The Value of Trees

Maple trees, lemon trees, oak trees, plum trees -- they are all amazing trees. But are they all amazing for your home?

“There are no bad trees, just bad (planting) situations,” said Frank McDonough, botanical information consultant for the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.

By keeping a few rules in mind, you can avoid bad planting situations and reap from the overwhelming benefits of planting a tree in your yard.

Why Plant Trees?

Trees are cool, and they make you and your house cool, too.

“One of the most important reasons to plant a tree is because trees help moderate the temperature,” said Jonathan Goldstein, founder of Beverly Hills, California-based Jonny Appleseed Landscaping Inc. “They can keep the temperature down in the summer, which will help with your energy bills.”

Trees also provide plenty of nourishment for the ecosystem surrounding them to thrive, according to Goldstein. By planting a tree, you help create more clean oxygen and can attract birds, bees and butterflies.

While the inherent beauty of trees can give you instant gratification, they also provide long-term value for your home.

“The benefits (of planting trees) are huge,” McDonough said. “One is that trees can increase your property value, depending on the type of tree. It can also decrease the amount of time you spend selling your house. This is because trees have an emotional value.”

Planting a tree outside can also frame the house or help soften a part of the house where the home's architecture isn't as charming. For example, if the front of the home is plain, without any architectural enhancements such as columns, brickwork or shutters, placing a tree in front may enliven the facade. However, if your home has an elegant entryway, you might line the walkway with small trees or create a symmetrical frame around the door with two small trees to highlight that feature.

Trees for the World

Planting a tree in your yard can greatly enrich your home. Committing to planting trees in your community or around the world can greatly enrich everyone’s lives. The following organizations work with people around the world in efforts to plant trees.

United Nations Environment Programme: The Billion Trees Campaign

Mission: Under the guidance of "Plant for the Planet," the Billion Tree Campaign encourages people, communities, organizations, business and industry, civil society and governments to plant trees and enter their tree planting pledges on the campaign's website. The objective is to plant at least 1 billion trees worldwide each year.

TreePeople

Mission: TreePeople’s mission is to inspire, engage and support people to take personal responsibility for the urban environment, making it safe, healthy, fun and sustainable, and to share the process as a model for the world. It does this by training and supporting communities to plant and care for trees, educating children and adults about environmental issues, demonstrating sustainable solutions to urban ecosystem problems, and working with government agencies on critical water issues.

American Forest Foundation

Mission: The foundation ensures the sustainability of America’s family forests for present and future generations in conjunction with its partners.

Planning and Planting

The simple act of planting a tree can yield huge benefits. Choosing the wrong tree, however, or planting it in the wrong spot can be devastating to your home.

As a rule of thumb, think about where your tree’s growth could reach in 10 years, Goldstein suggested. Ask questions like “Do I have the room?”; “Do I want something that big in the space?”; and “Am I giving the tree sufficient room to do what it wants to do, which is grow big and mature?” If the answer to any of these questions is “No," Goldstein said, opt for smaller trees that won’t overwhelm your home.

Also consider how far the tree's canopy will reach, and keep the area where you choose to plant it clear of structures. The general rule of thumb, according to McDonough, is to estimate the canopy may reach about 1 foot per every inch of expected trunk width.

“Planting something like a London plane tree a few feet from your house would be a very bad idea,” McDonough said. “However, crape myrtles are nice and small.”

To see the benefits of planting a tree on your energy bill, you must consider the location of the tree in relation to the sun’s path.

“If your house is facing west, you like the sun coming through in the morning,” Goldstein said. “But by midday to late afternoon you have some strong heat. So consider where the sun travels when planting your tree.”

Height and reach are not the only things to consider when choosing a tree and where to plant it. You also must be aware of how big and strong trees grow beneath the ground.

"Trees have a structure called a root plate," McDonough said, explaining that the plate generally extends 1 foot for every 1 inch in the diameter of the tree. "Say a tree’s trunk grows about 20 to 30 inches wide," he said. "That means you need a 30-foot wide area to place the tree at a minimum.”

If you choose a tree with strong, far-reaching roots, such as a ficus or cottonwood, choose a location that is away from sewer lines, the house’s foundation, or sidewalks and walkways.

“One of the negative things a tree can do is have roots that will stretch out wide with incredible power that can lift foundation and concrete,” Goldstein said. “So when choosing a location, consider its distance from the foundation and sewer lines.”

Caring for Your Tree

You have invested time, energy and money planting your tree. In order for it to grow strong and healthy, you must avoid three common mistakes.

“Never ever fertilize a tree,” McDonough said. “Fertilizer will make it susceptible to insects and disease.”

Another common mistake is pruning trees before they reach maturity.

“Most people trim trees right when they plant them,” McDonough said. “Don’t prune, trim or touch your tree for at least two years. What happens is that leaves make food for the tree and if you prune off the leaves, the tree won’t have sufficient food to get a good start.”

Staking trees can also weaken the tree in the long term and should generally be avoided.

“A lot of people will stake the trees up and it’s OK if it’s done correctly,” said McDonough. “It should never be done for more than a year. Never use the stake that the tree comes with from the nursery. The tree will flop over. If you have to stake a tree, do it correctly by placing stakes on both sides and using materials that won’t dig into the bark and allow the tree to move so the trunk and roots develop correctly.”