Focus — Trees

Maidenhair tree

Zone: 3 to 8

Sun: full sun

Water: average to dry

Size: 50 to 80 feet high; 30 to 40 feet wide; cultivars tend to be smaller

Fall Color: Rich golden fall color that lasts until the first hard frost when trees will drop all their leaves at once.

Why We Love It: Tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, ginkgoes also thrive in salt, air pollution, and heat.

“Ginkgoes are one of those trees that makes an impressive allée. It’s an archaic or anachronistic way of planting, but when you see it, it gets your attention and it’s just cool,” observed Beuerlein.

“It’s been on the planet somewhere between 150 to 200 million years. That’s always a good sign. A ginkgo survived an atom bomb in Hiroshima, less than a mile away from ground zero and lived. You can plant it anywhere from an industrial wasteland to a downtown to a backyard.”

Gymnocladus dioicus

Kentucky coffeetree

Zone: 3 to 8

Sun: full sun

Water: average, yet drought tolerant Size: 60 to 80 feet high; 40 to 55 feet wide

Bark: Richly rough gray-brown bark even at a young age.

Flower: Female flowers are fragrant and greenish white and up to 12 inches long, blooming in May, usually at the top of the tree.

Fruit: Large leathery pods contain flat seeds which Native Americans and pioneers traditionally roasted and ground to create a coffee-like drink.

Fall Color: Yellow

Native: Native to a large section of the Midwest.

Why We Love It: A fast-growing large shade tree, Kentucky coffeetrees always have character. “In spring, it transforms from basically a dormant hat rack into this stunning tropical tree,” enthused Beuerlein. “The double pinnate leaves are huge, loose, and sort of frilly. Incredibly tough, they just live and live and live with nobody watering them in medians, parking lots, etc. The females do produce a lot of fruit, so perhaps not the best for by the swimming pool.

Osage orange

Zone: 4 to 9

Sun: full sun to light shade

Water: any

Size: 35 to 50 feet high and wide Bark: Deeply ridged orange-brown bark that often twists around the tree.

Fruit: Abundant softball-sized lime green textured fruit that has a light citrusy fragrance. Often used for fall decorations, the fruit can bring joy to children and consternation to adults.

Fall Color: Yellowish-green

Native: It has naturalized throughout the U.S., likely after it was inhibited from