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Are There Any Low-maintenance Tree Options?

16 Sep, 2021 18
Are There Any Low-maintenance Tree Options?

Are you struggling to find that perfect, low-maintenance tree? While all trees have some natural litter, these trees are notable for their "less mess" qualities. A cleaner tree means more time for you to enjoy the tree in your yard rather than cleaning up after it.


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01 Seedless Maples →

Maples are a customer favorite, and seedless maple trees like the Sun Valley® Red Maple is a top pick. Sun Valley is completely seedless- this means you won't see those "helicopters" all over your lawn! Other excellent options in this category are Autumn Fantasy® Maple, Autumn Blaze Maple, and Celebration® Maple.

Sun Valley Red Maple

02 Spruce Trees →

Spruce trees are an evergreen tree that keeps its beautiful green color throughout each season. Seasonal shedding of needles is not noticeable and is unproblematic.

Spruce Trees

03 Dogwood Trees →

Dogwoods offer a native feel to the landscape. These trees will provide ornamental beauty through their flowers, architectural branching, and the overall beauty they bring to the landscape. Dogwood tree leaves do drop in the fall and may require some cleanup. However, for a fruiting tree, dogwood fruit is in the "less mess" category. Birds will devour the fruit before you even have to worry about it.

Jun Snow Dogwood near back patio

04 Espresso™ Kentucky Coffee Tree →

This tree is a new take on your classic tough shade tree. Its beautiful oval to vase shape mature form offers a gentle filtered shade below. Bluish-green leaves turn yellow in the fall. Less mess with this best pick— it's a seedless selection!

Espresso Kentucky Coffee Tree

05 Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry →

This tree is as versatile as they come, grown in both the multi-stem clump form and single trunk form. It's a shade tree, a privacy tree, a parkway tree, a #utilitree, and an ornamental & flowering tree. Dainty spring blooms offer a subtle floral aroma. In the summer, the tree grows a sweet summer treat- edible blue berries! Its fruit is edible and is consumed first by birds before we have a chance to taste them, placing this tree in the low-maintenance lineup. In the fall, the small leaves turn a bright red.

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry tree on parkway with spring flowers

06 Skyline® Honeylocust →

Skyline Honeylocust may be the perfect Chicagoland tree pick. Its small, fern-like foliage is unproblematic in the fall, and this honeylocust variety is thornless with fewer seed pods!

Skyline Honeylocust Tree on the parkway in springtime

07 Spring Snow Crabapple →

Spring Snow Crabapple is a fruitless crabapple! It may just be the perfect flowering tree. Spring Snow is fast-growing, and fragrant show-stopping blooms burst open in the spring. This crabapple will not grow to be too large. Yet Spring Snow is stout enough to plant in smaller landscapes.

Spring Snow Crabapple on parkway in a row all in bloom

08 Musashino Japanese Zelkova →

Proven time and time again to do exceptionally well in urban conditions, Musashino Japanese Zelkova is well-suited for the parkway. This upright branched tree's small leaf size reduces the need for cleanup.

Musashino Zelkova on parkway with green leaves

09 Arborvitae Trees →

Arborvitae is an evergreen tree that sheds its branchlets seasonally. However, the shedding branchlets turn brown and are held by the tree for a bit before dropping them.

Techny Arborvitae in hedgerow near sidewalk

10 Princeton Sentry® Ginkgo →

Princeton Sentry is an upright top-performing shade tree. It's unlike other ginkgos in that this male selection is fruitless/seedless! Enjoy the beauty of an ancient ginkgo tree without the mess!

Princeton Sentry Ginkgo in Landscape with green leaves


Start planting online today!

Browse from our high-quality selection of large, locally-grown trees.

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