Introduction

Planting trees on your property has numerous benefits. They can lower your carbon footprint and utility bills by providing shade and creating a cool micro-climate. They can also provide you with fruits or just be an ornamental piece to your landscape. Whatever the reason, when planting trees, you have to consider many things. You also need to maintain the tree and to do that you can search for “tree service near me” and hire professionals. Let’s check out how to choose a tree to plant on your property:

The Details

1. Soil Type – While some trees can grow well on heavy clay soil, others are more suited to loose, sandy soil. Some can do well with trace amounts of nutrients while others require nutrient-rich fertile soil to grow at their full potential. Even the pH balance of your soil can dictate the trees you can plant on your property. 

To know your soil type you can get it tested by a laboratory for a small fee. They will also let you know the types of trees suited to that type of soil and tell you methods of modifying the soil to your requirements. If you have selected a tree that has all other factors in its favor other than the soil, you may consider modifying the soil to your needs. 

For instance, you can build mounds to improve drainage of the soil and add compost, fertilizer, or bone meal to increase soil fertility. You can even mix the soil with store-bought topsoil or add phosphates and other chemicals to change the acidity of the soil.  

2. Temperature – USDA hardiness zones divide the country into different sections based on the coldest annual temperature in a region. You need to go to their website, check the coldest temperature in your area, and pick trees that can survive in that temperature range. 

You can also go to the American Horticultural Society’s website to look at the interactive map that shows maximum temperature ranges throughout different regions. Check the hottest temperature in your region and choose trees that have a matching heat tolerance. If you live on the West Coast, you can check various climate conditions like heat, cold, and humidity on Sunset Magazine’s climate zone system. 

3. Rainfall – Some trees thrive and brave through harsh drought, while others need a humongous supply of water to mature to their full height. If you live in a desert, you don’t want trees that grow well near lakes or water bodies with wet soil. 

If you choose to do that, you may have to set up an irrigation system and spend a lot of money every month on your water bill. Similarly, you don’t want to plant a tree that grows well in the harsh desert on humid soil or areas with a generous amount of rainfall. The root system of that tree isn’t evolved for those conditions and may kill the plant before it can grow into a tree. 

4. Purpose – Homeowners usually have a very specific reason for planting a tree on their property. You may want to brighten a dull shady spot with a flowering tree that blooms in all its glory during the spring season, or you may want to add one more step towards self-sustenance with a fruit tree that gives you a bountiful harvest. 

You may want a tree that grows tall and wise and has dense foliage to provide ample shade for your house and your backyard. Homeowners usually opt for shade trees when they want to make their patio more pleasant or want to lower their energy consumption. 

Whatever may be the reason, make sure that you don’t go out of your way to plant a tree that is native to another continent or other side of the country. You’ll get plenty of native trees in your region that serve all those goals. Planting a tree native to your region makes it survive on your property with less maintenance and also makes it less vulnerable to diseases and pests. 

5. Account for climate change – The planet’s climate is changing rapidly every year. The sea level is rising, summers are getting hotter, winters are becoming cooler, and storms are more frequent. Some areas will face more rainfall than ever while others will face severe droughts. 

You need to account for climate change while choosing a tree. Trees require decades to become fully mature and grow to their potential. That’s why you need to choose species and varieties that will do well in a changing climate even after half a century. 

Choose trees that are much more heat and cold tolerant than the current highest temperatures in your region. Keep the rising sea level in mind and choose a tree that does well in both low and high elevations. 

6. Aesthetics – This is the final factor you need to consider. Aesthetics may seem irrelevant to someone who is focused on practicality, but they bring more benefits than you can imagine. 

A tree that looks amazing adds to your landscape and makes your overall property look better. They are also a great conversation starter in backyard barbeque parties and small gatherings. Aesthetics always play a major role in social events.

Moreover, a tree that looks amazing can increase the value of your property. For instance, Japanese maple trees have incredible branching patterns and look great throughout the year. 

However, they rise to their potential during the autumn season when their leaves turn to different shades of red, yellow, and orange and add vibrance to your backyard. It’s a great selling point to potential buyers that can fetch you a higher price for your home and help you sell it quickly. 

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many factors that you need to take into account before you can choose a tree to plant in your backyard. After you use the above-mentioned factors to choose a tree, you can hire pros to plant it and maintain it when it grows. To do that, you can search for “tree service near me”.