Peter’s favourite trees
Claret ash Fraxinus angustifolia
Features: up to 20m high, 6m wide, deciduous
A hardy tree that withstands wind, prefers full sun, and tolerates soils with poor fertility. It has a medium growth rate, eventually forming a compact dome shape. Its main feature is its rich claret-red foliage in autumn. The winged seeds, called keys, ripen over summer and can be pickled and eaten. The timber is prized for handles and firewood.
Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba
Features: up to 25m high, 10m wide, deciduous
This is a slow-growing tree that needs shelter from strong winds and does best in deep, fertile soils. However, ginkgo is one of the most resilient trees, enduring since the time of the dinosaurs and surviving the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The fan-like leaves turn a bright golden yellow in autumn. Female trees are preferred in China as the fruit is edible. In NZ, males trees are often preferred over females, as the fruit has a very unpleasant odour when it rots.
Dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Features: up to 30m tall, 8m wide, conical shape, one of the few deciduous conifers
Needs shelter and grows rapidly in moist, fertile soil and even standing water. Has feathery, rich-green foliage that turns pink, gold, and reddish-brown in autumn. Named because its ancestry goes back to the dawn of time. The largest example in NZ is a majestic 32m and grows at Tupare Park in New Plymouth.
Chinese wingnut Pterocarya stenoptera
Features: 20m+, rounded crown up to 15m wide, deciduous
Quick growing in moist, well-drained, fertile soil but will tolerate clay and some drought. Similar to the Caucasian wingnut (but better, in Peter's opinion). Has half-metre long pendulous strings (called racemes) of light-green flowers in spring. These develop into eyecatching chains of small nuts, which change from green to brown and
(of course) have 'wings' attached. Yellowy-green leaves in autumn. New foliage in spring is covered in down.
Walnut Juglans regia
Features: up to 15m, spreading crown up to 10m, deciduous Everyone should plant a walnut tree, in Peter's opinion. It's a lovely spreading tree that provides lots of shelter and produces a bountiful crop. The ‘Juglans effect' – where the roots apparently kill off the undergrowth – doesn't affect pasture in NZ. Seedling trees are more robust but take longer to produce the male catkins (10+ years plus), so you don't get fruit until then unless there's another walnut upwind.
Magnolia Magnolia spp
Features: 3-10m tall, 3-4m crown, evergreen or deciduous (depending on variety) Peter has an extensive collection of magnolia varieties as he enjoys their showy perfumed flowers. The most well-known evergreen is Magnolia grandiflora (pictured above), a compact, dome-shaped tree that's remarkably tolerant of harsh weather. However, Peter says its shade is too dense for a paddock tree, and there are other big tree magnolias he considers do a better job, providing shade but also allowing good pasture growth, including: •
Magnolia campbelli, up to 30m, large white to pink flowers; •
Magnolia sargentiana, 8-20m, large white to pink flowers; •
Magnolia sprengeri, up to 20m, white to rose-red flowers.
Sugar maple Acer saccharum
Features: up to 12m high, 7m wide, broad crown, deciduous
Slow to establish. Prefers moist but well-drained fertile soils. It has stunning, bright yellow-green flowers in spring that are an excellent source of bee food. These then develop into winged fruits, which fall in autumn.
Trees in a sunny position that also get autumn chill produce the most spectacular yellow, orange, scarlet, and crimson colours, which vary from tree to tree. The hardwood timber is prized for furniture.
Persian ironwood Parrotia persica
Features: up to 8m high, 5m wide, deciduous
Prefers part shade, is hardy to the cold but doesn't like wet soils. Has multiple trunks with a textured bark of cinnamon, pink, and yellow, similar to the patterns on a plane tree. In late winter, it puts on a show with deep red flowers on the bare stems. Peter says it's one of his favourites, for its lush foliage, which transforms from greens and yellows to fiery oranges and reds.
Tupelos Nyssa spp
Features: 20m high, pyramid shape when young, then spreading out to 4m, deciduous
Peter has several Nyssa and says they're all favourites, especially Nyssa sylvatica (pictured, left) and Nyssa chinensis. They have the best autumn colour, lasting on the tree for weeks. The tiny (really tiny) pale blue flowers are a good source of food for bees, and birds love the shiny black seeds.
The wood is very tough and resistant to wear. Twigs were traditionally used as toothbrushes – chew one end to make a brush and use the other as a toothpick.