Tree of the Month Blog

Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata)   The Star Magnolia is a native of Japan that was first introduced to the US in 1862.  It is planted widely in the U.S. as an ornamental tree, mainly for its early spring flower display.  It is a...

Japanese Incense Cedar also known as Japanese Redwood and Sugi, is a monotypic genus meaning that it is the only species in this genus, which is part of the cypress family.  This conifer has a ¾” round spikey cone and a unique...

The Pond Cypress is a deciduous conifer, closely related to the more familiar Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum).  A mainly southern plant found from Virginia to Florida and west to Louisiana, it is cold hardy to zone 5 and does well as far...

The Deodar Cedar, taken from the Sanskrit “wood of the gods”, is one of only a handful of true cedars in the world from the cedrus family.  A native of the Western Himalayas from the mountains of Afghanistan to India and Pakistan,...

     The Willow oak is a tough native tree found in low bottomlands and along stream and riverbanks from New York to Florida and west to Missouri and Texas.  Known to absorb large quantities of water, it is tolerant of...

The Carolina silverbell is native to the mid-Atlantic states down the Appalachians south to Florida. In the wild it is an understory tree growing 30-40 feet in height and 20-30 feet wide. Typically, it has a rounded to spreading pyramidal habit with a...

The Seven-son-flower is a highly underutilized small, summer flowering tree. First discovered in China and introduced to America back in 1907, it was mostly forgotten for over 70 years, and was rediscovered in 1980.  Since then, it has been...

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica) There are approximately 50 species of this genus originating in southeast Asia and around Oceania with some species growing to as large as 100 feet.  Crape myrtle, as grown in the United States, is...

This serious disease can slowly kill mature trees over the course of about a decade and unfortunately, has no cure.  Insects such as leaf hoppers carry the bacteria from one tree to the next and inject the pathogen into the leaves of a new host...

  Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) The Chinese chestnut was originally introduced to cultivation in the US in 1853.  Its nut, while not as sweet as the American chestnut, is valuable for human consumption and is also good for...

A beautiful medium-sized ornamental tree that was introduced from China and Japan in 1903, and is now planted widely throughout the U.S. Its main attribute is its beautiful spring floral display.  Double, deep rose pink flowers appear with...

Introduced from Eurasia, the Callery Pear, named after French missionary Joseph Callery, who first collected the species in 1858, has become one of America’s most popular street and garden trees. Through nursery selection, its messy fruits and...