Trees on Main Street

Listserv request from 8/27/2020 from Rachel Chapman in Marshall.

Folks with trees in your downtown- I am looking for info on the good trees for downtown and your personal experience with them. Somewhere in our past, someone decided that Love Oaks would be a great option in downtown. However, they did not install root barriers or take the overheard cost into account on maintenance and upkeep (bricks pulling up from a large, growing root system as well as branches growing well past where they should be for the safety of our buildings and light poles) , or just how many acorns we would be littered with each fall and winter. Our CM is working on a  downtown redevelopment plan and would like to include new trees in that plan. We have read up plenty on suitable trees for urban spaces, but I’m looking for personal experiences of trees you would recommend from your downtown.

Rachel Chapman
Main Street Manager

Responses from:

  • Jan Harris in Taylor: Dear Rachel – I am laughing (sorry) about oaks in a DT.  About 35 years ago, someone sold the Garden Clubbers in Commerce, GA on the idea of “miniature pin oaks” and they bought it – and convinced the City to plant them all along the downtown Main Street.  “Miniature pin oaks” can only be equated to being slightly pregnant or moderately dead – an oak is an oak and they get big!  I came along in the mid-90s as their Main Street Manager and was in charge of the streetscape project that dropped the oaks and replaced them among lots of other things.  We had a retired FBI Agent, Miss Mary Frances Bolan, who was 5’-nothing but could probably still kill someone with a plastic spoon.  She threatened to chain herself to an oak tree if the city tried to cut them down…so the city dropped all of the trees at midnight  - mischief managed! The trees we replaced the oaks with were single-trunk crepe myrtles (we’d wanted male gingkoes but because it was the ‘95 Olympics in Atlanta, all of those were snatched up), there were Red Sunset maples on small bump-outs, and Halka Zelkova (similar to an American Elm) on the largest bump-outs.  The Zelkovas would ultimately reach 40’ but it was in the plan to pull them out when they started getting too big – it would take years and years anyway. Other good trees that tolerate harsh urban environments include the Golden Rain or its cousin the Red Flame trees.  Their foliage is striking!  They spread from a single trunk and although they are deciduous, their trunk formation is gorgeous so there is visual interest year-round – especially if they are up lit. Run – don’t walk – away from Bradford Pears (they split in freezing weather and high winds)! Contact your Ag. Extension Agent for input, s/he will know what trees are good for your area along with their characteristics. 

  • Angela Smith in Clifton: Just a note on the crape myrtles....  I love them, and they do tolerate the heat, drought, wind, and freezing cold!   Do keep in mind that, like magnolias, they are always dropping something.  Leaves, petals, pods.  This may not be an issue for you if you have frequent street cleanings.  We have some parking spaces near the trees that collect the debris.  It's a small issue, but something to be aware of. Thanks for starting this dialogue!  We are incrementally modifying our downtown gardens, and ideas for appropriate shade trees are welcomed.  

  • Melida Heien in Longview: If anyone is considering Gingkos (not sure how they do in Texas), double check and double check again that you are getting MALE gingkos as opposed to female gingkos. Female Gingkos produce a fruit that as soon as it ripens and hits the ground it stinks. I was blessed to have a dorm room with a female gingko tree right outside my window. Holy moly it stunk! We are starting a tree discussion here in Longview as well. Our plaza in Downtown turned 20 this July and unfortunately, our biggest trees are bradford pear trees that will either go with a big enough storm or will die on their own. I am a card carrying member of the "Bradford Pear Haters" Club, so i know that we won't do pear trees again,but the shade that the trees currently provide is really nice. Not sure what we are going to do next, but thank you for starting the discussion! :) We have a mix of crepe myrtle and maple in our streetscape.  

  • Becky McCarty in Ennis: We recently went through a downtown infrastructure and streetscape project.  All the trees we planted lose foliage in the winter.   This lets the sunshine in to keep pedestrians warmer in winter months.  Glory Maples were installed on the other streets.  For our Princeton Elms we installed a stratavault system that allows the trees to grow to their fullest potential.  This system not only houses the root system but has a reservoir that collects rainwater.   We also hired an arborist to watch over them.  So far we have purchased more than 120 trees with more in the works, a significant investment and a huge part of our design.