Denny's Soapbox

Best Boulevard (Street) Trees

I was recently contacted by a local homeowner’s association who wanted to know my opinion of the best tree variety to use as a boulevard (street) tree. They wanted the trees to look good and perform well. I stopped by their neighborhood and witnessed for myself why they were so concerned.

Twelve years ago, ‘Shademaster’ Locust trees were planted in a 3 foot wide strip of lawn between the street and sidewalk. Thornless Locust varieties such as ‘Shademaster’ are great trees if you were going to plant them in a yard but not so great when considering planting them as a boulevard tree. They provide filtered light that doesn’t prohibit other plants from growing underneath them. They also have small enough leaflets that no fall raking is required. On the other hand, Locust trees do have very shallow roots. This root system is aggressive and can be very destructive if planted in a 3 foot lawn area between the street and sidewalk. Their root system can quickly cause sidewalk damage which can even become severe within 10 to 12 years. Maple and Oak trees are also great if planted in the yard but not so great if planted as boulevard trees.

What should you Plant?

There should be three considerations when selecting a street tree.

1. Will the roots stay within the limited planting space available?

2. Will the tree’s branching habit interfere with passing vehicles on the street and pedestrians on the walk?

3. Are there utility wires on the street planting side of the street?

Here are some great tree choices, any of which will do just fine when used as a boulevard tree.

Cleveland Select Flowering Pear

All ornamental pears by variety have very friendly root systems that don’t grow at the surface of the soil. Pears also grow in all types of soil as long as the location has good drainage. The Cleveland Select is very upright growing and narrow. It has multiple leader branches which easily grow between utility lines. Add white flowers and great red fall color and you’ll see why this one is my favorite street tree.

‘Prairefire’ Flowering Crabapple

This is a narrow upright growing variety with leaves that start off reddish maroon in the spring changing to green throughout the balance of the growing season. It has bright red flower buds in the spring that open into pink flowers with small, dark red fruit in the fall that birds enjoy during the winter. There are other good varieties of upright flowering crab that also work well. None of the flowering crabs varieties have any root problems.

‘Silver Leaf’ Linden

This is a compact growing shade tree that makes a wonderful street tree. This tree easily stays within its bounds and the roots are not aggressive. ‘Little Leaf’ is another great type of Linden that has smaller leaves than the ‘Silver Leaf ’ variety.

Other Trees to Consider

Zelkova ‘Green Vase’

Amelanchier (Serviceberry) ‘Princess Diana’

Lilac Ivory Silk Tree

Final Note

Always check with your local government to make sure the tree variety you choose is appropriate. Most communities have a list of preferred trees. If your neighborhood has no sidewalks, I would suggest finding out if there are any future plans to install some. If there are no future plans for sidewalks, your tree list has just tripled.