Best Shade Trees
Large, deciduous shade trees can help keep your home and outdoor spaces cooler by blocking the hot sun. These trees also add beauty to your landscape with features such as flowers, pretty fall foliage, colors, and interesting bark. Ginkgo The extremely pest-resistant ginkgo has unique, fan-shape leaves that turn a buttery yellow in fall. It's best to buy only trees labeled as male, because female ginkgoes produce messy, stinky (but edible) fruit. Look for these top-performing ginkgo varieties: 'Autumn Gold'; 'Magyar'; Presidential Gold; Emperor; and 'Princeton Sentry'. Name: Ginkgo biloba Growing Conditions: Full sun in medium moisture, well-drained soil Size: Up to 80 feet tall and 40 feet wide Oak Congress named the oak as America's national tree in 2004. More than 60 species of oak are native to the United States, so try to choose the best oak for your region. Live oak is the recommended oak species for Southern regions. In colder regions, northern...