Tree of the Month Blog

Often considered a shrub, it is actually a small tree, usually multi-stemmed and growing 10-15 feet high and almost as wide.  It makes a good screen or unpruned hedge. The bark is an attractive gray to grayish brown color.  The leaves are dark...

A native of central Europe, Austrian pine was introduced to the US as a tough and cold hardy addition to our urban landscapes. It can attain heights of 80 to 120 feet high by 25-50 feet wide in its native environs, but usually attains a height of...

This native three needle pine that makes up most of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, the Pitch Pine can grow in the most dry and sandy soils.  It often forms temporary pure stands due to repeated fire injury.  They are later shaded out by hardwood...

Evergreens world-wide, whether they are spruce or pine or fir, are often called Christmas trees.  Around this time of year, it is more likely to be true.  Little by little these trees begin to become transformed into highly decorated and glowing...

Widely known for its unmatched splendor in fall, the Sugar Maple displays brilliant shades of orange, red and yellow, like this specimen in Holmdel Park in Holmdel, NJ. Sugar Maples can grow 50 to 80 feet tall and 40 to 70 feet wide, and depending...

The Sourwood or Sorrel Tree, takes its name from the sharp acid taste of its leaves and sap.  Native to the Appalachians, Sourwood is found from Northeastern Florida, to Southern Pennsylvania.  It can be planted, however, in USDA Zones 5 to 9 in...

The Red, Water, Swamp or Soft Maple takes its name from its early spring show of red buds and bright red flowers.  It has the greatest north-south range of any native tree in North America, being found from Newfoundland to Florida.  Although it...

White Oak (Quercus alba) Pyramidal in shape as a young tree, it slowly matures into an imposing dense and broadly rounded specimen. Commonly reaching 70 to 90 feet tall, it can exceed 100 feet tall with a spread over 150 feet. Under favorable...

(Koelreuteria Paniculata) A beautiful medium sized ornamental tree that is great for open, sunny spaces.  It has a single stem with a rounded habit reaching approximately 30’ in height by 30’ wide.  It makes a good street tree that is fairly...

(Chionanthus virginicus) In this time of turning back to native plants, you need look no further than this garden gem.  The Fringe Tree also called Old Man’s Beard, is named for its lacy threadlike flowers.  Few native trees give such a...

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) This tree was known and named only through fossils, as it was believed extinct for thousands of years. It was discovered alive in 1941 in Hueph, China and brought to America and distributed to arboretums...

In 1872, a Nebraska pioneer and journalist proposed a holiday for planting trees called “Arbor Day”.  J. Sterling Morton moved from Detroit only to find that the Nebraska territory was a vast treeless plain.  Recognizing the need for...