In honor of April Earth Month – and Arbor Day this Friday – we’re celebrating those oft-overlooked trees that we walk under, drive by and sit beneath. They are mainstays along our sidewalks and public thoroughfares, and in our community parks and public gardens.

Their common name is “street tree,” but they stand up to drought, pounding rain, heavy snows and road salt like mighty sentries. They provide homes for migrating birds. Their canopies offer respite from the heat to human visitors in our parks and at bus stops along public sidewalks. They line streets along storefronts, enticing patrons to city shopping areas. They stabilize soil, clean the air and they help us breathe.

In Chicago, street trees make up the bulk of roadside miniature gardens, planted by Chicago Gateway Green, along routes in and out of the city. Indeed, trees give us something attractive to look at as we drive along our roadways, highways and expressways.

Street trees have almost as many uses as there are styles and varieties from bold and beautiful specimens to stately giants and stylish miniatures. So hats off to the trees as we salute their significant journey from our nursery growing fields at Loma Vista Nursery to unique Midwest destinations.

Here are a few of the favorites we grow.

Triumph Elm – Ulmus ‘Morton Glossy’

Triumph Elm
Plant Type: Large, deciduous forest and ornamental shade tree
Habit: Graceful, upright
Flower Shade: Dangling clusters of light green to red, cone-shaped calyx
Foliage Shade: Golden yellow in fall.
Attracts: Honey bees collect pollen in times of scarcity from other sources
Characteristics: Strong branching
Maintenance: Pruning is not necessary. Add mulch around the roots.
Light Requirement: Full sun. Tolerates light shade.
Mature Height: 50 to 60 feet
Mature Spread: 35 to 40 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 7

Eastern Redbud – Cercis canadensis

Eastern Redbud
Plant Type: Large, deciduous shrub or small hardwood tree
Habit: Rounded habit with umbrella-like crown
Flower Shade: Bright pink
Foliage Shade: Vibrant yellow-green and then bright yellow in fall.
Attracts: Provides early spring nectar for native bees and honey bees
Characteristics: Picturesque with maroon-purple trunks. Native to eastern Kansas.
Maintenance: Easy care and adaptable to most soil types
Light Requirement: Full sun
Mature Height: 20 to 30 feet
Mature Spread: 25 to 35 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9

Swamp White Oak – Quercus bicolor

Swamp White Oak
Plant Type: Deciduous tree
Habit: Broad, rounded with slightly upright branches
Flower Shade: Catkins and short spikes with brown acorns in fall
Foliage Shade: Golden yellow in fall.
Attracts: Migrant birds
Characteristics: Attractive peeling bark
Maintenance: Low maintenance, but requires consistent water during the growing season.
Light Requirement: Full sun
Mature Height & Spread: 50 to 60 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 8

Princeton Elm – Ulmaceae

Princeton Elm
Plant Type: Medium to large deciduous tree
Habit: Vase-shaped, broad-rounded crown
Flower Shade: Small, green appear before leaves emerge
Foliage Shade: Yellow in fall.
Attracts: Honey bees, during times of pollen scarcity
Characteristics: Good resistance to Dutch elm disease and elm beetles
Maintenance: Prune only during dormant season. Moist, well-drained soil.
Light Requirement: Full sun
Mature Height: 50 to 70 feet
Mature Spread: 30 to 50 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9

Scarlet Letter Oak – Quercus robur x alba ‘Scarlet Letter’

Scarlet Letter Oak
Plant Type: Large Tree
Habit: Upright, Columnar
Flower Shade: Catkins – long clusters of male flowers. Peduncles – short female flower stems. Produces ½- to 1-inch long acorns.
Foliage Shade: Green foliage turns red in fall.
Characteristics: Holds its leaves through most of the winter.
Maintenance: Adaptable. Medium amount of water until established. Then, drought tolerant.
Light Requirement: Full to Part Sun
Mature Height: 40 feet
Mature Spread: 15 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3

Autumn Gold Ginkgo – Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’

Autumn Gold Ginkgo
Plant Type: Deciduous tree
Habit: Wide, rounded, pyramidal. Large, coarse branches.
Flower Shade: Yellow male catkin-like flowers. Female flowers are smaller. Fruits mature light yellow to purple-black in fall.
Foliage Shade: Golden leaves in fall.
Attracts: Bees, butterflies
Characteristics: Unique, fan-shaped leaves
Maintenance: Salt tolerant plants stand up well to pollution and road salt. Requires good drainage.
Light Requirement: Full sun
Mature Height: 50 to 80 feet
Mature Spread: 30 to 40 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9

Learn More About the Loma Vista Nursery Family and Our Landscape Plants

Loma Vista Nursery grows healthy trees, shrubs and perennial plants for Midwest independent garden centers, landscape contractors and wholesale distributors. We are currently taking professional trade orders for the spring 2024 growing season.

Click here for our container order form. Click here for our in-ground tree order form. Visit our plant catalog for more information about Loma Vista Nursery grown perennials, trees and shrubs – all ideal for Midwest landscapes.

Review our website to learn about our plants, values and best-practices as a Midwest grower.

Our staff members are experts in the field who love helping people learn and understand more about plants. To get help with your orders and answers to your questions, send an email to sales@lomavistanursery.com or call (785) 229-7200.