Tree Index
- The trees in green are ones that we recommend. These are tried and true trees that thousands of Utah homeowners have in their yard and are very pleased with. These are also trees that our tree service has had a very positive experience with.
- The in yellow are trees that we don’t have a strong recommendation to remove or to keep. These are trees that have some problems but have positive attributes as well.
- The trees in red are trees that we have a very strong recommendation to remove from your property as soon as possible. These are known as trash or invasive trees and cause a lot of property damage. These bad trees can spread thousands of seeds and can rapidly infest your yard and landscaping with unwanted saplings. They can also lift up concrete, crack foundations, and destroy sprinkler lines, water lines, and sewer lines, not to mention the havoc they create on septic systems.
We have put together a list of common trees that we come across in our tree service. These are trees that are common and grow well in Ogden/Layton, Utah and surrounding areas. About 90% of the calls we get are regarding trees on this list. This list can be a great reference for the homeowners who are seeking tree service and want to make educated decisions. This tree guide is also very helpful for those looking to replace old trees with a better tree variety.
Softwood
Keep in mind that the fast growing softwood trees usually shed more branches and tree debris than do the slow growing hardwood trees. Homeowners often plant these trees (for example, willows and poplars) because they want immediate shade and they plan on removing them at some future point.
Generally speaking, softwoods are very fast growing and don’t have sufficient strength to withstand windstorms. They also drop a lot of debris and are the messiest of trees. These trees are short lived and rarely make it more than 30-50 years without dying (depending on variety).
Medium Hardness
For those wanting shade quickly, a happy medium density wood might be best for them—a tree whose wood has medium hardness and that grows fast but not as fast as trash trees. Sycamores and honey locusts are good examples of these medium woods. Many trees in this category are not very messy. For example, the honey locust drops small leaves that hardly need to be raked up. It also drops seedpods that look like flat giant beans. These can be raked up and gathered. Compared to a willow or a Siberian elm, there is hardly enough tree debris to clean up to worth mentioning.
Like the hardwoods, trees of medium hardness can live a long time. It is not uncommon for a sycamore to live to be over 100 years old. These trees are strong and withstand even the fiercest windstorms with little to no damage.
Hardwoods
This category includes the great oaks and maples of North America. These trees can live for hundreds of years. They are very slow growing and extremely hard. Their wood is hard to saw with a chainsaw and hard to split for firewood. Hardwood trees provide the wood for some of our most beautiful and intricate furniture, including grand pianos, antique furniture, shelves, and other heirlooms.
For many homeowners, a hardwood is a long-term investment. Often people will plant a hardwood in their yard along with a few trees from the medium and softwood category so that they get immediate shade sooner. These trees take planning because in the end, they will be the ones that remain standing. Some hardwoods like the Walnut can be messy because the walnuts fall on the grass in autumn. Other hardwoods like the maple have very little clean up and are a relatively clean tree.
Rating Guide
We rate each tree on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.