Choosing the right species for your site
Now that you have determined both soil texture and
drainage of your site, you can start to narrow down
your species choice(s). Each species is adapted to a
range of site conditions, which are categorized in the
Table 2.
More detail on the specific site requirements for the
many different species is provided in Appendix 1 of
this booklet. In addition there are many other sources
of information on individual tree species, their requirements,
how they grow and how to look after them - consult one
of the partners who helped produce this publication.
Information on these agencies and others is listed under
Getting More Information.
Table 2. Species
reccommended for different site conditions
Soil
Texture |
Natural
drainage |
Well
to Moderate |
Imperfect
to Poor |
| Sand soils |
white pine, red pine, European larch, Norway spruce,
sugar maple, red oak, white cedar, poplar, black
locust |
white pine, tamarack, black spruce, willow, green
ash |
| Loam soils |
white pine, red pine, European larch, Norway spruce,
white spruce, black spruce, white cedar, sugar maple,
red maple, white ash, green ash, red oak, black
cherry, beech, basswood, black walnut, bitternut
hickory, poplar, black locust |
white cedar, tamarack, black spruce, silver maple,
red maple, willow |
| Clay soils |
white pine, European larch, Norway spruce, white
ash, green ash, white cedar, beech, poplar, black
locust, black walnut |
tamarack, black spruce, silver maple, green ash,
willow |
Choosing a species that meets your needs
Choosing the right species is not just a matter of
determining which one will survive on your site and
which ones won’t. You need to consider your own
long-term objectives for the trees. Are you planting
a windbreak along a field, or, are you establishing
a stand of trees for wood products? Do you want to attract
birds to your garden, or, do you want to rehabilitate
your cottage shoreline?
What you want to do on the property affects how you
will do it. The most appropriate choice of tree species
is one that will thrive on your site once it is planted,
and one that will also grow to meet your personal needs
in the future. Table 3 lists some species that are suitable
for some of the common tree planting objectives. Look
for the species that are suited to your site and your
objectives.
Table 3. Commonly
planted species by property objective
Objective |
Species
(* denotes non-native species in eastern Ontario) |
| Wildlife (cover or mast) |
fruiting shrubs, ironwood,
red oak, burr oak,
black cherry, cedar,
hemlock, black walnut* |
| Timber |
red pine, white pine,
white spruce, white ash,
red oak, hard maple |
| Christmas trees |
white spruce, Norway
spruce*, balsam fir, Fraser fir*, Scotch
pine*, white pine |
| Windbreaks |
Norway spruce*, white
spruce, cedar, poplar
(fast) |
In Table 3, above, the bolded species are those that
should do well on an average planting site – open
and exposed old-field sites with varying amounts of
competition from other plants such as grasses. The remaining
species are those which regenerate naturally beneath
a forest canopy in cool, moist forest soils that have
lots of organic matter. These species, although they
can survive in the open, do better when planted under
or among existing trees.
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