Autumn Blaze Maple
A relatively new seedless variety of maple which combines the fast growth of a Silver Maple, with the leave shape and color of a Red Sunset Maple. Three to four feet of growth per year is not uncommon. The Autumn Blaze will tolerate a variety of soil conditions from clay to sandy, and from dry to moist. Much the same as the Red Sunset, it provides excellent display of fall colors. The Autumn Blaze does not like to be transplanted in late fall. If this is done, severe dieback, or death can occur.

Autumn Purple Ash
This seedless tree grows to 45' in height and 40' in width. Fall colors can vary from yellow-orange to orange-red to deep purple. A very strong and stately tree with moderate yearly growth in its younger years.

Greenspire (Little Leaf) Linden
A very adaptable tree, the Linden will tolerate a wide range of soil, pollution, and moisture conditions. The form is pyramidal in young trees, changing to upright oval with age. For the previous reasons, the Linden makes an excellent parkway tree. The one situation this tree does not like is a combination of drought, high temperatures, and a confined root system (small parking lot islands). This will lead to severe scorching of the leaves as we saw during the summer months of 2001. Fall color is a beautiful golden yellow with leaves being retained for several weeks.

Common Hackberry
A native tree of Illinois, the Hackberry is another very durable tree. With a relatively fast growth rate, and the ability to adapt to poor soil conditions and pollution, the Hackberry has been come very popular with the city of Chicago. With pale green leaves often infected by nipple gall (causing disfigurement), it isn't the prettiest tree you will find. The bark however, does offer an interesting corky texture and the over all shape is similar to the old American Elm. This tree is best used in open park settings, or large campuses.

Norway Maple
A large shade tree with a rounded habit, the Norway Maple will produce dense shade. This tree will tolerate a variety of soil conditions, but will perform best in well-drained soil. Many varieties of green leaved Norway Maples exist, of which a few are Emerald Lustre, Emerald Queen, Superform, and Columnar (upright variety). The fall color of the green leaved varieties is a brilliant yellow. Several varieties of red leaved (crimson leaves all summer) Norway Maples exist; Royal Red, and Crimson King. The red leaved varieties grow much slower than the green leaved, and therefore cost significantly more. The fall color of these varieties is yellow, but not as noteworthy as others. Norway Maples can be transplanted with good success in summer when proper care is taken. The Norway Maples can have some problems with frost cracking through the winter months.

Red Oak
One of the fastest going varieties of oak, the Red Oak can grow up to 2 feet per year. A very durable tree with good resistance to insect and disease problems. Site location is critical because of this trees lack of ability to tolerate wet areas or severely compacted soils. A Red Oak will develop a nice crimson fall color in most years. This tree, as with all oaks, is best transplanted in spring, unless it is pre-dug for a fall installation.

Red Sunset Maple
One of the favorites of Illinois landscapers for the past thirty years, the Red Sunset is definitely one of our top ten shade trees. This tree has very good tolerance for the urban environment by withstanding pollution and poor soil conditions. This tree will produce very nice red flowers in late March to early April, which most people do not notice. The fall color will typically range from a burnt orange to a bright red. In years of drought, this tree can have a problem with chlorosis if soil pH levels are higher than 7.2. Deep root feedings with chelated iron in spring or mid-summer will solve this problem.

Seedless Green Ash
Another fast growing shade tree, the Seedless Green Ash will tolerate many varieties of soil conditions. This tree is very commonly used as a street tree or on commercial sites because of its ability to withstand salt, drought, and flooding. Other varieties of Green Ash with similar characteristics include Summit, Patmore, Cimmaron, and Kankakee. This tree forms a large rounded or upright crown, depending on the variety. It has a bright yellow fall color, and is best transplanted in the spring or fall.

Skyline Locust
A fast growing (three feet or more per year) seedless shade tree with small leaves and a broad canopy, the Skyline Locust provides filtered shade. It can tolerate many soil conditions, as well as salt spray. For these reasons, it is very common to see used as a parkway tree. It's fall color is bright yellow, and it is best transplanted in spring or fall.

Swamp White Oak
A native species of northern Illinois, the Swamp White Oak is one of the most under used shade trees in our area. This tree, as the name might suggest, will normally inhabit areas surrounding swamps. This gives us another option to use it in wet areas where before we typically were limited to Willows or Alders. One of the highlights of the Swamp White Oak is the deeply furrowed to exfoliating bark. Fall color is typically yellow, but on occasion can be a reddish bronze. This tree, as with all oaks, is best transplanted in spring unless it is pre-dug for fall installation.