark exfoliates into papery sheets and plates and is very interesting. Not much for fall color and is also messy, so watch where you use it.
  4. Magnolia grandiflora common name: Southern Magnolia ‘ Bracken’s Brown Beauty ‘ 30 feet. Large Green leaves with rusty Brown below. One of the most cold hardy for our area.
  5. Syringa reticulate  common name: Japanese Tree Lilac 20-30 feet  dark green in summer, fragrant creamy white flowers early – mid June

Small Trees

  1. Cercis Canadensis  common name: Eastern Redbud  20-30 feet  fall color yellow green to an excellent yellow
  2. Cornus alternifolia  Common name: Pagoda Dodwood  15-25 feet not very showy compared to the florida dogwood in flowers but the spreading, horizontal, purplish color branches is beautiful and interesting. Fast grower and does great in Cincinnati.
  3. Prunus virginiana  common name: Common Chokeberry ‘Canada Red’  20-25 feet. Flowers are white. leaves are  dark green at first, changing to reddish purple
  4. Chionanthus virginicus  common name: White Fringetree 12-20 feet  flowers white, slightly fragrant good choice for a small tree
  5. Sassafras albidum Common name: Common Sassafras 30 feet. One of my favorite native trees for fall color. Shades of yellow to deep orange to scarlet and purple.( A couple of sassafras mixed in with a Black Gum, the fall color would be unmatched anywhere)

Fall is my favorite time of the year, so get out and enjoy the fall colors. All trees mentioned can be found through-out our city parks.

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