Tree Selection Consulting

"The Right Tree for the Right Place"

Excurrent Tree Form

Trees with an excurrent growth habit develop with a central leader (single trunk) to the top.  Examples of excurrent trees include: 

• Ceiba pentandra (Kapok Tree, Bombax)
• Casuarina equisetifolia (Horsetail) 

Decurrent Tree Form 

Trees with a decurrent growth habit develop a more rounded form with multiple scaffold branches (secondary trunk-like branches) or secondary trunks originating from the trunk.  Examples of decurrent trees include:

• Delonix regia  (Flame of the Forest)
• Cinnamomum camphora
• Adenanthera pavanina (Saga)
• Ficus microcarpa (Banyan) 

Selection of a tree must involve several different criteria including the purpose the tree will serve, the location where the tree will be placed and the amount of maintenance that will be required. These three considerations suggest the basic questions that need to be answered before any tree is planted. The goal of answering these questions carefully is to enable one to choose the “the right tree for the right place.”

Factors to consider in “the right tree for the right place.”

• Do you want the tree to provide shade, fruit, or seasonal color, or act as a windbreak? A tree can also serve other functional purposes such as screening noise abatement, traffic control, wind modification, or heat control.
• What about the size or the location of the planting site? Trees that outgrow their space in the landscape are a nightmare.  They block views, their roots raise sidewalks and driveways, and they cause concern when violent weather is predicted.
• Are there overhead or belowground wires or utilities in the vicinity? Everyone loses when the wrong trees are planted in the wrong place. This is especially true when the wrong tree is selected for a location and impacts the power lines or the limitations of a planting space on the city street etc. When this happens the tree often requires unnatural and poor pruning techniques and usually degrades in appearance safety and value. The wrong tree in the wrong place costs more money and the tree loses vigor, aesthetics and dignity resulting in removal.
• Which type of soil conditions exist? Is the soil deep, fertile, and well drained, or is it shallow, compacted, and infertile?
• Which type of maintenance are you willing to provide? If there are limitations one still must consider the tree's adaptability to adapt to the location in which you want to plant it.  It must be able to grow under the environmental conditions of wind, or other exposure that your selected planting site provides.

When selecting the proper tree it is crucial to avoid trees that have severe pest problems that require regular pesticide applications to manage. Avoid trees with pest problems for which there is no control. The ultimate mature size is an important factor that too few people really consider when selecting a tree.  A young tree in a nursery is hard to imagine five, ten and fifteen years in the future. Unfortunately many fast growing species become extremely large very quickly.  They are prime targets for the bad pruning practice of topping.  This spoils the natural shape and beauty of the tree as well as shortening the life of the tree.  Many of these speedy growers have weak wood and a disposition to develop wood rot after injuries or pruning wounds caused by topping.  They also tend to have relatively short lives, not becoming the stately trees of history.

ATP staff can assist you in the planning stages of a project when seeking to select the ; “the right tree for the right place” right from the beginning. Weather it is a city streets, a landscape design or a small single tree ATP is prepared to provide the research and information to help you succeed in planting trees that can become old and valuable specimens.