Trees - S -  Plant Nursery

Weeping Willow
Salix babylonica

The Weeping Willow tree, Salix Babylonica, is a rapid growing yard or landscaping tree. When mature it exhibits graceful wide spreading branches. The Weeping Willow has pendulous weeping branches, a short trunk, and has a broad rounded crown. This deciduous tree has leaves that are thin and narrow, sometimes with whitened or silky undersides. It also is used in low moist areas like creek banks or areas that are very moist. It is one of the first trees to leaf out in the spring and one of the last to drop leaves in the fall. The foliage is a shimmering light green color in summer and turns yellow in the fall. The Weeping Willow trees are mentioned many times in literature and poetry from the time of Shakespeare. The usual reference is to shimmering leaves. It is graceful, grows fast, and adaptable.

Pussy Willow - French
Salix caprea

The French Pussy Willow, Salix caprea, grows well in almost any soil but it is a good idea to supplement it with peat moss, leaf mold or compost. They require full sun to thrive, but will survive in the shade as well. As with most willows, they do best when given lots of water. Although they can be allowed to grow unpruned, the plant will benefit from regular pruning after blooming. Prune the lowest branches back to the trunk, and prune for shape. You can even cut the tree back to a six inch stump every 2-3 years . Flowers form on the previous season's growth, not on new growth so do not prune until the flowers have faded. For early bloom, cut branches of pussy willows may be brought in and set in a water filled vase in a sunny window anytime after the middle of January. The catkins will develop and make a nice display for a considerable time.

Pussy Willow
Salix discolor

The Pussy Willow, Salix discolor, this form of Pussy Willow has silver catkins. This fast growing shrub is suitable for wet areas grow well in almost any soil. They require full sun to thrive, but will survive in the shade as well. As with most willows, they do best when given lots of water. Although they can be allowed to grow unpruned, the plant will benefit from regular pruning after blooming. Flowers form on the previous season's growth, not on new growth so do not prune until the flowers have faded. For early bloom, cut branches of pussy willows may be brought in and set in a water filled vase in a sunny window anytime after the middle of January. The catkins will develop and make a nice display for a considerable time. This is the hardiest Pussy Willow that there is.

Pussy Willow - Pink
Salix discolor 'Rosea'

The Pink Pussy Willow, Salix discolor rosea, this form of Pussy Willow has pale pink catkins. This fast growing shrub is suitable for wet areas grow well in almost any soil. They require full sun to thrive, but will survive in the shade as well. As with most willows, they do best when given lots of water. Although they can be allowed to grow unpruned, the plant will benefit from regular pruning after blooming. Flowers form on the previous season's growth, not on new growth so do not prune until the flowers have faded. For early bloom, cut branches of pussy willows may be brought in and set in a water filled vase in a sunny window anytime after the middle of January. The catkins will develop and make a nice display for a considerable time.

Flame Willow
Salix 'Flame'

The Flame Willow, Salix 'flame', gets it's name from the stems that turn red in late fall and lasts until early spring. It grows multi-stemmed, more like a shrub, unless trained otherwise.The Flame willow is very hardy and responds well to pruning. Plant these as specimens or in a line along a border. They grow fast and can be planted as privacy screens where the fall color will be fabulous!

Willow Hybrid
Salix hybrid

The Willow Hybrid tree, Salix Willow Hybrid, also called a Hybrid Willow, will, on average, and under normal conditions, grow six feet per year. Under ideal conditions and on good sites the growth rate is even faster, up to twenty feet a year. Planted as a hedge, screen, windbreak, or to line a road or drive, you can expect this tree to be over 20’ tall and 15’ wide in just three years. This deciduous tree can grow to over 70’ tall. This tree will require supplemental water until established. It is not a Weeping Willow, but an upright growing majestic tree. Many homeowners use this tree as a shade tree because of its fast growth and quick shade.

Willow - Japanese
Salix Integra Flamingo

The Japanese Willow, 'Salix Integra Flamingo', produces beautiful pink foliage all season long. The outer leaves turn a bright pink while the inner leaves are green and white. The Japanese Willow has 4 season interest. In the spring, before it leafs out, it produces hundreds of slender catkins that contrast brilliantly against the deep red stems. Then you see the pink summer foliage and in the fall and winter the striking red stems. You may prune the plant back for another flush of pink foliage later in the season. Regular pruning will promote a denser and bushier plant. Can also work great as a container plant.

Willow - Dappled
Salix Integra 'Hakuro Nishiki'

The Dappled Willow, Salix Integra 'Hakuro-Nishiki', also known as Variegated Willow, is a small shrub that produces leaves that are variegated when they are young. The young branches grow out of the crown in all directions and will begin drooping slightly. This plant displays good winter interest with coral and red stems that contrasts with the landscape. Like all Willows, it thrives in moist soils. Prune in early spring to promote its elegant display and prune to promote variegated foliage. The Dappled Willow is a superb accent plant and it will be a focal point in beds and borders. The Variegated Willow is also used for foundation plantings, alongside water features and natural areas. Good in containers, also.

Navajo Peking Willow
Salix matsudana 'Navajo'

The Navajo Peking Willow, Salix matsudana 'Navajo', is also known as Globe Willow because of its distinctly round form. The tree looks as if it's been sheared into a perfect ball.  It is well known for its fast growth and adaptability to a wide range of soil conditions. This is one Willow that can take drought, so it is popular in hot and drier areas. Fast growth and weak wood mean that the plant should be pruned regularly to avoid breakups in wind storms. The flowers are catkins produced early in the spring. It is a species of willow native to northwestern China.

Black Willow
Salix nigra

The Black Willow tree, Salix nigra, is a small to large, short-lived, deciduous tree. It is fast growing and may reach maturity within 30 years. Other names sometimes used are swamp willow, Goodding willow, southwestern black willow, Dudley willow, and sauz . This tree usually obtains a height of about 50 feet. The massive trunks are generally leaning and are often divided. The bark is thick and deeply divided into furrows separating thick, scaly ridges. This deciduous tree has a crown that is broad and open with stout branches. Black Willow trees have twigs that are slender and easily detached. Leaf blades are variable in size, the larger to 4.7 inches long. Black willow roots are shallow and laterally extensive making them an excellent choice for stream banks and wet locations.

Prairie Cascade Willow
Salix pentaphyllum 'Prairie Cascade'

The Prairie Cascade Willow, 'Salix pentaphyllum "Prairie Cascade", is a fast growing, trademarked hybrid willow from Morden Research Station in Manitoba. The Prairie Cascade is a hardy tree with glossy green foliage and a weeping habit. The stems are golden and of interest in the winters. It grows as a multi-stemmed plant. Its smaller size makes it a good choice for smaller yards. The average growth is about 3 ft. per year. They hold their leaves late into the fall and require very little maintenance. Well suited for moist areas, and will grow in almost any type of soil. This tree is a hybrid combining the form of the Weeping Willow with the glossy foliage of the Laurel Willow.

Dwarf Blue Leaf Arctic Willow
Salix purpurea 'Nana'

The Dwarf Blue Leaf Arctic Willow, Salix purpurea 'Nana', is a fast grower and it will tolerate wet soil conditions.This shrub provides quantities of slender, upright stems which makes for a soft looking shrub which waves beautifully in the wind. To keep it looking it's best, provide regular pruning. The blue-green leaves are very attractive on the mounded shape. A fine textured shrub.

Sargent Flowering Cherry
Sargent Cherry

The Cherry, Sargent, Prunus sargentii, is not only the hardiest of the ornamental cherry trees, but also one of the largest and most beautiful. The tree's abundant spring flowers are deep pink and appear a week or so before most double-flowering cherries. Black fruits, beloved by birds, appear in summer. The Sargent cherry tree has polished, chestnut-brown bark and dark green deciduous leaves that turn red in fall. Plant Sargent in full sun in well-drained soil. It is not difficult to transplant, and lives longer than other cherry trees, sometimes more than 50 years. Cherry trees can be used as specimens and shade trees on larger properties.

Sassafras Tree
Sassafrax variifolium

The Sassafras tree, Sassafrax variifolium, also known as the Sassafrac, Saxifrac, Smelling Stick, Aguetree, and Cinnamonwood tree. This widespread Eastern U.S. native is ideal for naturalistic landscaping. Sassafras is a native tree, growing in rich woods from southern Maine to Ontario, Michigan, and Kansas and south to Florida and Texas. The sassafras occurs in the North as a shrub, but in the Southern States it sometimes attains a height of 100 feet. This deciduous tree has leaves that are shaped like a mitten. The yellowish green, fragrant flowers are borne in clusters which appear in early spring. The fruit, which ripens in September, is about the size of a pea. All parts of the tree are aromatic. The bark of the root, which is in reasonably constant demand is collected in spring or autumn. The production of sassafras oil by distillation of the root and root bark is a small industry in the southeastern section of the country. Leaves are a medium green and turn orange, red, or yellow in fall.

Saucer Magnolia
Saucer Magnolia

The Magnolia, Saucer, Magnolia x soulangiana, produces a spectacular flower display in early-spring with goblet-shaped blossoms that are pinkish-purple outside, white inside. It is a medium to fast-growing tree that is upright in youth, then has low, wide spreading branches and a rounded form at maturity. It becomes a multi-stemmed, spreading tree, 25 feet tall with a 20 to 30-foot spread with bright, attractive gray bark. Saucer Magnolia prefers excellent, rich soil with plenty of organic matter. It must be well drained but moist. Prune as needed after flowering but before setting buds for next season. Plant in protected area to delay blooming as long as possible. Morning sun with filtered shade in the heat of day is ideal.

Scarlet Curls Willow
Scarlet Curls Willow

The Willow, Scarlet Curls, Salix matsudana x S. alba 'Scarlet Curls', is a round-shaped, vigorous ornamental tree with golden brown wavy branches, twisted twigs, and even wavy-edged leaves. Its twisted scarlet red stems spiral upwards. The newer stems are red in winter with older branches being golden brown. This medium sized tree is a form of the corkscrew willow and can be used as a specimen, beside a pond or stream, or at the back of the property.It prefers full sun and moist, average soil. Scarlet Curls Willow has roots that can be invasive.

Scarlet Oak
Scarlet Oak

The Oak, Scarlet, Quercus coccinea, is often planted as an ornamental tree, popular for its bright red fall color, and is a great shade tree. It is also called black oak or red oak and generally has a poor form, irregular crown, and many dead branches. It is a large rapid-growing tree of the Eastern United States found on a variety of soils in mixed forests, especially light sandy and gravelly upland ridges and slopes. This oak tree has leaves, which to the untrained eye, may resemble the pin oaks. Scarlet Oak's acorns are 1/2 to 1 inch long, with a scaled cap covering 1/2 of the nut. It prefers part shade to full sun and adapts to a variety of soil.

Showy Mountain Ash
Showy Mountain Ash

The Showy Mountain Ash, Sorbus decora, is a smaller, rounded, ornamental tree that is grown for its white flowers, handsome foliage, and showy red fruit. These small white flowers bloom from June to July. Its branches spread to form a narrow, open, and round topped crown. The hardiest of the species in this country, it is slow growing and resistant to disease. Own root. It is a main source of food for birds, who will scatter the seeds. The fruits are not edible for humans. This plant is attractive to bees and butterflies. Showy Mountain Ash has average water needs; water regularly; do not overwater.

Maple - Sienna Glen®
Sienna Glen Maple

The Sienna Glen® Maple, Acer freemanni, is a naturally occurring hybrid found on an abandoned farmstead in Lake Elmo, MN. It has a distinct, upright, pyramidal growth habit which is readily apparent as a young tree, and becomes a broad pyramid when mature. Sienna exhibits vigorous growth. The branches are borne closer together, finer and more delicate. The wood is harder, stouter and exhibits less drooping. The smaller, finer texture dark-green leaves have a silvery underside. Fall color is a mix of yellow, orange and red. A Dennis Heins introduction, Sienna Glen® Maple is used by landscape architects because of its broad pyramidal form, fine texture and interesting fall coloration. It is a reliable and useful choice with its natural form, hardiness, adaptability to a variety of soil conditions, and low maintenance!

Silver Cloud® Maple
Silver Cloud Maple

The Silver Cloud™ Maple, Acer saccharinum 'Silver Cloud', is a cultivar that was selected in Manitoba, Canada for its extreme cold hardiness, excellent upright-oval growth habit, compact crown, and strong central leader. Silver Cloud™ is a medium to fast growing tree that will form a dense oval crown with spreading branches. Silver cloud is often called soft maple because the wood is the softest of the maples used for lumber. It grows best in full sunlight in a wide variety of soils, that are well drained and with adequate moisture. Resistant to pests and disease, it makes an excellent shade tree for large spaces in residential and recreation areas.

Silver Linden
Silver Linden

The Linden, Silver, Tilia tomentosa, is a beautiful deciduous tree with a pyramidal form when young, but as it ages it develops into an upright silhouette with an oval canopy, and often has multiple trunks. It is a great shade tree with light gray, smooth bark, and dark green leaves, that are four to five inches long, and bright silver and fuzzy below. This causes the tree to almost appear as if it is shimmering with each little breeze. In early summer, the tree is perfumed with extremely fragrant clusters of small, yellow/white blossoms. The leaves turn yellow before dropping in autumn. Being pollution tolerant, it is quite popular for use as a shade, specimen, or street tree.

Cottonwood - Siouxland
Siouxland'

The Souixland Cottonwood tree, Populus deltoides, 'Siouxland', is a very fast growing, cottonless cottonwood with a rounded head at maturity. These Cottonwood trees display shimmering foliage which is rust resistant. Cottonless Cottonwood trees are not only fast growing seedless hybrid, they also do well in dry conditions. This deciduous tree has large ornamental and glossy leaves. It tolerates alkaline conditions and pollutants. This Cottonwood tree is pyramidal in form and is fast growing. Up to 4-5 foot of growth per year is not uncommon in good soil. The Cottonwood trees exhibit a yellow fall color. This tree provides good shade and cover for wildlife.

Arborvitae - Skybound
Skybound Arborvitae

Arborvitae - Skybound, Thuja occidentalis 'Skybound', is an exceptionally hardy evergreen shrub or small tree with a rigid columnar habit of growth and rich dark green scale-like foliage. It can be the ultimate pillar in your landscape. Use for screening, as a tall hedge, or to accent a building. The scale-like leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color and the flowers are not ornamentally significant. This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. Skybound will grow to be about 18 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate and does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out.

Snow Drift
Snow Drift Crabapple

The Snow Drift crabapple is a very profuse bloomer. A good pollinizer for medium to late blooming varieties. It has small to medium sized white flowers that attracts a lot of bees. Snow Drift' Crabapple is a splendid tree and little pruning is required to develop a well-formed, rounded canopy. There appears to be little variation in shape among trees of this cultivar, a characteristic which is coveted by landscape architects. The bright white flowers in the spring give a refreshing look to the landscape and are followed by small, red-orange fruit eaten by birds. Fall color is good, providing a dull yellow glow for two or three weeks. It combines beauty with its great pollinizing chacteristics.

Ninebark - Snowfall
Snowfall Ninebark

The Snowfall Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius 'Snowfall', is a Bailey introduction. This compact Ninebark bears clusters of attractive white flowers that are larger and more showy than the species, and it appears in late May and June in a lovely cascading display. A tough shrub for difficult sites, including dry situations, this selection was made by Peter Dziuk from the North Shores of Lake Superior. It will take some shade but will exhibit the best color in full sun. The Snowfall would be an excellent plant in back of the perennial garden or in mixed in shrub borders. As a landscape plant, Snowfall can and should be pruned regularly, and even a harsh pruning every few years can keep an unruly ninebark under control.

Southern Magnolia
Southern Magnolia

The Magnolia, Southern, Magnolia grandiflora, is an aristocrat of trees. It grows well throughout Georgia, is widely adaptable to a variety of soils, and has few pest problems. With glossy evergreen foliage, and large white fragrant blossoms, it truly is one of the most handsome and durable native trees for Southern landscapes. Southern magnolia is most frequently grown as a single specimen tree in the landscape. Its coarse-textured leaves provide an excellent background for shrubs, particularly needle evergreens. It should be planted where lowest branches can grow to the ground because it is difficult to grow anything underneath. Since the tree sheds old leaves each spring and seed pods in late summer, it is best to plant it in an ornamental bed instead of an open lawn area. It can be grown in sun or shade. Southern Magnolia prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils, is tolerant of high moisture levels, and can be planted in areas prone to wet/dry fluctuations in soil moisture.

Star Magnolia
Star Magnolia

The Magnolia, Star, Magnolia stellata, is one of the smallest magnolias, producing a showy cloud of white flowers in early spring. It is a very slow growing perennial shrub or small tree native to Japan. It features its large fragrant flowers before the appearance of the leaves. The flowers can be injured by late spring frosts and wind. Star Magnolia produces a reddish-green, knobby aggregate fruit which is about 2 inches long that matures and opens in early autumn. The fruit often drops before fully developed, but mature fruit opens by slits to reveal orange-red seeds. The shrub prefers deep, acidic soil and full sun. Use as a single specimen or a foundation planting.

Sugar Tyme® Crabapple
Sugar Tyme Crabapple

The Sugar Tyme® Crabapple, Malus 'Sutyzam' is a disease resistant crabapple that was a 1999 Michigan Growers' Choice Award winner. It has crisp green foliage and pale buds that open to masses of gorgeous, fragrant flowers snowy flowers in May, which completely cover the tree. The Sugar Tyme Crabapple has large, deep red berries that ripen in fall and persist through winter. Vigorous and very disease-resistant, it forms an upright, oval shape and is a bit smaller than some other flowering crabs. Sugar Tyme is spectacular in the landscape since the rich red fruits remain on the tree all year. This tree does well in most soil, but will be more attractive if fed peat and compost.

Summit Ash
Summit Ash

The Summit Ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica 'Summit', is a vigorous selection of green ash that features a straight trunk and is uniformly upright in habit. Being very hardy, it tends to color early in the fall with golden yellow color. Although reported to be a female selection, seed production has not been a problem. It's rarely to never fed on by Japanese beetles. Once developed properly in the nursery, the trunk remains straight up through the crown of the tree, and the branch habit is reported to be better than the species. Early pruning helps assure that this happens. The attractive bark is red-tinged and furrowed, and it is reportedly thicker than other Ashes. The tree grows quickly and can sometimes reach 80 feet in height. Summit has green to reddish-purple flowers that appear in spring. This tree has been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or drought are common.

Magnolia - Susan
Susan Magnolia

Magnolia - Susan, Magnolia x 'Susan', is one of the eight "Little Girl" magnolias. Susan has erect flowers that are a reddish purple color with slightly twisted petals that will smother the stems before the leaves emerge. It is late blooming so avoids frost damage to the flower buds. A bushy shrub that grows about 15 feet tall and wide, Susan will embellish the landscape every season! Susan Magnolia grows as a multistemmed large shrub or small trees, bearing slightly leathery leaves that stand up well to summer heat and drought. Winter reveals the plant architecture highlighted by smooth grey bark and fuzzy flower buds. It grows best in full sun to light shade; prefers loam soil with adequate moisture; tolerates poorly drained, heavy clay soils or dry areas.