Trees with fine foliage

Trees with small leaves or leaflets

Why choose a tree with fine foliage rather than coarse foliage? One reason is to create an optical illusion. You can make a small yard appear longer by using plants and shrubs with large leaves in the foreground and trees with small leaves in the background.

Trees with fine foliage don't make as much of a mess when the leaves drop in autumn. The leaves break down faster and blow away easier. Thus, less raking is required. A few passes with the lawn mower may eliminate the need to rake at all.

Most trees with finer foliage don't create dense shade. Grass and many plants, flowers, and shrubs do better in dappled shade than in dense shade.

I've listed a few native trees below that have small or fine foliage. There are others, but I've limited the list to some that come through most ice/wind events without severe damage.

Of course, there are other factors to consider as well, such as the type of soil and the amount of moisture that will be available to the tree. Links will open an information page about the species at the USDA Plants database.

Amelanchier canadensis -- Canadian serviceberry
Carpinus caroliniana -- American hornbeam
Crataegus -- Hawthorn species
Gymnocladus dioicus -- Kentucky coffeetree
Malus ioensis -- Prairie crabapple
Ptelea trifoliata -- Common hoptree
Quercus palustris -- Pin oak
Viburnum prunifolium -- Blackhaw viburnum
Viburnum rufidulum -- Rusty blackhaw viburnum

Technorati tags: fine foliage, small leaves

Hawthorn trees and wildlife

Berries of the Washington hawthorn, Crataegus phaenopyrum

These cheery red berries are the autumn fruit of a thorny little Washington hawthorn tree I planted about a dozen years ago. I got it in a bundle of ten free ornamental trees from Arbor Day Foundation.

Washington Hawthorns bloom late in spring, so this tree's blossoms were not affected by the late freeze last spring. It's loaded with berries. In fact, I think it has the most fruit of any tree I've seen this fall. Many of the fall-fruiting trees and shrubs have nothing at all because their blossoms were frozen.

American Wildlife and Plants (see bibliographic info at the bottom of this page) has the following comment about hawthorn berries:

The small apple-like fruits are not used by wildlife to nearly so great an extent as might be anticipated. Fox sparrows and cedar waxwings are the principal songbird users.

The authors note that up to 25% of the diets of fox sparrows and cedar waxwings may consist of hawthorn berries, in areas where hawthorns are common. They also list about a dozen birds and over a dozen small and large animals that include small amounts of hawthorn berries in their diets (up to 2% of their total diet.)

In a winter of scarce food, I suspect those birds and animals would be glad enough to find a hawthorn tree full of berries.

Hawthorns belong to the rose family, as you might guess when you experience their long, sharp thorns. They are a favorite nesting place for birds. The mockingbirds have a nest in this tree every year.

Native trees for dry, steep sites

Native trees that will grow on dry hillsides

These native trees will tolerate sites with excessive drainage -- hillsides, banks, or slopes, and extremely coarse soils. They will also tolerate droughty conditions, though most of them would like to have a little water sometimes. The common name of each tree is linked to its page in the USDA Plants Database.

Betula populifolia -- Gray birch (tolerates wet to dry conditions)
Carya tomentosa -- Mockernut hickory (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Cotinus americanus -- American smoketree (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus crusgali -- Cockspur hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus mollis -- Downy hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus nitida -- Glossy hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus phaenopyrum -- Washington hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus punctata -- Frosted (or dotted) hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Fraxinus quadrangulata -- Blue ash (tolerates wet to dry conditions)
Juniperus virginiana -- Eastern redcedar (tolerates wet to dry conditions)
Liridendron tulipifera -- Tuliptree or yellow poplar (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Maclura pomifera -- Osage orange or hedgeapple (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Pinus banksiana -- Jack pine (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Pinus ponderosa -- Ponderosa pine (average to dry conditions)
Pinus rigida -- Pitch pine (average to dry conditions)
Populus deltoides -- Cottonwood or eastern poplar (tolerates wet to dry)
Prunus americana -- American wild plum (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Prunus pennsylvanica -- Pin cherry (tolerates wet to dry)
Quercus marilandica -- Blackjack oak (dry)
Quercus muhlenbergi -- Chinkapin oak (dry)
Quercus velutina -- Black oak (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Rhus species -- Various sumacs (prefer some moisture, tolerate dry)
Robinia pseudoacacia -- Black locust (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Sassafras albidum -- Sassafras (tolerates wet to dry)