1. McNamara Complex Sapling “ReLeaf” Giveaway April 23, 24, & 25 11 AM – 1 PM McNamara Cafe
2019
Happy Earth Day

2. How to Choose What Trees to Plant
Decide what you are looking for:
Shade? Flowers? Fall foliage? Screening? Fruit? Wildlife habitat?
Consider your Property Constraints
Available space: -Proximity to underground pipes (sewer, septic, water, gas) -Location of overhead power lines How a tree planting my impact your neighbors (views, leaf litter, shade, etc.)
It's also important to note plant trees where their roots will damage foundations, patios, pathways, leach fields, etc. A general rule is to select trees that will fit in the available spaces of your property without being less than 30 percent of their height from any of these objects. For example, a tree that will grow to 100 feet in height should be at least 30 feet from any of these.
Temperature
We are in USDA plant hardiness zone 7. The zones are based on the coldest annual temperature in your area to determine which tree will survive the winter.
Rainfall
Some trees need just a bit of water to get established in their first two years while others will suffer without an inch of water per week for their entire lives. In the name of not being wasteful, always consider your climate and try to plant appropriate species that do well with the natural rainfall patterns.
Soil Type
Some trees tolerate heavy clay while others are adapted to growing in light sandy soil. Rich, fertile soil is essential for certain species, but there are also trees that thrive in rocky, barren environments. Some are specialized for acidic soils or alkaline soils while others do well in either.
Mess and Hazard Concerns
Trees with messy fruits can stain the surfaces under them, so it best to avoid planting these species over patios, decks or parking areas. Nuts can be a hazard on hard surfaces as they roll under your feet like marbles. Some trees are also known for dripping sap or emanating huge plumes of pollen.

3. Zone 7

4. Time to Plant: How to care for your sapling There is no better time to plant a tree than yesterday!
Your sapling should be planted as soon as possible. Keep the tree in the shade with its roots wrapped with moistened paper or in a plastic bag, but only for a day or two at most. Spray water on the roots to keep them moist. Don’t let the roots dry out!
Identify an appropriate site to plant
Who owns the land? Do you see power lines overhead, or a road nearby? Is there a house or permanent structure nearby? Are other trees nearby? How much sunlight does this spot get? Is there a water source nearby to water the tree? Are there pipes or wires underground? How fast does water drain from the soil?
Prepare your site. Remove heavy brush and grass.
Dig a hole that is 6 to 12 inches wider than the roots are when they spread out.
Be careful when you are handling the tree. The roots are fragile since they are not covered by soil.
Make sure that the topmost root on the tree is just below the top of the hole.
If you plant the tree too deep, it may die.
Hold the tree upright and add the soil in layers, pressing down each layer with your hands. When the hole is half full, add water to settle the soil. Let the water drain, then check to make sure that the topmost root on the tree is still just below the top soil level. If it settled deeper in the soil, pull the tree up slightly and rework the soil around the roots. Finish filling up the rest of the hole.
Make a 3-inch- high donut-shaped mound around the edge of the roots with soil. When you water your tree, this “berm” will make sure all of the water goes right to the roots.

5. American Plum
The American plum grows as a large shrub or small tree, reaching up to 15 feet (4.6 m). It is adapted to coarse- and medium-textured soils, but not to fine soils. The shrub is winter-hardy, but has little tolerance for shade, drought, or fire. Its growth is most active in spring and summer, and it blooms in mid-spring. It propagates by seed, but the rate of spread by seed is slow.
The roots are shallow, widely spread, and send up suckers. The numerous stems per plant become scaly with age. The tree has a broad crown. The branches are thorny. The leaves are alternately arranged, with an oval shape. The leaf length is usually 2–4 in (5.1–10.2 cm) long. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and under side is smooth and pale. The small white flowers with five petals occur singly or in clusters in the leaf axils. The globular fruits are about 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter.

6. Arrowwood Viburnum
A multi-stemmed, rounded shrub with creamy white late spring or early summer flowers. Leaves are lustrous, dark green in summer changing to yellow to glossy red and reddish- purple in the fall. Flowers are followed by ½" blue-black berries that ripen in early fall. This shrub provides food, cover, and nesting sites for birds, and larval food for butterflies and moths. Grows 6'-15 high with a comparable spread. Prefers well-drained soils and full sun to partial shade.

7. Black Cherry
Black cherry, also known as "Wild Cherry," is usually a small tree, although it can sometimes grow up to 80 feet tall.
It can grow in almost any soil, and because it can tolerate shade, as an understory plant.
The black cherry leaves are dark green on top, and light green on bottom. They grow up to five inches long and two inches wide. Leaves turn yellow to red in the Fall.
The black cherry flowers are small and clustered in
Columns. These trees bloom in April and May.
The fruits are small and turn from orange to red to
black. Many animals eat the fruits.
The bark of black cherry is dark gray and scaly. As the
tree gets older, the bark gets rougher.

8. Buttonbush
Buttonbush is an easy-to-recognize bush that grows in water or moist soil. It is easy to identify because of its flowers and fruits. They are usually seen in marshes, and bordering streams, ponds, and lakes. They also grow in wet woods, thickets, and ditches.
This bush can grow up to 15 feet tall, but is usually much shorter (few feet). Its leaves are usually between three and six inches long, and are shiny, dark green and pointed.
Buttonbush flowers are clustered in white "balls," about 1 1/2 inches wide (ping-pong ball size).
When the flowers disappear,
they leave brown, ball-like
fruits filled with seeds.
Buttonbush blooms from June to
August; fruits stay on the plant from
September to October.

9. Elderberry
Native shrubs grow 6-26 Ft tall, less commonly small single-stemmed trees, young twigs soft and pithy but the wood hard; bark thin, grayish to dark brown, irregularly furrowed and ridged. The elderberry is common along stream banks, river banks, and open places in riparian areas lower than < 3000 m.
The leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets (rarely 3 or 11). Each leaf is 5–30 cm (2.0–11.8 in) long, and the leaflets have serrated margins. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-colored flowers in late spring; these are followed by clusters of small black, blue-black, or red berries (rarely yellow or white).

10. White (Flowering) Dogwood
A small deciduous tree growing to 10 m high, often wider than it is tall when mature, with a trunk diameter of up to 30 cm. A 10-year-old tree will stand about 5 m tall. The leaves are opposite, simple, ovate, 6–13 cm long and 4–6 cm broad, with an apparently entire margin (actually very finely toothed, under a lens); they turn a rich red-brown in fall. Flowering dogwood does best horticulturally in moist, acidic soil in a site with some afternoon shade, but good morning sun. It does not do well when exposed to intense heat sources such as adjacent parking lots or air conditioning compressors. It also has a low salinity tolerance. The hardiness zone is 5–9 and the preferred pH is between 6.0–7.0. In urban and suburban settings, care should be taken not to inflict mower damage on the trunk or roots, as this increases the tree’s susceptibility to disease and pest pressure.

11. Gray Dogwood
This tough, low-maintenance shrub offers subtle year-round beauty. White panicles of flowers brighten the landscape in June. White berries attract many birds in the late summer and early fall. And the reddish-pink fruit stems persist into the winter, adding a nice color contrast to the gray bark.
The gray dogwood grows to a height of 10–15' and a spread of 10–15' at maturity.
This shrub grows in an irregular to rounded shape and
can be cut back to the ground if it becomes too large
and woody. It blooms for 7–10 days in late May or early
June, with small, creamy white flowers arranged in flat
panicles.
This shrub will transplants easily and features grayish
-green to dark green leaves that are narrow-elliptic to
ovate-lanceolate and 2–4" long, turning reddish-purple
in the fall.
It produces ¼" white fruit that grows on reddish-pink
pedicels and matures in late summer or early fall.
The pedicels are exposed when the fruit falls, adding
nice fall/winter color.

12. Hazelnut
This is a great tree for wildlife. The dense, low growth habit provides cover and nesting sites for many wildlife species.
It has long been valued as an ornamental and for planting in naturalized settings. It grows in sun or partial shade and is useful for borders because of its colonial tendency. The leaves turn orange to red or purple in the fall.
This tree occurs in moist to dry woods and thickets, forest margins, roadsides, and fencerows and other disturbed areas. It grows best on rich, moist, well-drained soils but often may be found close to stream sides and also grows on prairies.
Open habitats are common, but it
also can grow successfully in deep
shade and is found at 0-750
meters (2460 Ft) in elevation. This species
flowers in March–May before the
emergence of leaves and fruits in
July–September.

13. Willow Oak
A medium-sized tree growing to 90 feet tall, with a trunk up to 4.5 feet diameter.
The Willow oak is one of the most popular trees for horticultural planting, due to its rapid growth, hardiness, balance between axial and radial dominance, ability to withstand both sun and shade, light green leaf color and full crown.
It is most commonly found growing on lowland
floodplains, often along streams, but rarely also
in uplands with poor drainage.

14. Persimmon
Persimmon grows through 66 feet, in well-drained soil. In summer, this species produces fragrant flowers which are dioecious, so one must have both male and female plants to obtain fruit. Most cultivars are parthenocarpic (setting seedless fruit without pollination). The flowers are pollinated by insects and wind. The fruiting typically begins when the tree is about 6 years old.
The fruit is round or oval and usually orange-yellow and sometimes bluish and from 0.79 through 2.4 inches in diameter.
In the U.S. South and Midwest, the
fruits are referred to as simply
Persimmons or "'Simmons",
and are popular in desserts and
cuisine.

15. Red Maple
Brings color to your landscape year-round. Green stems turn red in winter, new leaves are red-tinged, turning to green. Fall color is deep red or yellow.
Flowers are also red. Fast growing and tolerant of many soils. Grows to 40' to 60', 40' spread. (zones 3-9) Consuming .03% of dry wilted leaves can cause toxicity to horses.

16. Red Osier Dogwood
Description - Red Osier dogwood is a woody deciduous shrub generally m ( feet) tall. The bark and twigs are reddish to purple and fairly smooth from autumn to late spring; after the leaves have fallen, the deep burgundy branches add color to the winter landscape. Flowering occurs from June to August. Landscaping & ornamental - Often planted as an ornamental, both to beautify the landscape and to attract birds. Dogwood is often used for landscaping and as a secondary plant in windbreaks.
Establishment - Red Osier dogwood grows in soils that are saturated for at least a portion of the growing season. Red Osier dogwood is common on the edges of lakes, ponds, within wetlands, and along streams. Not as tolerant of long-term root saturation as are some other shrubs, dogwood seems to prefer wetland margins where soils are nitrogen-rich, saturated, and shallowly inundated in the spring, and may be completely dry by late summer. It is tolerant of fluctuating water tables.

17. Redbud
The Redbud typically grows to 20–30 feet tall with a 26–33 foot spread. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches.
The leaves of the Redbud are alternate, simple, heart shaped.
The flowers are showy, light to dark magenta pink in color, ½ inch long, appearing in clusters from Spring to early Summer, on bare stems before the leaves, sometimes on the trunk itself.

18. River Birch
River birch are the trees planted in front of the McNamara Complex
They are commonly found in flood plains and/or swamps. It is a deciduous tree growing to feet with a trunk 20 to 59 inches in diameter, often with multiple trunks. The bark is variable, usually dark gray-brown to pinkish-brown and scaly, but in some individuals, smooth and creamy pinkish-white, exfoliating in curly papery sheets.
While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its bark is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for landscape use.
As the bark exfoliates, it accumulates at the base of the river birch and prevents competition of other plants nearby.
Full sun or partial shade; best in soils that are moist but well drained with a slightly acid pH; can tolerate sites that are wet from time to time; does not respond well to drought.

19. Serviceberry
Large shrub or small tree with beautiful fall colors. White spring flowers giving way to 1/4" fruit loved by birds.
The serviceberry grows to a height of 15–25' and a spread of 15–25' at maturity.
This tree grows at a medium rate, with height increases of 13–24" per year.
Full sun and partial shade are best for this tree, meaning it prefers a minimum of four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day.
The serviceberry grows well in acidic, moist and well-drained soils.
Blooms in March and April (depending on location), with delicate white flowers arranged in clusters.
Is one of the finest small trees for fall color, with leaves turning vivid shades of red and gold.
Produces berry-like fruit that ripens in June, changing from green to red to purplish black.
Grows in a rounded shape.

20. Silky Dogwood
Description - Silky dogwood is a large shrub, often 6-10 feet in height. The growth habit is upright rounded, but where stems are in contact with the ground, roots are formed. This behavior creates thickets. Young dogwoods have bright red stems in the fall, winter and early spring, which turn reddish-brown in the summer. As the shrub matures, the stems turn reddish-brown year-round and later gray. Uses - The primary use of this species is for field and farmstead windbreaks and wildlife borders. It is also being used with willows for streambank protection. Other beneficial uses are for fish and wildlife habitat improvement, slope stabilization, borders, and as an ornamental.

21. Spicebush
This is a common forest shrub that is in full bloom at the end of March and beginning of April. Spicebush is a small tree that grows 5 to 10 feet high. In early spring its branches are outlined in delicate yellow flowers. This is one of the earliest shrubs to bloom in the eastern U.S., and it is typically found in moist woodlands. The yellow flowers of spicebush lack petals, so on closer inspection you’ll notice that that each flower is composed of just six sepals. Only the female plants have these conspicuous yellow flowers.
The plant puts on a second show in the fall, when beautiful red Spicebush berries ripen in September. These oblong berries are loaded with nutrients and are readily consumed by migrating birds and small mammals. Robins and other thrushes especially enjoy the berries, and many times I’ve witnessed flocks descending into the Spicebush thickets around my house to gorge on the fruit.

22. Sycamore
An American sycamore tree can often be easily distinguished from other trees by its mottled exfoliating bark which flakes off in great irregular masses, leaving the surface mottled, and greenish-white, gray and brown. A sycamore can grow to massive proportions, typically reaching up to 30 to 40 m (98 to 131 feet) high and 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6.6 feet) in diameter when grown in deep soils.
This tree grows at a fast rate, with height increases of more than 24" per year and features large, leathery leaves that are 6–12" wide with 3–5 lobes and deep green coloring.
The sycamore tree is often divided near the ground into several secondary trunks, very free from branches. Spreading limbs at the top make an irregular, open head. Roots are fibrous. The
trunks of large trees are often hollow.
This tree produces tiny green flowers in dense,
round heads in the spring.
Yields hairy, dry, soft brown balls that are ¾–1¼"
in diameter hanging in groups of 2–7. Each ball
encases a small seed.