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| When Planting a Tree... |
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 When choosing a tree to include in your landscape, you will want to consider the size, the color, the fruit, the soil, the shape and the location. Do you want a tree for shade, privacy, windbreak, aesthetics, or some other purpose. Consider any limitations in the site you have chosen for the new planting, things like sidewalks, overhead wires, wet or dry soil, or other trees.
If you know what to look for when selecting trees at the nursery, once planted, you new trees will have the very best chances of surviving, thriving, and growing.
When planting the tree, dig the hole two to five times the diameter of the root ball, and loosen the soil to help the roots grow faster. Remove any wires or mesh and start filling the hole with soil. Add water now to eliminate any air pockets, firm the soil as it's added, and continue adding soil until the tree's base is at ground level.
After planting, watering is the key to the tree's survival. Water deeply around your new tree once a week during dry spells. Do not prune the new tree in its first year. Do not fertilize the new tree in its first year either. Do place two or three inches of fresh mulch around the tree but not touching the tree trunk.
Trees should last a lifetime, and they will if you spend some time making good decisions today about the trees you want to plant tomorrow. The best ways to identify a particular tree are by 1) its leaves, 2) its fruit, 3) its bark, and 4) its shape or branching.
For more info, please see the local website: TreesAtlanta.org
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| Sugar Maple |
 Maples are favorite shade trees because of their spectacular Autumn color with dazzling shades of reds, oranges and yellows. This long-lived tree is rounded in shape. You need to consider the location carefully and give this Maple room to grow as this tree will eventually grow to 60 feet in height and maybe have a 40 foot spread. It is a medium-growing hardwood tree that prefers full sun but also does well in partial shade. It prefers moist, but well-drained and fertile soil and has some drought resistance.
The Sugar Maple typically has an oval to rounded shape and it will amaze everyone with its showy yellow, bright orange or fiery red Autumn colors.
It does produce winged seed pods in the early Spring that can be a nuisance around uncovered gutters. Also consider that the roots of the Sugar Maple sometimes will run along the top of the ground and can be a nuisance to lawnmowers and can also be a problem around sidewalks and driveways.
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| Red Japanese Maple |
 If you are looking for a small ornamental tree that's both hardy and showy, consider the Japanese Red Maple. The height will be between 15 - 25 feet, and the width can be up to 20 feet at maturity, depending on the variety. It is a slow-growing tree that does very well in partial or full shade and usually has a rounded, vase shape. It is somewhat drought resistant, but prefers moist, well-drained, sandy or clay soils.
It is almost unequalled for its attractive red foliage in the Spring and Autumn.
The Japanese Red Maple makes an excellent choice to be a centerpiece for any front yard garden or landscape.
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| Ginkgo |
 The Ginkgo tree is best known for its unusual branches, its spectacular yellow Autumn color, and its unusual fan-shaped leaves. Its seeds and leaves are used in medicines throughout the world.
The Ginkgo or Maidenhair tree is an ornamental tree that will grow to 50 feet in height and may spread to 35 feet in width. Its a slow to medium growth rate tree that will do well in full sun or partial shade. It can tolerate all kinds of soil conditions and moderate drought or moderate wetness but does not do well in hot, dry climates.
It has a most unusual and widespread branching shape and the female variety will bear a very pungent fruit in the autumn, so most people prefer to plant the male variety and not deal with the mess and odor of the fruits.
The easiest ways to identify this tree are 1) its fan-shaped leaves are very unique, 2) the ladder-like branching is very unique, and 3) the stinky fruit is also unique.
Brought to this country from China many decades ago, this tree may live as long as 3,000 years. With lots of water, some fertilizer and extra care, yours may live forever.
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| Magnolia |
 Nothing says 'the old South' quite like a sprawling Magnolia tree. Known for its evergreen quality, extra-fragrant off-white flowers, and shiny dark green leaves, the Magnolia has always been a southern tradition.
Despite its endearing qualities, this tree is probably not your best choice for the front yard for several reasons. It constantly sheds leaves which take forever to decompose, its seedpods are the size of pinecones and somewhat thorny, the roots run along the top of the ground, and no grass can grow under this tree because of its dense foliage.
Your neighbors will appreciate you planting the tree in the backyard, maybe at the property line for a windbreak effect. Since the leaves are always falling and don't decompose quickly, neighbors are always having to pick up after this tree.
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| Flowering Cherry Tree |
 A perennial favorite for the front yard is the Flowering Cherry Tree. One of the first to bloom in early March, this tree is spectacular when in full bloom. They are available in many shades of pink and white, but the pale pink is the most popular. It's a fast-growing tree and spreads to about 20 feet wide and grows to about 20 feet tall. This tree is very symetrical in shape.
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| Redbud |
 A Redbud tree is a perfect choice for the front yard ( and the back yard too. ) It has a beautiful rounded shape with large oval shaped leaves, smooth dark colored bark, and a beautiful delicate purple flower in the early Spring. It is one the earliest trees to bloom in the Spring. It's slow-growing and should be protected from strong winds. An average height for this tree is about 20 feet.
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| American Beech |
 If you're thinking about planting an American Beech tree, consider space. You'll need a very large sunny area for this one. It's known for its distinctive smooth silver-gray bark, and extensive, massive and symmetrical branches. Not very well known in the Atlanta area, this tree is almost rare. This slow-growing tree is majestic and massive in size, reaching 50-70 feet high. Don't plant this one close to the house or you'll be trimming branches one day soon.
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| Water Oak |
 The Water Oak is the most popular tree in Piedmont Heights. The oak is a very long-lived tree; most of the standing specimens in our neighborhood are over 100 years old. This is a very hardy tree that can withstand all kinds of conditions. Oaks are slower growing trees and need lots of space to expand. They can grow to 70-80 feet in height and 30 feet in width. They are massive and grand, and very symmetrical in shape. They have wide-spreading, horizontal branches. All oaks bear acorns and the Water Oak bears small ones, but the quantity varies from year to year. This is a very sturdy, hard wood variety. The shape is a very pretty conical shape, but the Autumn foliage is less than spectacular, sometimes just plain brown.
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| Sweetgum |
 The Sweetgum tree is a popular tree because of its beautiful conical shape, and it is a fast-growing tree. Reaching heights of 60+ feet, it also makes a good shade tree. It is easily recognized by its star-shaped leaves and the nuisance thorny gumballs that is drops on the ground throughout the summer months. It's also difficult to maintain the grass around this tree because its roots run on top of the soil.
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