Plant a tree for Arbor Day
By Amy McDowell
Each spring,
Arbor Day slips by quietly without a lot of fanfare—getting none of the
publicity that a holiday like Groundhog Day receives. Part of the problem is
that Arbor Day varies by region; it’s scheduled to coordinate with different
planting seasons in each area. In Iowa, Arbor Day is officially the last Friday
in April. That’s April 27 this year. However, to further complicate things,
many Iowa communities designate their own Arbor Day to coordinate with local
tree planting activities. If we had a set Arbor Day printed on our calendars
each year, it would be much easier to keep track and make plans to buy a tree.
If you are
planning to plant a tree this year, here are three terrific trees to consider
for your landscape.
American
Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) is sometimes called “muscle wood” because
the smooth blue-gray bark resembles rippling muscles. They’ve also garnered the
nickname “ironwood” because the hard wood is extremely strong. Hornbeams have
dark green leaves and terrific red, orange or yellow fall color. They are
adaptable to the heavy clay soil here in central Iowa, and they’ll even
tolerate wet sites. Hornbeams produce tiny nutlets that birds enjoy. They grow
well in full sun or heavy shade, and they have an upright rounded canopy.
Hornbeams are a small shade tree, topping out at about 25 feet high and wide
when full grown.
Silver Linden
(Tilia tomentosa) are stunning shade trees that are even more spectacular when
the wind blows. The glossy dark green leaves are silvery underneath, and the
trees twinkle in the breeze. The silver in their name is both for the silver
undersides of the leaves and the smooth light gray bark, which makes them
beautiful year round. Silver Lindens have good yellow fall color, and are
tolerant of air and salt pollution. When mature, their broad canopy can reach
60-70 feet high and 30-40 feet wide.
Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) are gorgeous large
trees that sometimes suffer a stigma because of the 8-inch-long bean pods they
produce. Kentucky Coffeetrees are immense and stately when mature at 60 feet
high and 40 feet wide, and raking the bean pods is no more arduous than raking
leaves. The foliage is dark bluish green during the summer and yellowish in the
fall. Kentucky Coffeetrees have attractive rough bark and are free of disease
or insect problems.
Most people agree
it’s important to help one another; to touch other people’s lives in some
positive way. Planting trees is a way to help everyone and to touch the earth
in a positive way.
