Landscaping Ideas For the Environment

Tips for Selecting Trees

• Plant local trees for regional character. What seems common here is unusual elsewhere and reflects our unique natural history and ecosystems.
• Plant native tree species instead of ornamental varieties. Birds and wildlife prefer native trees and can benefit more from their flowers and seeds.
• Trees that evolved in this region are better suited to our climate of wet winters and dry summers and to our soils that are often rocky, acidic, and low in nutrients.
• Consider the final size of the tree to make sure there is clearance above and around the tree as it grows. Often trees are smaller in cultivation but many of our native trees can still get quite tall.
• Consider the water and sun preferences. Some trees can grow in either sun or shade but require more water when grown in full sun. Plant drought-tolerant trees where they won’t get watered by sprinklers.
• Some trees are more susceptible to disease in certain conditions. For example, over-watering can increase the risk of disease for madronas and dogwoods.
• Make sure the trees were grown from seed or cuttings and not removed from a natural area (unless they were legally salvaged). Trees grow back slowly and are a precious part of the natural ecosystem.

Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)
Elegant multi-stemmed tree. Bark smooth, reddish green. Showy clusters of small white flowers with wine-colored sepals April to May. Leaves have 7 to 9 lobes. In shade, leaves form horizontal layers. In fall, leaves turn vivid red in the sun to golden in the shade. Attractive ornamental by itself or in groups. In forest understory, often grows as a large tangled thicket. WILDLIFE: Seeds eaten by grosbeaks, woodpeckers, nuthatches, finches, quail and grouse. Larvae plant for moths. Nectar source for bees.

Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
Thick trunk with spreading limbs. Young bark smooth and green, becoming gray-brown and often covered with lichens, mosses and ferns. Huge, dark green leaves have 5 deeply cut lobes, turn yellow in the fall. Creamy yellow flowers in long cylindrical clusters when leaves are just emerging. Shallow roots are large and can cause problems with sidewalks, trees can lose large limbs, avoid planting near buildings. Good shade tree for large site. Excellent erosion control. WILDLIFE: Seeds eaten by squirrels, finches, and grosbeaks. Also habitat for woodpeckers, grouse, kinglets, siskins, vireos, warblers, sapsuckers, nuthatches, song sparrows and quail. Good nectar source for bees.

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