Growing Shade
WOW, It is HOT! We have all had the experience where everything around you appears to be melting in the oppressive 100+ degree summer heat, right? Just when you feel ready to keel over, you are saved by the immense, dense canopy of grand old shade trees and the cooling embrace.
Long gone are the days where the mighty oaks, maples, sycamores, and other shade trees were the only respite from the summers blazing hot rays. Today, where we rely on air conditioning and electric fans to keep us cool, we’ve almost forgotten how naturally powerful the cooling effect of shade trees can be. These trees not only provide us with shade; but habitats, oxygen and reduce harmful greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.
So how do we mitigate these effects? One solution is to plant trees and grow shade. Tree and vegetation cover is proven to be a cost-effective way to reduce surface and air temperatures. Smart cities also incorporate green roofs, cool roofs, cool pavements, and in general, apply purposeful growth strategies.
These tried and true fast-growing Shade Tree favorites will help you grow shade that you will live to enjoy.
October Glory Maple Tree
You'll be looking forward to October just so you can see this beautiful tree in all its glory; Get it? October? Glory? Anyways, these Maple trees produce green leaves that turn bright orange and deep reddish-purple in the fall. They are tall with a dense, rounded crown and are a superb choice to use as a high-branched shade tree for large landscapes.
Willow Oak Tree
This tree is a true American classic known to be long-lived and grows to incredible heights of 60 feet tall. This tree is a fantastic source of shade, as well as food for natural wildlife. You can find these trees most commonly along roadsides, parks, and yards or rural suburban homes.
Tulip Poplar Tree
One of the fastest-growing North American native trees, growing to more than 50 feet tall at maturity with a 35 to 50-foot spread. The Tulip Poplar tree displays white flowers April - June with another show in autumn when the leaves turn a brilliant yellow.
Exclamation Sycamore Tree
This deciduous tree grows in a distinctive, uniform, pyramidal form. It is densely branched and covered in attractive and large green foliage. Luckily this shade tree is adaptable to many living conditions. Some of these include: dry and moist soil conditions, urban environments, not particular to soil pH, and can handle environmental salt. Exclamation Sycamore trees are very similar to the common Sycamore.
Wye River Oak Tree
Once the largest white oak tree in the United States, Wye River Oak trees were the Maryland State Trees from 1941 to 2002. This true American classic tree is hardy and can endure many weather changes throughout the seasons. Wye River Oak trees are long-living shade trees that have the potential to grow to amazing heights if it is in a large landscape where it has plenty of room to grow.
Let's Make Things Better
We need trees, but more importantly, trees need us. According to research published in the Journal of Nature, the earth is home to more than three trillion trees. Each year an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down across the globe. While most of this loss is in the tropical sub-regions of the world, the loss for agricultural and other commercial property gains is still vast in other regions.
We need trees so that we can realize the grim reality of a world without them. We must fight to preserve land trusts and protected lands. Let's start replanting! This effort can begin with one tree and spread to thousands more. We are committed to replanting the early one tree at a time.