The American sweetgum — with its star-shaped leaves, neatly compact crown, interesting fruit, and twigs with unique corky growths called wings — is an attractive shade tree. It has become a prized specimen in parks, campuses, and large yards across the country.
The Baldcypress is the classic tree of southern swamps. To the surprise of many, it also does quite well when planted in the right soil in yards or along streets and is a beautiful specimen tree. It has been grown successfully in cities as far north as Milwaukee and on dry Texas hills.
The Black Hills spruce is a variety of the more widespread white spruce found naturally only in southwest South Dakota and a small portion of northeast Wyoming. While not as widely known as other spruces, this ornamental spruce can be planted just about anywhere that the more common Colorado spruce will grow.
The blue hydrangea is the image most of us conjure up in our heads when we think of hydrangeas in general. It is a timeless landscape plant beloved by many, including Martha Stewart. Giant, long-lasting, mophead blooms appear in the summer, adding lovely color to the landscape. These shrubs work well as stand-alone specimens or as a hedge.
The bur oak is a mighty sight to behold. A coarsely textured crown, wild and wooly acorns and a massive trunk with rough and deeply furrowed bark combine to make one impressive tree. Those characteristics helped this oak survive the elements of its wide-reaching natural range. In fact, the natural bur oak range is the northern- and western- most of all the eastern oak species.
One of our most popular ornamental conifers, the Colorado Blue Spruce is a truly magnificent sight. Its silvery blue-green coloring and perfect Christmas tree shape make this tree a great landscaping focal point on commercial and residential properties. It is also widely used for privacy or a windbreak.
Often referred to as the "lilac of the South,” the crapemyrtle is a favorite for landscapes. It can be grown as either a shrub or small tree and is often used in groupings, containers, hedges, and screens. You can even find the common crapemyrtle used as small street trees in urban settings.
The Downy Serviceberry is an elegant deciduous shrub that belongs to the Rosaceae family and is native to North America. In the springtime, its branches become adorned with small, oval-shaped leaves that display a bronze hue. As the seasons progress, the leaves turn to a vibrant green, and eventually take on shades of yellow, orange, and red in the fall.
The eastern white pine has played a very important role throughout the history of America. In colonial days, the best of the trees were set apart by the king for masts on British ships. Today it is still a valuable commercial tree but also favored in parks and spacious yards—both for its beauty and its fast growth. It has also been named the state tree of both Maine and Michigan.
This tough, low-maintenance shrub offers subtle year-round beauty. White panicles of flowers brighten the landscape in June. White berries attract many birds in the late summer and early fall. And the reddish-pink fruit stems persist into the winter, adding a nice color contrast to the gray bark. Gray dogwoods are great for borders, groups, and masses. They can also be grown as small trees to be used for foundations, entranceways, borders or specimen planting.
The Green Giant Arborvitae is a large, vigorous, fast-growing evergreen. Its natural pyramidal to conical form boasts dense, rich green foliage that darkens or bronzes slightly in the winter. This is an exceptional landscape tree for use as a screen, hedge or single specimen. It is also resistant to wind once established and can withstand heavy ice or snow, making it a good choice for a natural windbreak.
The northern red oak has been called “one of the handsomest, cleanest, and stateliest trees in North America” by naturalist Joseph S. Illick, and it is widely considered a national treasure. It is valued for its versatility and hardiness in urban settings. This medium to large tree is also known for its brilliant fall color, great value to wildlife, and status as the state tree of New Jersey.
Norway Spruce is a familiar sight in much of the United States, but it’s native to Europe. Throughout the globe, this tree is loved as a landscape specimen tree. Its dense branching pattern and tolerance of soil variations has also made it a popular tree for windbreaks.
This is the most common H. paniculata form. It can be grown either as a large shrub or small tree, and it is known for its large panicles of white flowers. In fact, with some good pruning, this shrub can produce flower clusters measuring up to 12-18" in length!
The pin oak is the type of tree that stands out from its neighbors. Its distinctive branching pattern sets it apart from other oaks. Homeowners and city foresters like this tree for many reasons: dense shade, tolerance of many soil conditions, heat, soil compaction and air pollution, pleasing to the eye in all seasons, and easy to plant. This fast-growing oak is common in yards, along streets, and throughout parks.