Select Your Trees for Your Long-term Pleasure

Avoid brutal pruning down the road.

PEORIA, IL – A recent article in the Peoria Journal Star brings to light the problems that can befall a tree-owner when a mature tree grows beyond the yard, over the sidewalk and possibly into the right of way for utility crews. The options can be painful to the homeowner and a matter of safety or efficiency for the city. In this case, an aggressive pruning conducted by the utility crew to do their work, resulted in an emotionally charged scenario for the homeowner.

To avoid this predicament, consider the mature characteristics of the tree before it is planted.

David Ploussard, horticulturist, certified arborist, and General Manager, Garden Center at Hoerr Nursery, has a few recommendations when selecting your next tree.

“One of the first questions I ask customers when looking for a tree is: how large do you want the tree to get, and what purpose will the tree serve?” said Ploussard. “If I know what the customer has in mind for the tree, I can make the best recommendation for them and for the tree.”

Ploussard said trees can be used for a variety of purposes such as aesthetic intentions, fall color, a privacy screen, to remember a specific occasion, to increase property value or simply to provide shade.

“Shoppers also need to think about the location and properties of the site where they want to plant the tree. What are the soil conditions? What side of the house will it be on? How much sun will the tree absorb?” said Ploussard. “Be aware of power lines as well as other utilities throughout your yard such as water and sewer lines.”

Sometimes homeowners do not realize how large their trees can grow – such as the blue spruce in the Peoria Journal Star article that is 35 feet tall and 16 feet across at the base. If the mature size – both the height and the width – of the tree is not taken into consideration, unfortunate situations may arise. Other attributes to consider are:

· Does it flower or fruit? (Is this desirable to you?)

· Foliage color: Fall color? Spring?

· Flower/spring color?

· Winter interest?

· Shape?

· Is it messy? Nuts, fruit, pods?

· Color of the bark?

“By selecting the right tree, a homeowner can really enhance the architecture of a building – as long as all the options are looked at. Trees are a great investment and a great addition to any landscape,” said Ploussard.

Ploussard’s tips could prevent future conflicts that result in expensive solutions to meet public safety and city codes, and could save a tree from a brutal pruning job.

Hoerr Nursery has over 12,000 trees and plants an average 3,000 trees per year, 500 of which are planted by tree spade.

Hoerr Nursery has been named Number 57 in the Top 100 of all Independent Garden Centers in the Country out of 20,000 Independent Garden Centers. (The only one in the Central Illinois area to be recognized.) Hoerr Nursery has also been recognized, for the second year in a row, as One of the Top 100 Revolutionary Garden Centers in the Country, by Today’s Garden Center Magazine.

Hoerr Nursery

Garden Center hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Mon – Fri and 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sat.

Landscape Services Unit Hours: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Mon –Fri.

8020 N Shade Tree Drive, Peoria, IL 61615 309-691-4561

www.HoerrNursery.com Quite Simply. Amazing