Trees

Omaha Trees & Tree Planting

Trees can be invaluable additions to your business or home landscape. Trees provide shade, height, and structure, and require little maintenance once established. There are many types of trees to choose from that are locally grown, including evergreens, deciduous trees, and ornamentals.

It is important to choose the right tree for your Omaha landscape design. These long-lived plants can be difficult to remove once their root systems mature! Finding the right tree will vastly improve your garden and enhance the curb appeal of your home.

Have you ever wondered what our most popular planted trees are? We’ve got the answer below!

Shade Trees

Shade trees are typically located on the south and west side of the home and are great trees for your backyard as they can give you much needed sun cover throughout the hot Midwest summer months.

Red Oak Trees

Red Oak trees are one of the largest and most important timber trees. They are one of the fastest-growing oaks and can reach up to 80 feet with a diameter of two to three feet. These trees are found in southeastern Canada and the northeastern US including Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Red Oak trees prefer moist, rich soils on the north, east, or northeast exposures. The twigs are small, slender, greenish-brown to dark brown. On younger branches, the bark is smooth and gray to greenish and on the trunk, it breaks into long, narrow, shallow ridges flat and smooth on top.

Red Sunset Maple

Red Maple trees are a medium-sized, deciduous tree that is native to Eastern North America. This tree typically grows 40-60’ tall with a rounded oval crown. Red Maple trees tend to have the quality of red fall color on their leaves that have three principal triangle shape lobes. Lobes have toothed margins and are pointy at the end. These trees can be found in the wet bottomland, river flood plains, wet woods in the northern states, or in the drier, rocky upland areas in Missouri.

Royal Red Maple

Royal Red Maple is a Norway Maple selection that is similar to a “Crimson King” but has a slower growth rate, is less vigorous, and is less prone to frost cracks. Red Maple is a dense shade tree that has a straight truck with a well-shaped canopy. It is heat tolerant and moderately drought resistant once it is established. Royal Red Maple is adaptable to various soil conditions and is great as a shade or a specimen tree.

Conifer Trees

Concolor Fir

Concolor fir is a native to the western United States and may reach sizes of 130-150 ft in height and 3 to 4 ft in diameter. The leaves or needles of the tree are small and narrow and occur in rows. On upper branches, needles tend to be thicker and more curved than those on lower branches. The needles will be a bluish-green color as a young tree and will turn to a dull green color with age.

Colorado Blue Spruce

The Colorado Blue Spruce is native to the Rocky Mountains. Its natural ranges extend from Colorado to Wyoming. It can reach 75ft tall in the wild but planted at your home can reach 49ft. Blue spruce has grey bark on the trunk with yellowish-brown branches and grey-green waxy leaves that are arranged radially on the shoots which curve upwards. The Blue Spruce is the state tree of Colorado. The Navajo and Keres Native Americans use this tree as a traditional medicinal plant and ceremonial item. The twigs are given as gifts to bring good fortune and an infusion of the needles is used to cure colds and settle stomachs.

Eastern White Pine

It is one of the most valuable trees in eastern North America. Because it is among the more rapid growing northern forest conifers, it is an excellent tree for reforestation projects, landscaping, and Christmas trees and has the distinction of having been one of the more widely planted American trees. The Eastern White Pine needs to contain six times more vitamin C than lemons and make an excellent tea. It is the state tree to Maine and Michigan.

Columnar White Pine

Columnar White Pine is a highly attractive tree with silky smooth long needles, which give a fuzzy appearance from a distance. The needles on the tree remain green throughout the winter. It will grow to be about 40 ft with a spread of 15 ft. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of three feet from the ground and is suitable for planting under power lines. It generally grows at a fast rate and under ideal conditions can be expected to live to a ripe old age of 100 years or more.

Ornamental Trees

Typically located in the front yard

Clump River Birch

A Clump River Birch tree is a cinnamon-colored, exfoliating bark that is spectacular in the winter. It has medium green leaves and is borer-resistant birch. It can tolerate both wet soils and dry summers. It grows to be about 40’ to 70 ft tall and has a 40’ to 60’ spread.

Cleveland Select Pear

The Cleveland Select Pear tree is disease-resistant and has a beautiful profile year-round. It is drenched in white blooms each spring, covered by glossy green foliage in the summer. Cleveland Select Pear often features striking reddish purple-orange leaves in the fall. It requires full sun for the best color and can tolerate cold/heat.

Dwarf Japanese Maple

The Dwarf Japanese Maple tree bears a variety of deeply cut, feathery red-purple leaves that turn bright crimson in the fall. It has a graceful and weeping habit. Dwarf Japanese Maple grows best in part shape and moist, well-drained soil. It grows to be only 8 ft tall. A protected spot in the front entryway to your home is recommended. Needs afternoon shade.