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Staff
Jesse Randall
Carol Elsberry
Claudette Sandoval-Green
Last Updated:
January 11, 2012
Alternatives to Ash
(Fraxinus spp.)
Produced by Jeff Iles
Department of Horticulture
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-1100
iles@iastate.edu
As the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) continues to infest and kill native ash species in the upper Midwest (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois), nursery and landscape professionals in Iowa appropriately are reducing or eliminating green, white, black, and blue ash from their inventories and designs and replacing them with a host of other useful and pest-resistant tree species. While not all-inclusive, this list does describe some of today’s best shade tree selections suitable for the Iowa landscape.
| Deciduous Shade Trees | Height/Width | Growth Habit | |
| Acer freemanii - Freeman Maple | |||
| Jeffersred (Autumn Blaze®) | 50'/45' | Broadly-oval | |
| DTR 102 (Autumn Fantasy®) | 40'/30' | Broadly-oval | |
| Marmo | 50'/30' | Upright-oval | |
| Morgan (Indian Summer) | 45'/40' | Rounded | |
| Sienna (Sienna Glen®) | 45'/35' | Pyramidal | |
| Acer miyabei - Miyabe Maple | |||
| Morton (State Street®) | 45'/30' | Upright-oval | |
| Acer platanoides - Norway Maple | |||
| Deborah | 45'/40' | Rounded | |
| Ezestre (Easy Street®) | 40'/20' | Narrow-pyramidal | |
| Fairview | 45'/35' | Upright-oval | |
| Pond (Emerald Lustre®) | 45'/40' | Rounded | |
| Emerald Queen | 50'/40' | Broadly-oval | |
| Princeton Gold | 35'/30' | Oval | |
| Acer truncatum - Hybrid Maple | |||
| Warrenred (Pacific Sunset®) | 30'/25' | Upright-spreading | |
| Acer rubrum - Red Maple | |||
| Bailcraig (Scarlet Jewell®) | 50'/30' | Upright | |
| Franksred (Red Sunset®) | 45'/35' | Upright-oval | |
| Magnificent Magenta (Burgundy Belle®) | 50'/40' | Oval | |
| Frank Jr. (Redpointe®) | 45'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| New World | 40'/20' | Narrow-oval | |
| Polara (Rubyfrost®) | 45'/40' | Broadly-oval | |
| Acer saccharinum - Silver Maple | |||
| Silver Cloud | 50'/30' | Upright-oval | |
| Skinneri | 50'/40' | Upright-oval | |
| Acer saccharum - Sugar Maple | |||
| Bailsta (Fall Fiesta®) | 50'/50' | Upright-oval | |
| Commemoration | 50'/35' | Oval-rounded | |
| Endowment | 50'/20' | Columnar | |
| Legacy | 50'/35' | Oval | |
| Morton (Crescendo®) | 40'/30' | Broadly-oval | |
| Green Mountain | 45'/35' | Broadly-oval | |
| Deciduous Shade Trees | Height/Width | Growth Habit | |
| Alnus hirsuta - Manchurian Alder | |||
| Harbin (Prairie Horizon®) | 40'/30' | Upright | |
| Betula nigra - River Birch | |||
| Cully (Heritage®) | 45'/30' | Oval | |
| Betula platyphylla - Asian White Birch | |||
| VerDale (Prairie Vision®) | 35'/30' | Upright-oval | |
| Betula populifolia - Gray Birch | |||
| Whitespire Sr. | 40'/25' | Pyramidal-oval | |
| Celtis occidentalis - Hackberry | 50'/30' | Ascending/arching | |
| Corylus colurna - Turkish Filbert | 40'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo | |||
| Autumn Gold | 45'/35' | Broadly-pyramidal | |
| Halka | 45'/40' | Oval | |
| Magyar | 60'/40' | Upright-oval | |
| PNI 2720 (Princeton Sentry®) | 40'/15' | Narrow-pyramidal | |
| The President (Presidential Gold®) | 50'/40' | Broadly-pyramidal | |
| Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis - Freeman Maple | |||
| Harve (Northern Acclaim®) | 45'/35' | Upright-spreading | |
| Skycole (Skyline®) | 50'/35' | Pyramidal | |
| Gymnocladus dioicus - Kentucky Coffee Tree | |||
| Espresso | 50'/35' | Oval | |
| Maackia amurensis - Amur maackia | 25'/25' | Upright-spreading | |
| Magnolia acuminata - Cucumbertree | 50-80'/40-60' | Rounded | |
| Deciduous Shade Trees | Height/Width | Growth Habit | |
| Phellodendron spp. - Cork Tree | |||
| Longenecker (Eye Stopper®) | 40'/35' | Rounded | |
| His Majesty | 40'/35' | Rounded | |
| Quercus alba - White Oak | 50-70'/40-80' | Spreading | |
| Quercus bicolor - Swamp White Oak | 60'/60' | Rounded | |
| Quercus macrocarpa - Bur Oak | 50-80'/40-80' | Spreading | |
| Quercus rubra - Red Oak | 60-75'/60' | Spreading | |
| Quercus - Hybrid Oak | |||
| Clemons (Heritage®) | 40-50'/40-50' | Broadly-pyramidal | |
| Long (Regal Prince®) | 45'/18' | Narrow-oval | |
| Tilia americana - American Linden | |||
| Boulevard | 60'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| Wandell (Legend®) | 40'/30' | Broad-pyramidal | |
| McKSentry (American Sentry®) | 45'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| Lincoln | 35'/25' | Pyramidal | |
| Redmond | 50'/35' | Pyramidal | |
| Tilia cordata - Littleleaf Linden | |||
| Baileyi (Shamrock®) | 40'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| Glenleven | 45'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| Ronald (Norlin®) | 40'/30' | Pyramidal | |
| Tilia mongolica - Mongolian Linden | |||
| Harvest Gold | 30-40'/25-30' | Upright-oval | |
| Ulmus americana - American Elm | |||
| New Harmony | 70'/70' | Vase-shaped | |
| Princeton | 60'/40' | Vase-shaped | |
| Ulmus davidiana var. japonica - Japanese Elm | |||
| Discovery | 40'/30' | Vase-shaped | |
| Ulmus wilsoniana - Wilson Elm | |||
| Prospector | 50'/25' | Vase-shaped | |
| Ulmus - Other Hybrid Elms | |||
| Morton (Accolade®) | N/A | N/A | |
| Morton Glossy (Triumph®) | N/A | N/A | |