Trees for a parking lot

[Caz]

I need to plant 25 or 30 nice salt tolerant trees in a mall parking lot near the ocean, in the fall, in zone 7.
I'm looking for something that the root system won't buckle and destroy the asphalt.
Thanks.

 

[S Mc]

One of my reference books has the following listed as "tolerant of road and sea salt":

Acer tataricum ssp ginnala, Amur maple
A. triflorum, Three-flowered maple
Alnus glutinosa, European alder
Amelanchier canadensis, Juneberry
Betula nigra, River birch
Carya ovata, Shagbark hickory
Ginkgo biloba, Gingo
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis, Thornless honey locust
Gymnocladus dioica, Kentucky coffee tree
Koelreuteria bipinnata, Chinese goldenrain tree
K. paniculata, Goldenrain tree
Lagerstroemia indica, Crape myrtle
Malus spp, Crabapples
Nyssa sylvatica, Tupelo
Ostrya virginiana, Ironwood
Phellodendron amurense, Amur cork tree
Prunus cerasifera, Purple-leaved plum
Prunus maackii, Amur chokecherry
Prunus sargentii, Sargent cherry
Prunus serrula, Paperbark cherry
Sophora japonica, Japanese pagoda tree
Styrax japonicum, Japanese snowbell
Tilia tomentosa, Silver linden

Ilex opaca, American holly
Magnoia grandiflora, Southern magnolia
Prunus carolianiana, Carolina cherry laurel


I didn't double check all the tree's hardiness zones. There were other trees in the list but I left out larger maples, ash (due to EAB potential), oaks (too large), any tree with significant fruit mess. Some of the prunus and malus sp now have cultivars which bloom but do not have significant fruit.

Hopefully this may give you a start.

Sylvia

 

[treeseer]

How much soil volume will you have prepared for your trees?

That determines the size tree you can put in. Sophora and tupelo riverbirch and hickory and ginkgo are pretty deep-rooted but get quite large and have litter issues--see attached for an example of what could happen .

 

[Caz]

Thanks S Mc. I'll have to research some of those. : )
They used to plant palm trees each spring, so when i yank the palm stumps i'll have a nice ready made hole.

 

[Caz]

I've decided to put in a few Crepe Myrtles and see how they fair over summer.
If they thrive then i'll plant about 30 of them in late fall.

 

[S Mc]

Crapemyrtles are beautiful and I am envious of areas that can grow them. They are out of our hardiness zone here.

Do the parking lot owners want a monoculture, which admittedly can look beautiful. Or are they open to a variety. If they do want single species, which may be problematical if a disease comes through, you may want to check into bloom color and timing for a cascading, flowing effect or staggering the blooms for maximizing their appeal. You can create a visually diverse appearance by the selection of various sized cultivars as well as color.

Choosing appropriate height for the area will also minimize the heavy maintenance many people subject these trees to.

Something to consider would be interspersing the a scattered selection of an evergreen species here and there to give some winter interest. Although the lovely bark on these trees alone will be appreciated all year long .

Sylvia