Growing Shade, Flowering and Evergreen trees for tough city conditions
Below you will find a list of Shade, Flowering and Evergreen Trees from our plant database that have tolerance for urban conditions or air pollution. If you click on any of the photos, you will see a Virtual Plant Tag that may contain plant descriptions, usage suggestions and a link to where you can buy that plant for your landscaping. The concept of a tree can be difficult to define since different people might consider the same plant a broadleaf evergreen, needled evergreen, conifer, bush or shrub.
Uses for these trees vary by variety, and may thrive in full shade, partial shade or full sun and a variety of soil conditions including wet soil, moist soil, dry soil or compacted soils.
With increased awareness of the value that native trees add to the natural landscape, these suggestions will help you make good choices about which city trees are best suited for your home garden: American Elm (Ulmus americana) and the new disease resistant selections; American Holly (Ilex opaca) and the many superior cultivars grow in deeply wooded environments yet are remarkable adaptable to grow well in city sites; American Hornbeam, Blue Beech, Ironwood or Musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana); Bur or Mossycup Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and Red Oak (Q. rubra) both for larger areas; Cedar Elm (U. crassifolia); Cockspur Hawthorn (Cragaegus crusgalli); Live Oak or Quercus virginiana; Mescal Bean or Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora); Pin Oak or Q. palustris; Silver Linden (Tilia tomentosa).
Europe and Asia have given American gardeners numerous ornamental plants that tolerate or thrive in the challenging urban environmental conditions in the United States. Trees for city tolerant suggestions include: Chinese or Lacebark Elm or Ulmus parvifolia, not to be confused with the vastly inferior Siberian Elm (U. pumila); Common or European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) with its interesting, ornamental cultivars; False-holly, Holly Tea Olive or Osmanthus heterophyllus; Hedge Maple or Acer campestre is a tough, sturdy small size tree for compact city spaces; Callery Flowering Pears (Pyrus calleryana) with special emphasis on the newer, greatly improved cultivars since 'Bradford'; Ginkgo or Maidenhair Tree; too many to mention individually, the new, wonderful Holly hybrids (Ilex) tolerate and even thrive in adverse conditions; Japanese Zelkova (Z. serrulata) and several selections; Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata); London Planetree; Panicled Hydrangea (H. paniculata) and many fine selections; Goldenraintree or Koelreuteria paniculata; Saucer Magnolia (M. x soulangiana) and fabulous cultivars
