{"id":12228,"date":"2019-12-06T00:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=12228"},"modified":"2019-11-21T11:19:53","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T16:19:53","slug":"downtown-street-trees-with-a-narrow-vertical-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2019\/12\/06\/downtown-street-trees-with-a-narrow-vertical-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Street Trees With A Narrow Vertical Form"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the subject of land, Mark Twain wrote: \u201cthey\u2019re not making any more of it\u201d. This is particularly true in downtown urban areas where land to grow trees is usually very limited. Here are five tall trees that possess a striking vertical accent. Their upright branch habit does not take up much horizontal space. Trees are superb planting choices along wide avenues or boulevards. All five species adapt to the urban environment. They\u2019re also fit into downtown pocket parks and small residential sites where there are no height restrictions like overhead utility lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Slender Silhouette’ Sweetgum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During the first two years following planting, trees should be irrigated\nduring dry spells (or every 2-3 weeks) from spring through late summer. All\nfive picks are hardy in USDA hardiness zones 5-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Slender Silhouette\u2019 Sweetgum<\/strong>\u00a0(Liquidambar styraciflua<\/em>\u00a0\u2018Slender Silhouette\u2019) (USDA 5-9) is a narrow 35 to 50 feet tree that spreads only 8 feet wide. \u2018Slender Silhouette\u2019 produces very few nuisance gumball fruits so typical for other sweetgums. In some years, the yellow to red fall color is exceptionally nice. Bark develops deep furrows as the tree ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Beacon\u2019 Swamp White Oak <\/strong>(Quercus bicolor <\/em>Beacon)\ndeserves more recognition. ‘Beacon’ is a tightly columnar upright branching,\nadapts to city environs, and mostly disease-free foliage. Fall color is yellow\nand persists for 2 to 4 weeks. Its mature height is 30 to 40\nfeet and 12 to 15 feet wide. Yes, this oak does produce acorns which can\nbe a messy problem every 3 or 4 years unless picked up curbside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Princeton Sentry\u2019 Ginkgo<\/strong> (Ginkgo biloba<\/em> \u2018Princeton\nSentry\u2019) is a deciduous conifer (a true gymnosperm) that grows to 30-50 feet in\nheight, although a rare mature 100 feet tree is possible after a century\nor more. Ginkgo\u2019s two-lobed, triangular or fan-shaped green summer leaves are distinctive.\nIt is a male (fruitless) variety. Fall foliage turns bright yellow and\nneatly fall to the ground to form a golden carpet around the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Arnold’ tulip poplar (nursery row)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Arnold\u2019 tulip poplar\u00a0<\/strong>(Liriodendron tulipifera<\/em>\u00a0\u2018Arnold\u2019) is a fastigiate grower to 50-60 feet tall and only 8 to 10 feet wide. Unusual light green and orange tulip-like flowers appear in late spring, most blooms hidden beneath the tree\u2019s dense foliage. Fruits (seed pods)\u00a0offer no value ornamentally. Its furrowed gray bark offers significant winter appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upright European hornbeam<\/strong> (Carpinus betulus<\/em> \u2018Fastigiata) displays a narrow, columnar form, especially when the tree is young. The tree’s middle (girth) gradually broadens into a tear drop or oval-vase shape with age. Mature tree size is 35 – 40 feet tall and 25 – 30 feet wide. Another hornbeam variety, \u2018Frans Fontaine\u2019 (40 ft. x 20 ft.), is also suitable for confined areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the subject of land, Mark Twain wrote: \u201cthey\u2019re not making any more of it\u201d. This is particularly true in downtown urban areas where land to grow trees is usually very limited. Here are five tall trees that possess a striking vertical accent. Their upright branch habit does not take up much horizontal space. Trees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1319,1393,440,1498,674,806,1115,665,1182,1051,1383,853,623,866,551,597,627,1084,843,936,951,601,729,1445,777,630,705,646,781,1259,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12231,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12228\/revisions\/12231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}