When thoughtfully planted, trees will shade your home in summer. In winter, the sun will penetrate them and warm your home naturally. Some will provide fall color.
Ash
Autumn Purple Ash
Fraxinus americana ‘Junginger’
Height: 45′
Spread: 40′
Rounded habit with green, heavily textured foliage. Fall color varies from mottled yellow orange to orange red and deep purple. Seedless
Cimmaron Ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica ‘Cimmzam’
Height: 50′
Spread: 30′
Upright, oval shape. Glossy, dark green foliage turning brick red to orange-red in fall. Seedless
Flowering Ash
Fraxinus ornus
Height: 40′
Spread: 35′
A rounded spreading tree with sprays of white flowers in clusters that emerge late spring. Medium green foliage turns yellow with tinges of purple in the fall. Full sun and tolerant of a range of soil pH.
Golden Desert Ash
Fraxinus excelsior ‘Aureafolia’
Height: 20′
Spread: 18′
A small, compact tree displaying golden bark year-round. Foliage is yellow in spring, green in summer, bright gold in the fall.
Manchurian Ash
Fraxinus mandshurica
Height: 40′
Spread: 30′
Medium to large tree that is broadly oval. Pinnate leaves are medium green turning bright yellow in fall. Very hardy tree tolerant of a range of site conditions.
Raywood Ash
Fraxinus oxycarpa ‘Raywood’
Height: 45′
Spread: 30′
Rounded form with glossy dark green leaves. This delicate tree has narrow leaflets and slender branches. Foliage turns rich burgundy in the fall.
Urbanite Ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica ‘Urbanite’
Height: 50′
Spread: 40′
Broadly pyramidal with lustrous green, thick and leathery foliage. Deep bronze fall color. Very tolerant of city conditions. Samaras
Birch
Cut Leaf Weeping Birch
Betula pendula ‘Dalecarlica’
Height: 40′
Spread: 20′
Narrowly oval with slender branches with weeping tips that give the tree a graceful, delicate appearance. Dark green foliage turns yellow in fall.
Dura-Heat Birch
Betula nigra ‘BNMTF’
Height: 40′
Spread: 30′
Broadly pyramidal with heat resistant, glossy, deep green foliage giving this tree a fresh look through the heat of the summer. Branching freely gives it a dense and compact appearance. Attractive exfoliating bark is a medley of cream and tan colors.
Heritage Birch
Betula nigra ‘Cully’
Height: 40′
Spread: 30′
Broadly pyramidal chosen for its lighter colored bark and large, glossy, light green leaves. Peeling bark exposes mottled patches of cream, orange and pinkish tan colors.
Jacquemontii Birch
Betula jacquemontii
Height: 25-60′
Spread: 15′
Upright oval tree with the whitest bark of all the Birches. Dark green, thick glossy foliage turns yellow in fall.
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera
Height: 50′
Spread: 35′
Oval in habit with dark green foliage turning yellow in fall. Bark is slow to turn white, but a perfect chalk-white when older. Beautiful as a single stem tree or clump form.
Prairie Dream Birch
Betula papyrifera ‘Varen’
Height: 50′
Spread: 40′
Exceptional, snow white, exfoliating bark and beautiful, golden yellow, autumn foliage. Stress tolerant and highly resistant to bronze birch borer. Semi-pyramidal when young becoming broadly oval at maturity.
Renaissance Oasis Birch
Betula papyrifera ‘Oenci’
Height: 50′
Spread: 30′
Broadly pyramidal to oval with improved drought tolerance and pH resistance. Mahogany-accented exfoliating bark reveals very attractive bright white bark at an early age.
Renaissance Reflection Birch
Betula papyrifera ‘Renci’
Height: 50′
Spread: 25′
Upright pyramidal shape, brilliant snowy white bark, excellent
gold fall color. Fast growing producing a narrow crown. Bronze birch borer resistant.
River Birch
Betula nigra
Height: 40′
Spread: 35′
Broadly pyramidal to rounded with medium to dark green foliage. The bark exfoliates to expose tan, pink or orange colored younger stems. Bronze birch borer resistant.
Royal Frost Birch
Betula ‘Penci-2’
Height: 40′
Spread: 25′
Upright pyramidal shape. Spectacular tree with white bark that contrasts nicely with the deep burgundy leaves.
Shiloh Splash Birch
Betula nigra ‘Shiloh Splash’
Height: 10′
Spread: 8′
A deciduous, variegated, flowering tree with papery, tan, and peach bark and green leaves that appear to have had their margins dunked in creamy-white paint.
White Satin Birch
Betula utilis ‘Madison’
Height: 35′
Spread: 25′
Broadly pyramidal tree with good cold hardiness. Resistance to bronze birch borer, golden yellow fall color and satin white bark are features of this long-lived tree.
Whitespire Birch
Betula populifolia ‘Whitespire Sr.’
Height: 40′
Spread: 25′
Pyramidal to oval habit. Dark green glossy leaves turn yellow in fall. Bronze birch borer resistant.
Young’s Weeping Birch
Betula pendula ‘Youngii’
Height: 15′
Spread: 20′
This easily shaped tree is especially suited to small garden areas. Its characteristic branch structure makes it an attractive and interesting addition to an informal landscape.
Catalpa
Bungei (Umbrella) Catalpa
Catalpa bungei
Height: 30′
Spread: 30′
A dense, rounded tree with very large medium-green, heart-shaped leaves. Fall color is yellow. This Catalpa rarely blooms. Names in honor of plant collector Alexander von Bunge.
Heartland Catalpa
Catalpa speciosa ‘Hiawatha 2’
Height: 50′
Spread: 25′
More narrow and upright form than its counterparts. This beautiful and unique tree has a large, dark green heart-shaped foliage that transition to a subtle buttery yellow in the fall. Late summer, the tree will bloom with large panicles of white fragrant flowers.
Northern Catalpa
Catalpa speciosa
Height: 50′
Spread: 35′
A native of the central U.S. it is known for its tolerance of heat and drought. Its branch structure presents a bold, rugged appearance. Pyramidal with open structure, large medium green leaves and white flowers in large clusters.
Purple Catalpa
Catalpa × erubescens ‘Purpurea’
Height: 45′
Spread: 40′
Leafing out in spring with deep purple leaves unfurling to a huge size, the foliage takes on a bronze-green summer color. Large white flower panicles.
Elm
Emerald Sunshine Elm
Ulmus propinqua ‘JFS-Bieberich’
Height: 35′
Spread: 25′
Vase shaped with deeply corrugated leaves emerging coppery-bronze maturing to glossy green. Insect resistant and tolerant of heat and drought, it is a fast-growing, tough and adaptable shade tree.
Frontier Elm
Ulmus ‘Frontier’
Height: 40′
Spread: 30′
Vase shaped to oval with glossy green leaves. Foliage turns reddish-purple to burgundy in the fall. A U.S. National Arboretum introduction.
Prospector Elm
Ulmus wilsoniana ‘Prospector’
Height: 40′
Spread: 30′
Broadly vase shaped crown at an early age. This National Arboretum introduction has proven to be widely adaptable to climatic extremes.
Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
Height: 45′
Spread: 35′
Broad top with ascending, then arching branches. Tolerant of harsh climatic conditions. Rough, corky bark adds interest and resists damage.
Chicagoland Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis ‘Chicagoland’
Height: 40-60′
Spread: 30-40′
A tough and rugged shade tree with a neat upright-oval habit of growth and a strong central leader. It is narrower than the species.
Magnifica Hackberry
Celtis ‘Magnifica’
Height: 50′
Spread: 40′
‘Magnifica’ develops a large, arching canopy. Fast growth and good insect resistance. It is perfect for the urban climate, and grows best in environments with sun to partial shade. Can be used in all types of soil: from nutrient-poor to wet or dry and from acidic to alkaline. Leaves turn a warm yellow in fall.
Prairie Sentinel Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis ‘JFS-KSU1’
Height: 45′
Spread: 12′
This fastigiate hackberry fills the need for a columnar tree for narrow city streets in the toughest climates. Discovered in the rugged high plains of western Kansas, it has great adaptability to heat, drought, and cold of the prairie and harsh urban sites.
Honeylocust
Imperial Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Impcole’
Height: 35′
Spread: 35′
Small and rounded, the most compact and formal of the popular Honeylocust cultivars. Wide branch angles create a horizontal spreading branch pattern. Medium green, fine-textured foliage turns yellow in fall. Seedless
Northern Acclaim Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Harve’
Height: 45′
Spread: 35′
Broadly pyramidal with fine textured, medium green foliage. Turns yellow in fall. Seedless. Chosen for its cold hardiness.
Shademaster Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Shademaster’
Height: 45′
Spread: 35′
Upright ascending then spreading branches produce an irregular vase shaped form. Excellent street tree.
Street Keeper Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Draves’
Height: 45′
Spread: 20′
Narrow, strongly upright, tightly pyramidal shape. Dark green, fine textured foliage. Ideal for city streets.
Sunburst Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Suncole’
Height: 40′
Spread: 35′
Irregular to rectangular form. Foliage is bright golden yellow and fine textured. Seedless
Hornbeam
Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam
Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’
Height: 35′
Spread: 15′
Narrow, columnar form with dark green foliage. Yellow fall color
Native Flame American Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana ‘JFS-KW6’
Height: 30′
Spread: 20′
Good upright growth and for with especially bright red fall color. It combines graceful informality of a native with the brilliant colors of a modern cultivar.
Pyramidal European Hornbeam
Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’
Height: 35′
Spread: 25′
Symmetrical and formal in appearance. Heat and drought resistant and relatively free of disease and pest problems. Leave lower branching and use as a windscreen.