Shrubs
for accents Trees
with attractive bark Stately
shade trees Evergreens
Trees with striking flowersKoreanspice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) -- The various viburnum species can serve just about any role except shade tree. This one grows to a height of 6 feet or more, has very fragrant flowers, fruit that changes from red to black and a dull red fall color.
Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) -- Gets 8 feet or more in height, but with a narrow habit of growth that makes it ideal as a hedge. White flowers, blue fruits are appreciated by birds. Viburnums as a genus provide a wide range of flower colors and scents, and equally variable fruit colors.
American cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) -- Known for showy flowers, attractive red fruit and excellent fall color, this shrub is tolerant of partial shade. Many other viburnums offer dynamic fall color as well.
Winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) For low maintenance and dependable red fall color, winged euonymus tolerates just about any soil condition and could fit easily into a clubhouse landscape setting. It grows slowly, is hardy and has no serious pests.
Freedom honeysuckle (Lonicera Freedom) -- This is a vigorous grower that is resistant to the witch's broom aphid. It gets 8 to 10 feet tall, with an equal spread, so it might be most useful in screen plantings between fairways or behind tees, or with lilacs or other shrubs of similar character. Foliage is gray, flowers white, and the fruit red, which attracts birds.
Rhododendrons and azaleas -- Acid-soil regions of the country can grow a wide range of ericaceous shrubs. Local suppliers can name the best-performing species and varieties. Rhododendrons are usually evergreen, while azaleas are deciduous, but both have breathtaking flowers when the golf course is just coming into spring use.
Lacebark pine (Pinus bungeana) -- It is a slow grower that can get 50 feet tall or larger, with a 25-foot spread. Has stiff, sharp needles and bark that exfoliates in patches.
Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) -- Also known secondarily as the lacebark elm, it slowly reaches a height of 50 feet or more. The mottled, exfoliating bark shows nicely on a sometimes fluted trunk. Flowers (not showy) in the fall, in contrast to other elms. Don’t confuse it with the Siberian elm (U. pumila), a tree few golf course superintendents would ever want.
Birches (Betula spp). -- These trees genuinely offer year-round attractiveness, with exfoliating bark, gracefully arching branches that sway easily in the wind, and good yellow fall color. From the common paper birch (B. papyrifera) to the river birch (B. nigra) with exfoliating bark that is pinkish-tan, most will offer eye-catching appeal to the golf course, being especially attractive when placed in front of pine or spruce. Avoid the European white birch because of susceptibility to bronze birch borer. To keep birches healthy and long-lived, plant them where their roots won't be subject to compaction from mower or golf car traffic. They make good clubhouse trees interplanted with perennial herbaceous ground covers in soil that is well drained, yet accessible to regular watering.
Yellowwood (Cladrastis lutea) -- The bark on this species is smooth and gray, with striking pendulous white flowers that show in early June. Fall color ranges from yellow to gold. Height is 35 feet, with an almost equal spread.
Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioica) -- Another favorite, with large feathery leaves, an alligator-type bark and seed pods that hang on through the winter, which require clean-up the following spring if planted in a highly maintained area. Grows to about 50 feet or more in height. The cultivar Stately Manor is a male, bearing no fruit.
Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis) -- In addition to an interesting patchy bark, this small tree (15 to 20 feet) has dependable cold hardiness and creamy flowers in midsummer. It is slow growing and needs full sun.
Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata) -- Another small tree with a cherry-like bark (dark with white lenticels) and early-summer flowers. Look for cultivars Ivory Silk and Summer Snow if consistency of form is required. A related species, the pekin lilac (S. pekinensis), is hardy to zone 4.
Silver maples (Acer saccharinum) -- Maples are perhaps the most popular shade trees because of their stately nature, relative ease in transplanting, low maintenance and striking fall color. Silver maples in particular offer great potential on golf courses because of their rapid growth and wide environmental tolerances. Select only named cultivars -- not unnamed seedlings -- and obtain them from a regional nursery.
Red maples (A. rubrum) -- These trees offer the best selections for outstanding fall color and moderate-fast growth. They have rounded crowns and small, attractive red flowers (before the leaves) in the early spring. They should not be planted north of Zone 4. Select from the following list of cultivars:
Norway maple (A. platanoides) and sugar maple (A. saccharum) -- These are also stately trees, but from the golf course superintendent's perspective, they may cause unwanted problems: shade too dense to grow grass beneath, leaf scorch when conditions are too dry, and winter sun scald on the trunk. Both tend to be less tolerant of salts than other maples.
Honeylocusts (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis) -- This fine-textured tree will cast a light, dappled shade, allowing grass to grow beneath it at maturity. Honeylocusts grow quickly and have a light-yellow fall color. Cultivars generally produce very little, if any, of the messy fruit pods seen in the wild species.
Amur corktree (Phellodendron amurense) -- This species has separate sexes, with the female trees bearing clusters of black fruit that remain through the winter. It tends to form a dense, low crown, grows quickly, and has an attractive, corky bark. Select the male cultivar Macho, which has upright, ascending branches, and of course, no fruit. Nice yellow fall color. Hardy to the southern range of Zone 3.
Firs -- The true firs (Abies spp.) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are perhaps the most graceful and stately of trees for use around the clubhouse and on the course. They both have attractive, soft foliage and maintain a pyramidal form as they age. Be sure to select the Douglas fir variety glauca for maximum cold hardiness. Both types of tree can reach 70 feet in height.
Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra) -- This tree grows slowly, maintaining a neat full shape throughout its life, making it an ideal selection in clubhouse plantings.
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) -- This is a fast-growing, rugged-looking plant that is suited for fairway plantings.
Scotch pine (P. sylvestris) -- The species is an attractive pyramidal plant when young, and develops into an entirely different, picturesque form as an older specimen, with an attractive orange bark on the trunk and branches.
Mugo pine (P. mugo mugo) -- Pines come in many shapes, such as this shrub form. It is useful as a landscape specimen around the clubhouse or to enhance the back sides of tees. These shrubs in combination with the flat-topped tree form of flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) and the shrub form, red-twigged dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), would make a great-looking cluster planting around tees and clubhouse settings or to edge a natural stand of trees in the fairway. Where the flowering dogwood is not adapted, use the pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia).
Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca densata) -- Grounds workers and out-of-bounds golfers will enjoy this tree because it has softer needles than other spruce trees, producing fewer scratches and punctures on anyone who wrestles with its limbs. It is a slower-growing spruce as well, reaching about 30 feet at maturity. It starts out with a conical shape, but each tree tends to mature to its own unique shape. It is dusty green to light blue in color and is hardy up to Zone 2.
Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) -- Easterners can select from a wider field of evergreens than is available in the Midwest, such as this fast-growing, graceful tree that easily reaches 60 feet or more at maturity.
White cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) -- This is another attractive evergreen that Midwesterners can only dream of using. It is a graceful, spire-like tree that generally tops out at about 35 feet.
Crabapples (Malus spp) Flowering crabapples offer the golf course landscape a wide diversity in spring flower color, fruiting habit, plant form and fall color. Local suppliers should be able to provide the cultivars most adapted to a particular region.
Flowering pears (Pyrus calleryana) Hardy to Zone 4. They get about 40 feet tall and are knockouts when white flowers cover them in early spring. Two cultivars of note are Autumn Blaze -- which is most winter hardy and has an excellent red fall color -- and the Bradford, which is not as hardy. Plant no farther north than the southern range of Zone 4. Redspire, a striking pyramidal form, has shiny, dark green leaves, that provide good yellow fall color. It flowers sooner than Bradford.
Ussurian pear (Pyrus ussuriensis) -- Hardier than the callery pear cultivars and every bit as showy when in flower. The Prairie Gem cultivar is a North Dakota State University introduction with a spreading habit that will remain fruitless unless another pear is within a quarter mile.
Cherry and plum (Prunus spp.) -- These species tend to sucker, and are rife with problems from fungus and bacterial diseases to pesky insects such as tent caterpillars and borers. Stay clear of any of these selections if your course has a history of problems with cherry or plum species.
Amur chokecherry (P. maacki) -- Displays white flowers, and its copper bark exfoliates.
May Day tree (P. padus Commutata) -- Has rose pink flowers, black knot may be a problem.
Lindens (Tilia spp.) -- The American linden (T. americana), the littleleaf linden (T. cordata) and all the hybrids in between (Redmond and Dropmore, for example) all produce fragrant June flowers, are widely adaptable and make excellent shade trees as well. The American linden makes a stately, open tree, getting to 75 feet or more in height, while the littleleaf is more a medium-sized tree, smaller in texture and form, usually maintaining a formal, pyramidal crown, particularly the Greenspire cultivar. Where Japanese beetles are a problem, some spraying will be necessary.
Jackman clematis (Clematis x jackmanii) -- This woody vine has stunning violet flowers and may fit into selected areas of the golf course landscape.