Great Deciduous Trees

First and foremost, choose trees that are relatively easy to grow. Select species that tolerate a wide range of soil conditions and are disease-tolerant and easy to find, either at nurseries or mail-order sources.

These favorite trees thrive primarily in the eastern half of the country, from Texas to Minnesota, and eastward to the Atlantic coast. If you live outside that area and are interested in growing one of them, check with local sources to verify its adaptability to your area or find a suitable alternative.

If you have room for it, an oak tree is a must, and there are hundreds to choose from. A dozen outstanding choices can be found on the market today--white oaks, pin oaks and English oaks among them.

The northern red oak is the fastest growing of all oak trees, capable of putting on two feet of new growth a year. It has strong wood, is bothered by few pests and diseases and is the most shade-tolerant of all oaks. The northern red oak also has the largest leaves among all oaks, and they turn a gorgeous red in the fall.

Equally majestic are the maples, which range in height from 15 to 100 feet, and they too produce attractive fall colors. The two most popular in today's landscape are probably the sugar maple, the Japanese maple and the red maple.

The red maple is native to North America. It's a fast-growing tree, ultimately reaching heights of as much as 70 feet. It does fine in full sun and grows well in Zones 3 through 8. Some favorite varieties are 'October Glory', 'Red Sunset', and 'Autumn Flame'.

Ash

Another favorite tree is the ash. Many of the older varieties produced millions of messy seeds, but today's improved varieties of both white ash and green ash are seedless. They're fast-growing, with hard, dense wood, and able to grow almost anywhere.

The native hackberry is rugged and long-lived, and its bark is especially interesting. When given plenty of moisture, the hackberry can grow close to 100 feet tall and is an excellent alternative to the disease-prone American elm. You may have a little trouble finding hackberry trees at your local nursery or lawn-and-garden center. If so, urge the staff to order one for you.

The state tree of Virginia and Missouri is the flowering dogwood, and if you've got a shady spot in your yard, by all means plant one. They don't get very tall, which means you can plant them fairly close to the house (take their lateral spread into consideration), and in addition to displaying beautiful fall foliage, they produce berries that can attract wildlife. The dogwood's main attribute, though, is its white or pink blossoms in early spring. In the wild, dogwoods are an understory tree, which means they prefer a part- to full-shade site in the landscape setting as well. Avoid nicking the tree with a lawn mower or otherwise helping to create portals for any of the dogwood's natural pests and diseases.

The stately sycamore can be messy at times, but it's a beautiful tree and one of the easiest to grow. Before you plant one, though, make sure you can offer it plenty of room. In fact, sycamores never seem to slow down in growth and in time may reach 150 feet. Sycamores stand out most in winter, when their white upper bark is most visible.

Lacebark elm

The lacebark (or Chinese) elm is a fast grower with beautiful bark that exfoliates as the tree ages. Like the hackberry, the lacebark elm is a great substitute for the American elm.

Another excellent, well-adapted tree of Asian origin is the panicled goldenraintree. It rarely grows more than 40 feet tall and produces long panicles of yellow flowers in summer, followed by distinctive, three-sided triangular seed capsules. Its only real drawback: it attracts box elder bugs by the thousands, although they don't harm the tree.

The bald cypress, the state tree of Louisiana, is the only deciduous conifer on this list, and its conical shape and feathery foliage make it a stunning landscape specimen. Although denizens of the southern swamps, these ancient beauties can be found growing as far north as Ontario and once established will survive with routine watering.

Trees to avoid

This second list might be more important than the first. It's a list of trees not recommended for the landscape for a variety of reasons. Avoid these nuisance trees:

• Cottonwood
  
• Lombardy poplar
  
• Mimosa
  
• Box elder
  
• Silver maple
  
• Tree-of-heaven
  
• Black locust
  
• Mulberry (unless fruitless)
  
• Thorned honey locust
  
• American elm