In real estate , the mantra is “ Location . Location . Location . ” For northern gardeners facing urban conditions and a changing climate , the advice to follow is “ Diversity . Diversity . Diversity . ” prefer a variety of tree diagram that can palm salt , weird winters , difficult violent storm events and new insect predator is the best means to secure your landscape remains healthy and vibrant .
That is the counsel from Karl Mueller , one of theSt . Paul city forester , who recently spoke to theSt . Anthony Park Garden Club . Since I am in the thick of creating new garden in our urban yard , I was eager to hear Mueller ’s advice for homeowners . More than30 ash trees have been removedfrom our quick neighbourhood this spring , so cerebration of what are the best trees to engraft have been on my mind .
Mueller ’s suggestions included a form of native and nonnative species , many of which are implant here but in low numbers . With assistance from the University of Minnesota , foresters around the commonwealth are developing lists of trees that can handle rugged urban condition and will be able to adapt to mood change .

Here are five tree Mueller highly recommends . Next hebdomad , I ’ll name a few more strange choice to see .
gingko . Ginkgo trees ( Ginkgo biloba ) are experience fossils . The genus has been around for about 150 million years . Mueller promise ginkgo the “ silver - bullet tree ” because it has no insect pest or disease that get to it . Ginkgo can stick out salt , grow tall enough for avenue and hasstunning fall color . The buff - shaped leaves are attractive as is the bark of the Ginkgo biloba . Most of the ginkgos in our area are from China , so it is not a native Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , which is my concern with Ginkgo biloba . They do nothing for our aboriginal pollinators .
Coffeetree

Foresters now call the tree formerly have it away as the Kentucky coffeetree just coffeetree . The tree is aboriginal to southeastern Minnesota and much of the Upper Midwest , so it ’s range is far beyond Kentucky . A great tree with a Harlow Shapley canopy , the coffeetree is a great boulevard option . It ’s extremely tough and can treat all kinds of stain , table salt and atmospheric condition conditions . We had a Kentucky coffeetree at our Northfield home , and other than that it was an exceedingly slow agriculturist , it was an sluttish - maintenance tree diagram . Ours was a distaff tree , so it dropped the seedpod that some homeowner do n’t care . I recollect they total interest to the tree in wintertime and were easy to blame up in fountain . My only advice to anyone wanting to plant a coffeetree is to get the largest specimen you may give .
Hackberry
This is another native tree that can take whatever Mother Nature throws at it . Hackberry(Celtis occidentalis ) can handle dampness ( even short - term flooding ) , a variety of grunge type , salt and boulevard conditions . It ’s a expectant tree and often was plant as a replacement for elmwood . The tree has interesting barque and it produces a minuscule yield that wench and other wildlife love . It is somewhat susceptible to the eriophyid mite , which causes witches brooms . It also is prone tonipple galls . These wo n’t kill the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .

Serviceberry
Every time I enquire a nursery owner which tree diagram to plant , the recommendation isserviceberry(Amelanchierspp . ) . ( venerate not , I constitute one last twelvemonth ! ) This four - season tree is a consummate rock virtuoso in urban landscapes . It ’s native to Minnesota . It amount in single body or multiple torso strain , so it can expect like a heavy shrub or a small tree . It has pretty flowers in the bound , nice fall color and berries that are very pop with hoot . Did I mention it ’s problematical ? Three species of serviceberry are native to Minnesota . Downy serviceberry ( A. arborea ) , quiet juneberry ( A. laevis ) and Saskatoon shadbush ( A. alnifolia ) vary in height from under 10 feet ( Saskatoon ) to over 40 ( fluent ) . Each has landscape painting uses . There are also a variety of cultivars of shadbush for different situations , include Autumn Brilliance , which has bright reddened pin foliage .
Dutch - elm disease repellent elm

If you have seen image of thecathedral - effectseen along many Twin Cities boulevard during the epoch of elms , you realise why stock breeder and landscapers have been on the hunt for a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that can withstand the ravages of Dutch elm tree disease . They have had some fortune in developing tolerant elms , and the University of Minnesota has alist of the varietiesthat seem to work here . Some of the cultivars take crosses with Asian elms , while others use American elms . We planted a Princeton elm in our Northfield avenue and it was doing well . To make the beautiful canopy they are known for , elm tree demand important structural pruning , particularly in the first decennium or two after imbed .
Any of these would be a dependable addition to an urban landscape painting , and would be climate - hardy no matter what the changes are that we see . Next calendar week , I will cover five extra options that may seem unusual to northern gardener .
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