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Black gum 'Wildfire' has brilliant fall foliage.
(Pa. Horticultural Society)
Q: We are looking to replace a shade tree with a new shade tree, preferably one that's native. Do you have any suggestions?
A: I can name you four of my favorites that are both ecologically friendly native species as well as good-looking in home landscapes.
All grow to more than 30 feet tall, throw out nice shade, and are native to Pennsylvania.
1.) Black gum or black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). I really like the flaming scarlet fall foliage of this tree, which can grow 50 to 60 feet tall and about two-thirds as wide. 'Wildfire' is a particularly nice variety that also gets red new leaves in spring.
Red maple also has striking red-gold fall foliage.
2.) Red maple (Acer rubrum). Besides a canopy that can go 40 to 50 feet up and 30 to 40 feet across, red maples are also some of the most glorious fall-foliage trees (red to red-gold). The species is also fairly fast-growing and tolerant of damp soil.
3.) White oak (Quercus alba). "Strong" and "majestic" are two words that come to mind to describe this species of oak. The bark is light gray, and the fall foliage is russet-red. It's one of the biggest shade options, too, growing to 60 or even 80 feet tall and wide in 25 years or so.
4.) American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana). Of the four, this is the smallest. Hornbeams have broadly pointed leaves that turn a blend of yellow, orange and red in fall and interesting smooth gray trunks that give the tree its nickname of "musclewood." Figure on about 30 feet of height and width in 20-25 years.