Tree Directory

Browse through our 2021-2022 selection of Legacy-Trees

Purple Prince Flowering Crabapple

Malus speciousa

Aftercare Instructions

Watering Instructions:

Watering the trees should create 20 ft of green grass
or vegetation around the tree.
Irrigated lawns should not require further watering.
Overhead sprinkler systems watering 30 minutes every
other day are preferred after 5 or more days of no rain
for trees with no irrigation.
Avoid placing irrigation hose at base of tree as this will
cause oversaturation in the root system.

Other Important Information:

Do not remove trunk protector in order to retain 5-year
warranty.
Maintain the mulch ring or other turf limiting coverage
around tree trunk.
Avoid or limit use of broadleaf weed killer near your
trees.
Limit self-pruning of your tree to dead or broken
branches and allow for a trained arborist to manage
your tree through the stewardship program.

Riparian Species

Riparian Species – This group of trees is made up of species that live in the floodplains of rivers and streams around the world. They are native to an environment that periodically changes its soil level due to flood waters adding or taking away soil from an area. Riparian species have adapted to grade changes by developing the ability to grow new roots out of trunk tissue in order to survive. This unique ability has provided the riparian species an advantage in the urban environment where people frequently change the root zone of the tree through grade changes and other activities that change the water and oxygen in the root zone of trees. Riparian trees are adapted to changing root environments and that allows them to be successful in urban areas. Riparian species are tough and adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions. They definitely share a high tolerance for wet feet and that is why they are used on wet sites. Riparian species also need more sunlight to allow for a symmetrical canopy to develop.

Acer x freemanii – Autumn Blaze Maple
Acer x freemanii – Sienna Glenn Maple

Sienna Glenn and Autumn Blaze Maples are basically cousins in a group of trees from the hybrid ‘freemanii’ series which is a cross between silver maple and red maple. The silver maple brings the riparian characteristics to this tree with the larger zone of rapid taper in the root plate or flare area and a more rapid growth than traditional red maples. The red maple brings the fall color and better branch structure. Yes better branch structure once the tree transitions into mature growth as the juvenile branch structure must be removed and managed with aggressive training pruning during the first decade after planting.

Gleditsia triancanthos – Skyline Honeylocust

Honey Locust is one of my favorite trees it performs well in wet or dry locations. As a riparian it can handle some very wet areas. One of the things I love about this tree is the filtered shade it provides which allows grass and other plants to grow near it. A good comparison is the Norway Maple that has such dense shade the soil is often void of vegetation near the zone of rapid taper within the drip line. We can only have 3 to 5 layers of leaves this far north of the equator and Honey Locust allows for sunlight to the ground.

Populus deltoides – Siouxland Poplar

This riparian is native to the prairie not our usual forest ecosystems. I wish this one did not come with the name “poplar” as our forest poplars are short lived, pioneer species that colonize sites following disturbances and their job is to beat back the grasses and lower vegetation to allow forest succession to take over and the longer lived tree species take over the site as the poplar die out. Siouxland poplar is the male cottonwood tree which means it does not produce the cottony seeds that the female cottonwood covers the earth with each year. This is a climax species in the river bottoms of the prairie. It can live well over 100 years and it is built to withstand wind while standing in water! Once again, this is a riparian species that does very well in our urban environments. We are losing millions of ash trees to Emerald Ash Borer and since ash grew so prolifically as a riparian species planted in our cities we over planted it.

Ulmus ‘Morton Glossy’ – Triumph Elm

The last of our riparians for 2021 and a true champion! I have specimens that we planted in the La Crosse area in 2019 and 2020 that are averaging four to five feet of growth per year. This hybrid was developed by the Morton Arboretum in Chicago. It is a cross between American Elm and the Asian Elms as I call them that are based on the Chinese and Siberian Elms. The bottom line is there have been hundreds if not thousands of hybrids created to bring back the classic American Elm to our cities. This particular hybrid has great leaf color and an exceptional growth rate. The extremely strong wood of elm makes it great around buildings as it rarely fails completely during dynamic loading. Failures usually stay attached to the tree for a soft landing on building.

Ornamental Species

The ornamental tree species are grouped based on their flower color and small stature. Legacy-Tree’s Parade of Color™ ornamental trees can provide a high impact flowering sequence in the spring and early summer that is sure to turn heads. The Legacy-Tree’s Parade of Color™ begins each spring with the Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry flowering first before the leaves come out. This tree is a permanent addition to the list for 2023 and each Legacy-Tree location has received some for specific projects in 2022. Next in the Legacy-Tree’s Parade of Color™ trees are flowering crabapples, pears, and hawthorns. These trees bloom in mid to late May, depending on location. The final high impact tree in the Legacy-Trees Parade of Color™ tree group is the Japanese Tree Lilac which flowers in early to mid-June each summer. In most cases we Legacy-Trees can provide six to eight weeks of color with our Parade of Color™ package, while also providing species diversity for your yard. With a few exceptions, these flowering ornamentals require full sun to perform well. and fully flower each year. The density of the leaves found on these trees makes them useful for screening between properties and blocking roads and traffic areas during the outdoor season. Evergreens are commonly used to block or screen a property. Legacy-Trees will use evergreens and ornamentals together to provide both immediate and long-range screening. Remember our group of ornamentals for 2021 prefer full sun at least part of the day. They also do not like wet feet, and they also do not like real dry sites. If it is dry, then an expanded mulch area is the key to long term success. Shade-loving perennials are a great way to soften the look of too much mulch and they are built to live with trees.

Malus speciousa – Purple Prince Flowering Crabapple

I love this crab. The purple – green leaves during the summer are very attractive following the amazing display of red – purple flowers that cover the entire canopy in May! Great disease resistance along with persistent fruit make this a great selection. The tree also has a great growth rate as it fills out to be about twenty five feet tall by twenty five feet wide.

Syringa reticulata – First Additions Snowdance Japanese Tree Lilac

I love Japanese Tree Lilacs! They are the final chapter in Legacy-Trees’ Parade of Color™ each season as they pop with loads of white flowers in June. The leaves are a dark green and the bark of this tree has a shiny appearance with very pronounced lenticels giving it an added beauty all year. This is a tough tree that handles lighter soils and a range of wet to dry conditions. It also has a very good juvenile growth rate. Overall size is up to thirty feet tall by twenty-five feet wide. There is no fruit for this tree.

Upland Species

The upland species are from ecosystems where they are higher than the flood plain and can range all the way to the top of ridges and hills. What this means is they are not good at dealing with changes to their root environment like their relatives in the riparian zone. These trees have a more static root zone and therefore they struggle with grade changes and rapid changes in soil moisture. They are also more adapted to growing in partial or full shade. The riparian and prairie tree species tend to need full sun to perform well. If they are in partial or full shade they can develop asymmetrical canopies as they search for sunlight. The upland species are intermediate to climax in their position within the forest. This means they come after the pioneer species like poplar and jack pine that need full sun. The intermediate species come in behind the pioneers to take over and they can fight through partial to full shade as they kill off the pioneer species. The climax species are the ones that can grow in full shade during their juvenile years then they outgrow the intermediates to take over the site. Great examples of this in Wisconsin are sugar maple and white pine. Both can spend decades in the shade where they develop symmetrical canopies then they finally get taller than the intermediate trees and conquer the site. White pine and sugar maple are not into diversity as they dominate a site in the forest with nearly one hundred percent of the area made up of one or two types of trees.

Acer platanoides – Royal Red Norway Maple

This is the latest version of what used to be Crimson King Norway Maple. There are those that feel it is the same tree. It is more cold hardy than Crimson King and the leaf color is unmatched! I refer to it as a burgundy leaf color and always ask for clarification when people request a red maple. Do they mean the actual red maple or this tree with the reddish leaves all summer? A great shade tree that handles a wide range of soil conditions from wet to dry. It does prefer decent drainage to get maximum growth. The overall size is fifty feet tall by thirty feet wide. It does require significant pruning when in juvenile growth to avoid poor crotch angles and heavy, low branches that will fail in a storm later in life.

Tilia mongolica – Harvest Gold Linden

This linden is from Asia and it is very interesting. The leaf is almost lobed so it does not look like the typical linden leaf. Golden yellow fall color is what it is known for along with exfoliating bark. It has upright form and grows to about forty feet in height by twenty feet wide. It can handle partial shade. This tree must have juvenile pruning and training as it is susceptible to storm damage if these juvenile branches are allowed to remain on the tree. Lindens are notorious for poor juvenile form so a skilled arborist is needed to help the tree through its youth to ensure good structure later in life.

Tilia tomentosa – Sterling Silver Linden

Silver linden is a great tree for our urban environments. It handles heat and drought better than most lindens. This tree can top out between sixty to seventy feet tall by thirty feet wide with pyramidal form. This linden has better branch angles than most lindens. Love the form and the silver underside of the dark green leaves provides an incredible contrast particularly when the wind blows and the leaves twist revealing the two-sided color pattern. Yellow fall color. This is a great shade tree!

Acer saccharum – Fall Fiesta Sugar Maple

Sugar maple is one of my all-time favorite trees. Fall color is yellow to orange to red for this selection. A fast grower for the sugar maple group and it tops out at seventy feet tall by about forty feet wide. The summer foliage is dark green and the leaf density is amazing. This is a climax species so it wants to grow in full shade as a juvenile tree.