A tree's requirements to thrive, its form or shape, size at maturity, and function in your landscape help determine the best tree to plant.

Shade Trees provide a greater cooling effect than man-made structures because not only are the rays of the sun blocked, but water is added to the air through transpiration. Plant for where you want the shadow during the hottest time of the year and the time of day you desire the shade. High, wide-crowned trees with deciduous leaves are the best providers of shade.

Aesthetics - For visual accent, select a tree that con­trasts with the landscape in one or mote of the design ele­ments: form, size, color or texture. The more contrasts, the stronger the accent.

Windbreaks and screens - Low branching conifers are most effective for screening and privacy. Noise is best reduced by tall, densely planted trees with fleshy,
broad leaves. Dust and noise can be reduced with a com­bined planting with conifers. Windbreaks can be made most effective through a dense, step-like arrangement of both conifers and deciduous trees. For protection on south and east sides of a house, deciduous species work best because they incoming solar radiation in winter.

Boundaries - Trees can help to visually delineate your property. Small, narrow crowned species will do the job while not invading your neighbor's space.

Environmental Factors

Pests - Every locality has its problems with particular insects or diseases. The best way to avoid trouble is to avoid the species that host these pests. Ask a professional for the recommendations.

Moisture - Special attention must be given to your selection if the site periodically is flooded, subjected to very dry conditions or is continually exposed to the drying-effect of wind.

Minimum Temperature - Low temperatures can freeze and kill the living cells in trees. Select a tree species suitable to the hardiness zone where you live.

Soil - Soil factors are probably the most overlooked ele­ment when selecting a tree. Soil depth, structure and pH, in addition to soil moisture, can make the difference between success or failure after planting. Each tree species has a toler­ance range related lo acidity and alkalinity just as it does for shade. Compaction of any soil due lo heavy pedestrian or vehicle use often reduces a tree's growth and size potential.

Air Pollution - The ability of a species to tolerate air pollution is becoming more important. The best course of action is to ask a local professional if there are problems in your town and what species are affected.

Light - Each tree species has a requirement for light. Match the tree's need for light to the planting site.

Local nurseries generally carry trees that are compatible with the local climate. However, for site factors other than climate, it is pretty much a matter of "buyer 
beware." Get the answers before you buy and look around your neighborhood to see what may be growing well.

Size and Location 

Available space is probably the consideration most often over­ looked or misunderstood when deciding what tree to plant. Before planting, know what the tree will look like as it nears maturity. Consider its height, crown spread and root space. Think about walkways and drainage pipes below the planting. Take into account electrical wires, other trees, and structures above. Also think about the change lo your scenic views and how the planting will affect your neighbors. 

Pruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure. The first rule of pruning is do no cutting without a reason. Pruning cuts must be made with an_ understanding of how the tree will respond to the cut. Improper pruning can cause damage which continues for the life of the tree. Your goal should be pruning to yield a healthy, aesthetically pleasing tree. 

Think Twice - No branch should be removed without a reason. Common reasons for pruning are to remove dead branches, lo remove crowded or rubbing limbs and to elimi-· note hazards.

Respect Your Elders - Mature trees should require little routine pruning. A widely accepted rule of thumb is never to remove more than one fourth of a tree's leaf bearing crown. In a mature tree, pruning even a single, large-diameter limb can create a wound that the tree may not be able to dose.

The older and larger a tree becomes, the less energy it has in reserve to close wounds and defend against decay and insect attack. The pruning of large, mature trees is usually lim­ited lo the removal of dead or potentially hazardous limbs.

Think Small - A properly made pruning wound is the smallest wound that can be made, allowing closure lo start promptly all the way around it. The smallest wound closes the fastest. An important principle to remember is that a tree can recover from several small pruning wounds faster than from one large wound.

The Best Medicine - Wound dressings were once thought to accelerate healing, to protect against insects and diseases and reduce decay: Research has shown that dressings do not reduce decay or speed closure, and rarely prevent insect or disease infestations. Trees heal best when the clean wounds are left to heal themselves.

Ask the Pro - Pruning trees can be dangerous. Use sharp tools. Make clean cuts. Be careful with all tools. If pruning involves working above the ground or using power equipment, ii is best to hire a professional arborist.

X Marks the Spot - Each cut should be made care­ fully, at the correct location, leaving a smooth surface with no jagged edges or torn bark. The correct anatomical location is just beyond the branch collar. The branch collar contains trunk or parent branch tissue and should not be damaged or removed. Properly pruned young trees will develop into structurally strong trees that should require little corrective pruning as they mature.

It All Depends - The amount of live tissue that should be removed depends on the tree size, species and age, as well as the pruning objectives. Younger trees will tolerate the removal of a higher percentage of living tissue than mature trees.

You're Just Too Much - A common mistake is to remove too much inner foliage and small branches. It is important to maintain an even distribution of foliage along large limbs and in the lower portion of the crown. Over-thin­ning reduces the tree's sugar production capacity and can create tip-heavy limbs that are prone to failure.

Perfectly Timed - The best time to prune living branches is late in the dormant season or very early in spring before leaves. form. Heavy pruning just after the spring growth flush should be avoided. This is when trees have just expended a great deal of energy to produce foliage and early shoot growth. Removal of a large percent­age of foliage at this time can stress the tree.

Bleeding Heart - Dead and dying branches can be pruned anytime. Certain species, such as maples and birches, lend to "bleed" or drain sap from the pruning cuts. Although unattractive, this has little effect on the tree health.

Hiring a tree care specialist deserves all the consideration and caution that goes into selecting a banker or home builder. The right choice can assure health, beauty, and longer life for your trees. 

What's your hurry? - Never let yourself be rushed by bargains ("If you sign on agreement today, I can take ten percent off the price..."). Never pay in advance.

Look, Listen and Learn - Ask for local references - other jobs the company or individual has done. Take a look at some, and if possible, talk with the former client. Experience, education and a good reputation ore signs of a good arborist.

Licensed to Prune - Find out if the arborist is certi­fied through a strict certification program or the International Society of Arboriculture ISA's program is available to arborists nationwide and requires appropriate training, expe­rience and knowledge as evidenced by successfully-complet­ing a standardized application and testing process. In some cities, arborists are required to have a license.

An arborist for all seasons - A good arborist will offer a wide range of services (pruning, fertiliz­ing; cabling/bracing, lightning protection, pest control, etc.).

Stop the Top - Avoid tree services that routinely top trees. Topping damages a tree's looks and health, eventually killing it. A good arborist can provide alternatives to top­ping that will keep the tree healthy, so it can be enjoyed for many years to come.

Let's See Some I.D. - Ask for certificates of insur­ance, including proof of liability for personal and property damage (such as your house and your neighbor's), and, workman's compensation. Then phone the insurance compa­ny to make certain the policy is current. Under some circumstances, you can be held financially responsible if an uninsured worker is hurt on your property, or damage is done to a neighbor's property!

Leave your Spikes at Home - A conscien­tious arborist will not use climbing spikes if the tree is to remain in the landscape.

Remember Membership - Determine if the arborist is a member of any organizations, such as the American Forestry Association, the American Society of Consulting Arborists, the International Society of Arboriculture or the National Arborist Association. Membership does not guarantee quality, but lack of membership casts doubt on the person's professionalism.

You'd Better Shop Around - Have more than one arborist look at your job and give you estimates. Don't expect one to lower a bid lo match another's, and be will­ing to pay for the estimate if necessary; but two or more opinions and cost estimates are worth your extra effort.

Eager Beaver - Beware of an arborist who is eager to remove a living tree. Removal clearly should be a lost resort.

Knock-Knock Who's There - Beware of door knockers. Most reputable companies have all the work they can handle without going door-to-door. Door-knockers are especially common after storms when non-professionals see a chance to"earn some quick money." Often, storm damage creates high risk situations for both workers and homeown­ers, and there is opportunity for even more damage to trees and shrubs if work is not done correctly.

Topping is severely cutting limbs larger than 3" in diameter to stubs within the tree's crown so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. 

Reasons not to top trees:

Shock - A tree's crown is like an umbrella that shields much of the tree from the direct rays of the sun. By suddenly removing this protection, the remaining bark tissue is so exposed that scalding may result. There may also be a dramatic effect on neighboring trees and shrubs. If these thrive in shade and the shade is removed, poor health or death may result. 

Starvation - Good pruning practices rarely remove more than 1/2 to 1/3 of the crown, which in turn does not seriously interfere with the ability of a tree's leafy crown to manufacture food. Topping removes so much of the crown that it upsets an older tree's well ­developed crown-to-root ratio and temporarily cuts off its food-making ability.

Ugliness - A topped tree is a disfigured tree. Even with its re-growth it never regains the grace and char­acter of its species. The landscape and the commu­nity are robbed of a valuable asset.

Rapid new growth - The goal of topping is usu­ally to control the height and spread of a tree. Actu­ally, it has just the opposite effect. The resulting sprouts (often called water sprouts) are far more nu­merous than normal new growth and they elongate so rapidly that the tree returns to its original height in a very short time-and with a far denser crown.

Insects and disease - The large stubs of a topped tree have a difficult time forming callus. The termi­nal location of these cuts, as well as their large di­ameter, prevents the tree's chemical based natural defense system from doing its job. The stubs are highly vulnerable to insect invasion and the spores of decay fungi. If decay is already present in the limb, opening the limb will speed the spread of disease.