Tough Plants - Our Top 20 Plants Built To Thrive In New England
We are highlighting a number of plants that are easy to grow because they are adaptable to a variety of locations and exposures. We hate to use the term low maintenance because all plants perform better with care. However, these plants are resilient.
Tough Plants - Part One
Deciduous Trees
Deciduous trees are trees that drop all their leaves in the fall. Some examples of tough deciduous trees can be invasive; Norway Maple, Ailanthus, Callery Pear, etc. Those plants are more than tough; they are bullies that out compete our native trees taking over the entire areas. Luckily, we have a number of tough trees that are not invasive they just work. We will highlight a few obvious examples; Honey Locust, London Plane, Pin Oak, River Birch, Lindens, Crabapples, and Korean Dogwood. The only downside to these tough plants is they are common. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy because they grow well almost anywhere. These plants can be overused, but if you have challenging locations you want to plant, these will work. Even though some of these plants are not fancy they are dependable.
Honey Locust
A medium to large sized tree. They have small leaves and have an almost zig-zag branching habit. In nature it has giant scary thorns and large seed pods. Several years ago, the nurseries were able to cultivate varieties that did not have thorns and or pods and these new cultivars gained a lot of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. Its small compound leaves offer shade with some dappled light coming through the canopy.
They are used a lot in parks and home landscapes as a medium to large shade tree. It is especially adaptable as a sidewalk tree to the point where it was over used. It is still a great choice due to its long-term success
A giant Honey Locust street tree growing out a small area of soil
A London Plane in a parking lot in Watertown
LONDON PLANE
Another great tree with a combination of beauty and strength. They are used in a variety of environments due to their flexibility. They are strong trees that can withstand a lot of exposures.
One of the largest growing trees in New England. It is best recognized by its camouflage colored exfoliating bark.
PIN OAK
Pin Oaks are known for their strong wood, strong root system, and adaptability. The combination of its structure and its growth rate make it a great shade tree.
It is tough enough to grow in urban areas as a street tree or in parks.
A London Plane in a parking lot in Watertown
A close-up of the two stands of River Birch. The exfoliating bark is their most obvious attribute.
RIVER BIRCH
Have become extremely popular the last twenty years. Like many tough trees the River Birch grows naturally in wetlands. Wetland trees can take anaerobic conditions as well as extreme dry and survive in standing water. Most plants are not able to survive that for prolonged periods. It is a beautiful fast-growing medium to large tree.
Its dependability like most plants on our list, leads to it being over used.
LINDEN
Is a genus of about 30 different species. Lindens are considered to be strong, flexible, and soft hardwood. They are known for being very resilient in bad weather. Little Leaf Linden is the most commonly used species in our area and is a gold standard for street trees.
Its hard to visit a city or town and not see Little Leaf Lindens used as street trees
A row of Little Leaf Lindens in Cambridge
An old fashion variety of Crabapple in a yard in Worcester
CRABAPPLE
A small to medium tree that are as beautiful as they are tough. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of varieties that have many different colored leaves, flower colors, shapes and sizes. Although some of the older verities may have some disease issues it is an aesthetic issue only.
Most of the newer varieties are bread to be less susceptible to disease. Crabapples always perform year after year.
Korean or Kousa Dogwood
A wonderful small to medium tree that works in a number of settings. It has a number of wonderful attributes for all seasons; flower bracts in late May that persist into June, large red fruit in the late summer and fall and showy exfoliating bark for winter interest.
These plants are used quite often but their attributes and resiliency make them and easy choice.
A large Korean Dogwood in full bloom
Tough Plants - Part Two
EVERGREENS
There are a handful of truly tough evergreen trees that grow well in New England. We will highlight a few obvious examples; White Pines, Norway Spruces, Western Cedars, Red Cedars, and American Arborvitaes. All of these plants are extremely popular. They grow anywhere and many of them spread aggressively by seed. They are popular because they are reliable so they are used in many locations. These plants are often used as screen plants. Even though they may not be the fanciest they are very dependable and will provide privacy.
White Pine
Is probably the most common tree in Massachusetts. It seems like they grow almost everywhere. More importantly they will grow almost anywhere. They self-seed readily and make a beautiful stand of trees.
Their rapid growth makes them a great choice. The good news is they grow fast. The possible bad news is they can grow very large and can be vulnerable to breaking.
A large White Pine growing in a challenging urban environment
An adolescent Norway Spruce showing its beautiful pendulous branching habit
NORWAY SPRUCE
A wonderful, adaptable tree that is a great choice for screen plants and wind barriers. It is as a strong as it is beautiful. This tree grows grow tall and wide so it needs room to grow. It is used often for privacy screen in partial shade where other evergreens may not work.
It also makes a great tree growing on its own due to its unique habit, shape and size
WESTERN CEDAR
Probably the best evergreen tree for adaptability and performance. Trees that work this well are usually over used because they check all the boxes.
Beautiful, tough adaptable, grows fast, no major insect or diseases, etc. A phenomenal tree; the only downside is it is overused.
Western Cedars providing privacy to a condominium in an urban area
A Red Cedar seeded itself between the building and the pavement (that’s tough)
RED CEDAR
A slow growing small to medium sized native tree. With a unique feature that its needles grow upwards instead of straight out. This tree is very tough and can adapt to almost any type of situation. This is proven by its ability to seed and grow anywhere and everywhere.
It performs best in full sun and it should not be planted near crabapples, apples and hawthorns because this causes rust disease.
American Arborvitae
A very popular choice for hedges. Not the most beautiful tree but it survives without much help. This tree is very tough because it can take sun and some shade.
It is also very tolerant to dry conditions. Maybe the toughest of all evergreen trees?
American Arborvitae is the Swiss army knife of evergreen trees
TOUGH PLANTS - PART 3
TOUGH SHRUBS
We are listing some examples of shrubs that we consider tough plants. If you have a problem area one of these will probably live there. A few examples of tough shrubs are; Yews, PJM Rhododendrons, Lilac, Miss Kim Lilac, Itea, Privet, Viburnum, Blue Holly and Junipers. Even though some of these may not be the most interesting choice they work in all sorts of exposures and soil types. These shrubs are very popular because they are survivors but they also have attractive features.
A tree form Yew growing out of tiny hole in the asphalt
YEWS
An extremely popular and versatile shrub. There are dozens if not hundreds of varieties of all shapes and sizes. They can grow anywhere and they do. This plant gets a bad reputation because it is ubiquitous and usually sheared into meat balls or hockey puck.
When it is hand pruned or left to grow naturally it is a wonderful versatile plan.
PJM Rhododendrons
Are known for their purple flowers early in the spring. There is a pink variety Olga Mezitt and a deep pink variety named Aglo. This shrub is as tough as they come because they are dependable performers that can grow in shade or sun and are very cold hardy.
You can also cut this plant to the ground in March and it usually grows right back.
A PJM Rhododendron in bloom
A Common Lilac not in bloom
COMMON LILAC
Besides its unique fragrant flower, it’s not the best plant. It is a large shrub that is tall, gangly and course but it grows anywhere. The flower is a gorgeous shade of purple (there are other color varieties too).
The fragrant flower for a week or two is almost worth growing this plant.
Miss Kim Lilac
The Anti-Common Lilac. Neat in every way; its small compact size, its flowers and it clean shape make it a great plant. This shrub is considered tough because it almost can take care of itself.
A Miss Kim Lilac in bloom
A Henry’s Garnet Itea in bloom
ITEA
A small to medium deciduous shrub known for their attractive white flowers in June. It also has great burgundy fall color starting in late summer. It can grow in full sun or shade. It is easily the least used shrub on this list.
Viburnum
This genus also has dozens of varieties. There is a Viburnum for every spot, shade, sun, large, small you can find one that will work. Most Viburnums have white flowers, colorful berries, and vibrant fall foliage.
A great variety to consider is the Korean spice which is a medium size shrub with wonderful fragrant flowers in early May.
The first picture is a classic double file Viburnum, a very popular variety. The bottom picture is a Leatherleaf Viburnum, which is less common but super tough
Blue Holly is a great example of a plant that is beautiful and tough
Blue Holly
Is a medium evergreen shrub that is as tough as it is beautiful. It can be used in a number of applications because it takes full sun and deep shade. It is cold hardy and tolerates neglect. Like with most hollies you need a male and a female to have fruit.
Two maintenance issues; Camelia scale love them and it’s best to shorten the branches annually because otherwise they get thin and gangly as their interior growth drops.
Spirea
A deciduous medium to large shrub that usually blooms white before it leaves out. There is one pink variety Anthony Water.
It performs best in full sun but can handle some shade. The genus is very tolerant of dry soil. There are several varieties to choose from.
A Bridal Wreath Spirea in bloom
A large bank of Hetz juniper, a popular large blue species
JUNIPER
The toughest genus of evergreens. They grow and thrive in conditions most plants won’t. They prefer baking dry sun and gravely soil. This type of location which is the opposite of what normal plants want.
There are a number of varieties to choose from that offer choice of habit size and color. They do not like shade.
TOUGH PLANTS - CONCLUSION
As we always say being proactive is the best way to keep your trees healthy and safe.
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