How to Select the Right Tree for Your Yard, Part 2
- nvilu7
- May 19
- 13 min read
Updated: 15 hours ago
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Planting a tree is one of the best things you can do for your property.
It adds beauty, shade, privacy, and long-term value.
It’s also one of the longest commitments you will make in your landscape. Unlike a perennial you can move next year, a tree decision will live with you — and future homeowners — for decades.
In Part 1, we talked about why tree selection matters. Now we’ll walk through a practical process for choosing the right tree for your yard.
1. Define the Characteristics of Your Ideal Tree
Before going to the nursery, or browsing your favorite garden plant website, ask yourself these questions to figure out what you actually want from your tree.
Why Do I Want to Plant a Tree?
The answers to these questions will help you determine which tree variety will work best for you.
Do you want to shade a specific area of your yard?
Do you want seasonal color (flowers or leaves)?
Do you want nuts or fruit that you can harvest, eat, and share?
Do you want a green “counterpoint” to your home’s architecture or hardscape?
Do you want to designate your property line or create a living privacy screen?
Do you want to balance your yard’s visual weight (for example, with a pair of trees that flank your house or driveway)?
In addition to the pragmatic reasons above, there are also very powerful emotional reasons for planting a tree.
Do you want a tree like one you climbed and played under as a child?
Do you want to plant the tree that was your grandmother’s favorite?
Does a specific scent—like lilacs or magnolias—evoke wonderful memories?
Do you want to look out your kitchen window and see the same type of tree that your mother saw from her kitchen window?
Write down every reason. Be as specific and as thorough as possible. The longer the list, the easier it will be to identify the perfect tree for your yard.
The next few questions will help narrow down your list to the perfect tree for you and your property.
Where Do I Want to Plant My Tree?
Be as specific as possible about your new tree’s placement. For example, rather than saying “next to the house”, describe the planting location as “the Northwest corner of the house”, “5 feet from the house and 5 feet left of the front picture window”, or “the center of the back yard”.
Defining the exact location for your new tree will provide you with essential planting information, like:
Soil type
Light and water
Nearby plantings
Space available for the tree’s roots and canopy as it grows
Liabilities caused by the tree’s growth (for example, impinging on utility lines)
This information will determine whether your tree thrives or struggles in the location you’ve chosen.
How Big do I Want My Tree to Get?
This is where many homeowners get into trouble (or get subsequent owners of the home into trouble).
Think about mature size, not nursery size.
If you want shade, how much? How tall and wide should your tree be to shade that area?
How tall and wide should the tree be to achieve visual balance with your house and property?
If you want privacy, how tall and wide do the trees in your living privacy fence need to be?
The more specific you are, the easier it will be to identify your perfect tree.
How Much Tree Maintenance am I Willing to Do?
How much time and money do you want to spend on your tree? Are you willing to water and feed your young tree regularly to help it thrive? Are you OK with raking leaves, gathering pine cones, picking up spent flowers, or cleaning tree debris out of your gutters?
Can you spare the time to inspect your tree periodically for potential damage, pests, or disease, and have problems treated promptly, or pay for tree maintenance services? Will you learn how to prune your tree, or pay an expert to prune it?
Tree maintenance, like caring for a pet, is a year-round, year-after-year commitment for the life of the tree. If you’re are unwilling or unable to make that kind of commitment, narrow your tree wish list to easy-care tree species.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of time or money on a tree, select an easy-care species that doesn’t require pruning—they do exist.
If you have your heart set on a tree that requires pruning to stay healthy and properly shaped, hire an arborist. Tree pruning is both an art and a science.
2. Narrowing Down Your Tree ‘Wish List’
Now that you know what you want, it’s time to narrow your options.
Native or Non-Native?
Whenever possible, select native species (ones that occur naturally in a your region or ecosystem). Native trees have evolved over eons to adopt to your area’s climate, soil, and wildlife. They survived by working and playing well with other native species, improving their chances of thriving in your yard.
In contrast, imported species are often invasive, displacing native species, depleting water levels, suppressing biodiversity, and even bullying other plants to death.
When I purchased my house, the front yard was planted with seven non-native Chinese elm trees. At some point the previous owners planted four pear trees in close proximity to the existing Chinese elms. When I moved in, those pear trees were producing no fruit and were clearly miserable.
Googling revealed that Chinese elm trees’ water and nutrient needs are so aggressive that they more or less suck the life out of any trees planted in their proximity—especially fruit trees. Their roots can also secrete substances that inhibit the growth of nearby plants.
Those poor pear trees didn’t have a chance.
Non-Native Tree Alternatives
Instead of a non-native tree, find a native that’s similar to the non-native you’re considering:
Instead of a Norway maple, plant the native sugar maple or red maple.
Instead of a white poplar, plant a silver birch.
Instead of a Bradford pair, plant a redbud or a native flowering dogwood.
For additional suggestions and alternatives for non-native trees, check with an expert—the horticulturalist at a reputable local garden center, a local arborist, or someone from your state’s Department of Forestry.
How Fast Does this Tree Grow? Is It Invasive?
One of the biggest drivers for planting a fast-growing tree is to make a property more private.
But. That privacy comes at a high cost.
Trees that are bred to be fast-growing have oversized fertilizer and water needs and steal resources from the plants around them. Their branches are fragile and grow in a disorganized way, so they need frequent pruning by a specialist to retain their shape, eliminate crossing branches, and ensure ongoing stability.
Even with frequent pruning, they drop an astonishingly high volume of branches and twigs.
Because they grow so quickly (anywhere from 2 to 8 feet per year depending on the species), they can become very hard to maintain in just a few years.
Which begs the question—how much privacy do you want, anyway? How tall is too tall?
Some fast-growing trees are also highly invasive and will crowd out virtually every plant in their path once they are established, which can take as little as a year.
Additionally, some fast growing trees are highly flammable, like cypress, arborvitae, and pine. If you live in a fire-prone area, fire-insurance providers may require you to remove highly flammable trees and bushes growing near your home.
So think twice before planting a problem for future you.
Non-Invasive Alternatives
If you really want to plant fast-growing trees for privacy, here are a few alternatives that are less invasive:
Japanese maples, while not native to the U.S., grow relatively fast, play well with others, have non-invasive roots, and come in a wide variety of forms and colors, with mature heights of 10 to 25 feet depending on the variety.
Star magnolias, another Japanese import, have gorgeous early Spring blooms, are pest- and disease-resistant, have no aggressive root spread, and are easy to care for once established, with mature heights of 15 to 20 feet.
The Kousa Dogwood and Crape Myrtle are non-native flowering trees that grow relatively fast without invasive root spread. Kousa Dogwoods can reach heights of 15 to 30 feet and need little pruning; Crape Myrtles are available in a wide variety of cultivars and range in mature size from 3 to 50 feet (check the plant tag to avoid surprises).
While the Red Oak can grow up to 75 feet high, it is considered non-invasive and fast-growing, especially in its first 10 years—although its root system is extensive due to its height.
How Extensive is this Tree’s Root System?
A mature tree’s root system is one of the critical factors for selecting a tree that will not compromise your property, or leave behind a horticultural shitshow for the next owner.
Tree root systems are composed of large, permanent roots that anchor and stabilize the tree, and small feeder roots and root hairs. Feeder roots and root hairs absorb and transfer water and nutrients to the permanent roots, which water and feed the tree.
What many people don’t realize is that a tree’s roots are two to three times larger than its crown. Which means that even a relatively small tree may someday heave up your sidewalk, driveway, patio slab, or foundation.
The type of soil your tree is planted in influences root system spread. Most of a tree’s roots grow in the top 18 inches of soil because that’s where most of the water and nutrients are. Trees planted in clay soil, which retains more water, have less extensive root systems than trees planted in sandy or well-drained soil. Trees planted in fertile, moist, and well-aerated soil will have less extensive root systems than trees planted in poor or sandy soil.
Fertilize and water your tree and its roots won't have to extend as far to keep your tree healthy.
In addition to threatening your home's hardscape, tree root depth and reach is also significant to understand because of the water, gas, and sewer lines buried on residential properties. Your city can tell you where these lines are located and how deeply they are buried so you can plant your new tree where it doesn’t end up damaging those lines.
Evaluate Your Tree Finalists
OK, you’ve done your research and narrowed your tree wish list to a few tree species, and you’ve got a good understanding of their requirements, benefits, and risks. Now you can consider how your choices will perform in your yard.
How Big Will My Tree be at Maturity?
Knowing your new tree’s mature size will allow you to predict how it may eventually endanger the surrounding hardscape and the utility lines buried on your property and whether or not your tree’s branches will encroach on power and communication lines.
You’ll also know whether your tree will eventually outgrow your house and pose a menace when a weather event causes a branch—or the entire tree—to fall on your house.
Which brings up the question—if a tree’s root system is two to three times as wide as its crown, why, then, do trees uproot and fall over?
Because the top of the tree (above ground level) is four to five times heavier than the roots.
That imbalance matters when a storm hits.
In addition to safety, will your tree still complement your house and yard in ten years? Or will it grow so large that it visually engulfs your house, like the redwood mentioned in Part 1?
How Much Maintenance Will My Tree Need?
Responsible tree maintenance will keep your tree looking beautiful, extend its life, and prevent problems that can cost much more than regular maintenance.
Tree maintenance tasks include pruning, watering, fertilizing, mulching, and periodic checks for pests, disease, and damage. Simply calculate the money and time required to keep your tree healthy by checking with the horticulturalist at a reputable garden center, an arborist, or with your state’s Department of Forestry.
Am I Planting my Tree in the Best Place for it to Thrive?
Are you planting your tree in a location that will support its light needs but not burn it during the times of day when the sun is most intense?
What water level and nutrients will your tree need to thrive? New trees need periodic long and slow waterings and regular fertilization for at least the first year to develop strong root systems.
How often will your tree need to be trimmed, and do you feel confident that a) you CAN do it, b) that you WILL do it, or c) that you’ll hire an expert to do it?
First, Do No Harm
Will your new tree’s roots or branches eventually threaten your utilities, sidewalk, driveway, or foundation? What about neighboring properties?
Is the tree you’ve chosen poisonous to pets, wildlife, or humans? If so, are you planting it in a space that allows easy access to the tree?
If you have deer in your area, is your tree choice deer-resistant, or will your tree become a deer snack bar?
Take a look at the existing plantings on your property. Will your new tree steal resources from those plants? Will those plants continue to thrive in the shade your tree will eventually provide? Will your existing plantings compromise the health of your new tree?
Will I Still Love my Tree in Ten Years?
Can I Consistently Maintain my Tree?
Trees can be messy. They can drop flowers, fruit, nuts, seeds, leaves, needles, sap, etc., etc., etc., that you will need to clean up for property aesthetics and/or to prevent damage to your property, other plants, or lawncare equipment.
Are you prepared to clean up after your tree for years or even decades?
Will My Tree Outgrow its Location?
For me, this is the most fundamental question when determining what tree to plant.
As Bob the tree guy said at the Part 1 of this post, in his experience, most people plant trees because of what the tree is going to do for them right now.
Consider your home’s size and scale. Will your house be dwarfed and overshadowed as your tree grows, reducing your home’s curb appeal?
Will the damage created by a large tree planted too close to hardscape (like a sidewalk or driveway) signal potentially expensive issues for you, or turn off prospective buyers?
Here’s a trick I use to determine whether the tree you want is the right size for your property.
Take a picture of your property where you want to plant your tree. Include as much as you can of your house and yard. Enlarge the picture, then print it. On the picture, draw the tree where you plan to plant it—at its mature size.
It’s eye-opening.
Most people (me included) have a tough time visualizing what 50 or 100 feet of tree looks like. This trick will allow you to see if your tree will complement your home and property at maturity—or if will overwhelm your house and everything else in your yard.
Numbers on a plant tag are abstract. Seeing that same tree towering over your own house is something entirely different.
To further open your eyes, draw the tree’s root system on your pic so you can see if it threatens buried utilities.
It’s a lot of detail, but it’s always better to know exactly what you’re getting into.
How I Selected my First Tree
I followed my own process when selecting trees for my yard. Here’s how I found my first tree:
Where to plant: I planned to plant the tree in the front yard at the intersection of my concrete front porch and driveway, centered on a blank section of exterior wall between the garage door and the floor-to-ceiling front windows. To better fill the space, and balance with the orange-red front and garage doors, I wanted the tree in a planter in a similar color.
Size: because my house is small, I didn’t want the tree to be much taller at maturity than my less-than-1000-square-foot house to keep it in scale. That meant no more than ten feet tall and eight feet wide.
Characteristics: I wanted a deciduous tree (i.e., one that sheds its leaves in the fall) to provide visual interest year-round—leaves in spring, summer, and fall and interesting bark in the winter. I also wanted a tree that was colorful enough to contrast with its colorful container, and I preferred a slow-growing tree that would do well in that container.
Since the planting location was in full sun for most of the summer, the tree had to be able to tolerate full sun with minimal leaf scorch.
Maintenance needs: Since I was planning to add a large garden on the property, I wanted a low-maintenance tree, i.e., little to no pruning, with reasonable water and fertilizer needs, and good resistance to insects and disease.
Personal wish list: in all my years of gardening, I have never had a Japanese maple, although I have always wanted one, so I decided to make that one of my search criteria. I knew that some Japanese maples are cultured to stay small, which fit with my wish list.
How I searched: I Googled “full-sun tolerant Japanese maple with an unusual bark color”. The first result was Acer p. Sangokaku Coral Bark Japanese Maple, which met every one of my requirements—except that it grows to 25 feet tall.
I called the resident horticulturist at my favorite local garden center and described where I wanted to plant it. She told me that it would get to no more than 10 to 12 feet tall if grown in a container and that it would thrive in that container for at least ten years.
I bought it over the phone.
In four years this tree has grown about three feet taller and five feet wider, filling the large raised planter and the space in front of the blank wall exactly how I imagined it would. The arching branches wave in the breeze and the leaves glow in the sun.
I spend 6 hours per year to maintain it.
This little tree has brought me tremendous beauty and joy and absolutely no regret. The hour I spent online researching my choice was very well spent.
Think Before You Plant a Tree
People’s goals when planting a tree are always worthy ones. No one sets out to plant a tree that will eventually become an eyesore or a nuisance, inflict property damage, or even endanger human life. Way too often, though, people plant trees without taking the tree’s mature size, the site’s limitations, and the cost involved in caring for that tree into account.
So—please!—think before you plant that tree, so you (or the homeowners that come after you) love it just as much in ten, twenty, or thirty years as you did the day you planted it.
Tools That Make Planting and Caring for a Tree Much Easier
A long outdoor measuring tape is SO much easier to use than a standard-style tape measure when evaluating where to plant a tree
Soil testing kit (so you know what soil your tree is actually growing in)
Tree watering bags for new plantings (easy set up!)
Raised planter for small trees
A slow-release tree fertilizer helps establish steady growth without overfeeding
Free Download: How to Select a Tree for Your Yard
Choosing the wrong tree can create decades of frustration, expense, and regret. Download the free guide for practical advice on tree sizing, placement, root behavior, maintenance needs, and how to avoid planting disasters future-you will deeply resent.
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