Shade trees provide many benefits. They cool your home naturally and when properly located, planted and cared for can begin to reduce your home cooling costs within a few years. Fully grown, properly placed trees can cut your home cooling costs by up to 40 percent! Shade trees also add beauty and grace to your property, and to your neighborhood, as well as adding more value to your property than any other plant. Trees produce oxygen and help cleanse the air we breathe. Tree roots help clean rainwater and add stability to the soil and the canoipes also provide a habitat for birds, squirrels and other wildlife, not to mention children! Below is a listing of shade trees that were selected for their outstanding performance in Zone 8.

A Wilson Bros. Favorite!

Name: Bald Cypress Botanical: Taxodium distichum Height x Width: 30' x 15-20' in dry soil - 70' x 30' in wet soil Exposure: Full Sun or Partial Shade Fall Foliage Color: Orange Bloom Time:   Water: Dry, damp, wet, or standing water! Features: This native is perhaps one of the most versatile trees around. Grow in dry soils or standing water! Grows to 30' or so in dry soils and to 100' in wet soils. A deciduous conifer with bright green leaves thru the season that turn to orange in Fall. Very attractive shedding bark is a winter feature. A Wilson Bros. Favorite! Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Abelias, Barberries, Wax Myrtles, Fothergilla, Beautyberry, Ornamental grasses, Loropetalums, Indian Hawthornes, in dry soil. In wet or damp soil: Yaupons, Horsetail Grass, Iris Psuedacorus, Perennial Hibiscus, Joe Pye Weed, Elephant Ears, Canna and Calla Lilies, and others.

Name: Drake Elm Botanical: Ulmus parviflora Height x Width: 50' H x 40'W Exposure: Full Sun Fall Foliage Color : Pale yellow to purple Growth Rate: Very Fast!! Water: Very drought tolerant Features: Fast growing shade tree with a broad rounded shape. Tolerant to poor soils and drought. Attractive shedding bark exposes the yellow inner bark. Highly resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Barberries, Ornamental Grasses, Yuccas, Indian Hawthornes, Loropetalums, and many other shrubs. Use with Maples and Oaks to reforest an area.

Name: Ginko Tree Botanical: Gingko biloba Height x Width: 50' H x 20' W Exposure: Full Sun Fall Foliage Color: The brightest, bold-yellow of any tree!! Growth Rate: Slow to moderate Water: Drought tolerant Features: Very unusual shaped leaves on horizontal branching with a pyramidal form. The soft green leaves turn to the brightest yellow you've ever seen in Fall! Drought tolerant and disease and pest resistant. One is a must in every landscape! Lives over 1,000 years old!! A Wilson Bros Favorite! Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Burning Bush, Loropetalums, Indian Hawthorne, Yuccas, Nandinas, and many more.

Wilson Bros. Favorite!

Name: Maple 'Autumn Blaze' Botanical: Acer rubrum - (grafted hybrid) Height x Width: 50' H x 40' W Exposure: Full Sun or Partial Shade Fall Foliage Color: Fire red Growth Rate: 4 times faster than native red maple Water: Dry or damp Features: A fast growing Hybrid Maple with an upright, rounded form. Attractive, deeply lobed, green leaves turn to an outstanding brilliant red in Fall! Tolerates damp or dry soils. Useful to reforest an area, a screen, , as a specimen, or to shade your home or sitting areas. Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Loropetalums, Indian Hawthorne, Otto Luyken Laurel, Indica Azaleas, Ornamental Grasses, and many more. Combine with Oaks and Elms to reforest an area.

Wilson Bros. Favorite!

Name: Maple 'Autumn Flame' Botanical: Acer rubrum - grafted hybrid Height x Width: 35' H x 35' W Exposure: Full Sun or Partial Shade Fall Foliage Color: Deep red Growth Rate: 4 times as fast as native red maple! Water: Dry or damp Features: A fast growing Hybrid Maple with a broad and rounded form. Attractive green leaves turn to brilliant red in Fall. Tolerates dry or damp soils. Useful to reforest an area, a screen, as a specimen, or to shade your home or sitting areas. A Wilson Bros Favorite! Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Loropetalums, Indian Hawthornes, Otto Luyken Laurels, Indica Azaleas, Ornamental Grasses, and many more. Combine with Oaks and Elms to reforest an area.

Name: Maple 'Trident' Botanical: Acer beurgeranum Height x Width: 25' H x 25' W Exposure: Full Sun Fall Foliage Color: Shades of yellow, orange. red Growth Rate: Very fast! Water: Average Features: Rounded, oval shape to this attractive, fast growing Maple that is great for smaller spaces. Very attractive olive-green leaves turn to shades of yellow, orange and red in Fall. One is a must in every landscape. Useful as a screen, specimen, hedge, or to reforest an area. A Wilson Bros. Favorite! Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Abelias, Ruby Loropetalum, Indian Hawthorne, Otto Luyken Laurels, Azaleas, Ornamental Grasses, Barberries, Dwarf Spireas, Lantanas, and many more, Combine with Bald Cypress, Oaks, Elms, and other Maples to reforest an area.

Name: Oak 'Nuttalli' Botanical: Quercus nuttalli Height x Width: 70' H x 40' W Exposure: Full Sun Fall Foliage Color: Red Growth Rate: Fastest growing oak we've seen! Water: Damp or dry Features: The fastest growing Oak we have seen in our area. Dark green deeply lobed leaves turn scarlet red in Fall. Very adaptable tree growing well in almost any soils makes this an excellent selection. Useful as a screen, a specimen, to shade the home or sitting areas, or for reforesting areas. A Wilson Bros. Favorite! Companions: Hollies, Junipers, Ornamental Grasses, Indian Hawthorne, Indica Azaleas, Loropetalums, and more. Combine with other Oaks, Maples, and Elms to reforest an area.

Name: Riverbirch Botanical: Betula nigra - Native Height x Width: 35-40' H x 25-30' W Exposure: Full Sun or Partial Shade Fall Foliage Color: Yellow to tan Growth Rate: Very fast, especially in moisture retentive soils Water: Tolerates dry periods but prefers frequent water Features: Upright, rounded pyramidal form on this highly attractive shade tree. Soft textured leaves and slightly pendulous branching. White and tan shedding bark is a year round attractive feature. Will tolerate dry soils however prefers a site that receives frequent watering, especially during the heat of Summer. Useful on the corners of a home to frame, as a specimen, hedge, or near bodies of water. A Wilson Bros Favorite! Companions: Hollies, Indian Hawthorne, Ornamental Grasses, Horsetail Grass, Iris Psuedacorus, Elephant Ears, Canna Lilies, Ivy, and many other shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers..

Name: Weeping Willow Botanical: Salix Height x Width: 25-30'' H x 25-30' W Exposure: Full Sun or Partial Shade Fall Foliage Color: Yellow Growth Rate: Very fast, especially in moisture retentive soils Water: Tolerates dry periods but prefers frequent water Features: Upright, rounded weeping form on this highly attractive, fast growing tree. Will tolerate dry soils however prefers a moisture retentive site, especially during the heat of Summer. Plant 30' or more away from underground structures such as swimming pools or septic systems and lines! Companions: Only the most drought tolerant shrubs would perform okay under willows. Groundcovers such as Ivy, Purple Winter Creeper, and Mondo Grass would be our choice.

 

Viist All About Trees

 

Click on a category below to view descriptive listing with photos of other types of trees. Shade Trees Flowering Trees Evergreen Trees Japanese Maples Fruit Trees Fast Growing Trees Crape Myrtles Hardy Palm Trees

 

 

Information Center How to Plant How to Fertilize How to Prune Lawn Care Insect Control Disease Control Weed Control Other Information

Plant Files

Plant Files Shrubs Trees Annual Flowers Perennial Flowers Roses Crape Myrtles Ornamental Grasses Japanese Maples Herbs Vines Groundcovers Fruit Bearing Deer Resistant Other Plants

Tips for the Month January February March April May June July August September October November December

Topics of Interest Theme Gardens Plant Groups Landscape Design Do-It-Yourself Projects Other Topics

Do-It-Yourself Projects Garden Ponds Backyard Greenhouse Night Lighting

FREE Designs Perennials Gardens Annual Beds Container Combos Screen Planting

Other Plant Files

Annual Plants / Flowers

Crape Myrtles

Deer Resistant Plants

Fruit Trees & Plants

Grasses - Lawn

Grasses - Ornamental

Groundcovers

Herbs

Hedges/Screens

Japanese Maples

Perennial Plants

Roses

Shrubs

Trees

Vines