2025 Tree Options

Yard Trees (in limited situations for streets)

Street Tree Planting Strip Width (feet)

Douglas fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii)

The classic Pacific Northwest evergreen conifer. Known for its noble, upright growth and lush needles which form a beautiful downward sweeping canopy. This tree is great for wildlife habitat.

5 gallon container tree

Grand fir
(Abies grandis)

Native to Seattle, the grand fir is truly grand. The glossy green foliage has a citrusy scent when crushed. This native conifer’s narrow habit and rounded top makes it a beautiful yard tree when given room to grow. It also makes a great home for wildlife. 

7 gallon container tree

Deodar cedar
(Cedrus deodara)

This gorgeous evergreen has a pyramidal shape in youth that eventually becomes a broad pyramidal shape with a flat top. Give it room to grow! The cones are barrel shaped and sit upright on the stems. The clusters of green tufted needles and graceful pendulous branches make this tree a distinctive site in the landscape.   

7 gallon container tree

Vanderwolf's pyramid limber pine
(Pinus flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’)

A fast growing, but compact evergreen conifer with beautiful, twisted silvery blue-green needles and an upright form. The needles have a strong but pleasant fragrance when crushed.   

7 gallon container tree

Street Trees (for yards too!)

Green Gable™ tupelo

(Nyssa sylvatica ‘NSUHH’)

This black tupelo cultivar has a more pyramidal shape with very uniform branching, making it a great street tree. Its brilliant orange to red fall color is a showstopper!

7 gallon container tree

Turkish filbert
(Corylus colurna)

This impressive tree has a pyramidal form that makes for a great street or yard tree! On one hand it’s a resilient tree for urban environments, yet it still provides beauty with attractive male catkins in early spring and lush summer foliage. 

7 gallon container tree

Sterling Silver linden

(Tilia tomentosa ‘Sterling’)

This is an excellent, large shade tree with an attractive silver appearance on the underside of the leaves.  The dark green leaves have a fuzzy silver underside that also resist aphids that are known to plague other lindens.  The fragrant flowers in late spring are a mecca for pollinators. The ‘Sterling’ cultivar has a uniform growth habit and is smaller than other lindens. 

7 gallon container tree

Green Vase® zelkova

(Zelkova serrata ‘Green Vase’) 

A cultivar of zelkova known for its vigor and vase tree shape. The dark green leaves, with their toothy edge, turn lovely shades of yellow, orange, and red in the fall. With age, the bark displays a beautiful patchwork of orange, brown and gray. 

7 gallon container tree

Sawtooth oak
(Quercus accutissima)

This is a low maintenance shade tree with a rounded growth habit. The lance shaped leaves have bristly teeth and change from glossy green in the summer to a yellow russet in the fall. The mature bark has an attractive texture as it develops corky ridges.   

7 gallon container tree

Wisconsin Red American hornbeam
(Carpinus caroliniana ‘Wisconsin Red’)

A cultivar of a charming small deciduous tree, native to the eastern US, that works well under power lines and along the street. This tree produces an attractive dark green, wide-spreading canopy that turns red and orange in the fall. The smooth gray trunk has distinctive muscle like fluting evoking its other common name, musclewood.   

7 gallon container tree

Known for its beautiful fringed white spring blooms, the tree's handsome bark also provides winter interest. The leathery green leaves turn yellow in the fall. Quite uncommon in Seattle, it will make a lovely street tree under power lines or yard tree in a small space.  

7 gallon container tree

Butterflies magnolia
(Magnolia ‘Butterflies’)

This small stature tree will light up your landscape with its cup-shaped canary yellow flowers that arrive just before new leaves emerge. When you need to prune this tree, do it in mid-summer to limit suckering. 

7 gallon container trees

Eastern redbud
(Cercis canadensis) 

A harbinger of spring, this tree is known for its profusion of deep pink flowers on bare twigs in early spring. Its spreading crown provides a graceful silhouette in winter and substantial beauty in the summer.

7 gallon container trees

Golden Glory Cornelian dogwood
(Cornus mas ‘Golden Glory’)

This small round tree produces an abundance of blooms in late winter before the leaves come out. The bright yellow clusters are a great contrast to the typical wide/flat white blooms we have grown accustomed to with dogwoods. It produces a tart, yet edible red fruit in summer that is great for making jams.  

7 gallon container trees