Guides / Trees

Trees

Woody plants that grow with a single main trunk.

Illustration of a silver birch

A

American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
Practical guidance for growing American chestnut, Castanea dentata, including chestnut blight and its collapse from dominant forest tree to root sprouts, resistant hybrids, cross-pollination, and its sweet, edible nuts.
Difficult
American Hazelnut
Corylus americana
Practical guidance for growing American hazelnut, Corylus americana, including its suckering thicket habit, native tolerance of eastern filbert blight, wildlife hedgerow use, and edible nuts.
Easy
American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
How to grow American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana. Why a female tree needs a male nearby to fruit, waiting for it to soften fully before the tannins stop puckering the mouth, and the bezoar risk that means fencing grazing animals away from windfalls.
Moderate
Amur Maple
Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala
Practical guidance for growing Amur maple, Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala, including its fragrant spring flowers, extreme cold hardiness, hedge and shelterbelt use, and mild toxicity.
Easy
Ash
Fraxinus excelsior
How to identify ash, Fraxinus excelsior. The black winter buds, ash dieback and what it means for your tree, and whether to fell or wait.
Easy

B

C

D

Deodar Cedar
Cedrus deodara
How to grow deodar cedar, Cedrus deodara. Telling it apart from cedar of Lebanon by its drooping, nodding leader, why it grows a metre a year while young, and why it takes far less winter cold than its Mediterranean relative.
Moderate

E

H

I

Incense Cedar
Calocedrus decurrens
How to grow incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens. Why it is not a true cedar at all, the tight columnar shape it holds for most of its life, and why its aromatic, decay-resistant timber became the standard wood for pencils.
Easy

J

K

Katsura Tree
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
How to grow katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum. Its autumn leaves smell of burnt sugar and caramel, dry soil scorches the leaf margins no matter how mild the winter was, and nurseries let you choose a single trunk or a multi-stemmed form.
Moderate

M

N

Norway spruce
Picea abies
How to grow Norway spruce, Picea abies. The traditional Christmas tree, why it drops its needles indoors, and how to keep a pot-grown one alive for another year.
Moderate

O

Osage Orange
Maclura pomifera
Practical guidance for growing osage orange, Maclura pomifera, including its rot-resistant wood, thorny hedge history, the huge inedible fruit, milky sap, and its drought tolerance on poor soil.
EasySkin irritant

P

R

S

W

Wild service tree
Sorbus torminalis
How to grow wild service tree, Sorbus torminalis. A scarce British native, an ancient woodland indicator, and fruit that has to rot before you can eat it.
Moderate

Y

Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis
How to grow yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis. Telling it apart from a paper birch by its golden bark and a scratched twig's wintergreen scent, and why a hot summer holds it back more than any winter cold.
Moderate