Street Tree Sale, Fall 2020

Tree-lined streets are a distinctive part of Swarthmore’s landscape. As the borough’s website says, street trees “create a canopy that arches over the streets and sidewalks, providing shade, beauty, and many other environmental and aesthetic qualities. They help to clean the air and reduce pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as maintain a habitat for birds, animals, and insects. A tree canopy helps reduce the heat of summer and trees planted near homes help to reduce energy costs by providing summer shade and winter wind blocks.”

Trees are considered “street trees” when they are planted 25 feet or less from the centerline of the street. Often they are planted between the sidewalk and the curb, but even streets without sidewalks have street trees.

Young trees are now available from the Swarthmore Borough’s Street Tree Committee for residents who wish to plant a new street tree this fall, or replace one that has been lost. The ordering deadline is Monday, September 28. A limited number of trees are available. Order forms can be downloaded from the borough website (swarthmorepa.org). The cost of a new tree is $125 and includes planting and mulching. Trees will be planted this fall as weather permits. For more information, contact Karol Bock at 484-472-8639. 

Trees are now available from the Borough’s Street Tree Committee to Swarthmore Borough residents who wish to plant a street tree this spring, or replace a tree that has been lost. Ordering deadline is Friday, March 20. A limited number of trees are available. Order forms are available at the borough office or on the borough’s website. Cost of a new tree is $125, which includes planting and mulching. Trees will be planted this spring as weather permits. For more information, please contact Karol Bock at 484-472-8639. 

Large to Medium-Sized Trees

Not to be planted under utility lines, require a wide curb strip (greater than five feet).

Acer saccharum “Fall Fiesta” — sugar maple. A large, very attractive maple (60 feet tall) with scarlet fall color. One of the better maples for our area, this tree grows fast when young and needs plenty of room. Full to mostly full sun.  

Cladrastis kentukea — yellowwood. A medium sized tree (30-50 feet tall) with upright branching and a rounded crown. Characterized by its drooping chains of white, sweetly scented flowers in spring, this handsome tree has brilliant yellow fall color. Sun to half-shade.

Ginkgo biloba ‘Magyar’ – maidenhair. This tree can reach 50-70 feet tall at maturity and has beautiful golden autumn foliage. Ginkgos are very tolerant of street-tree conditions. This selection has upright, ascending branches. It’s male, so it doesn’t get the messy, smelly fruit.

Nyssa sylvatica ‘Green Gables’ – native sour gum. It has a tight pyramidal shape when young, with a more graceful ascending structure at maturity, up to 50 feet. This tree has handsome orange-to-scarlet-to-purple leaves in autumn. It’s one of the best among our newer selections of native trees that are suitable for a street tree.

Quercus bicolor – swamp white oak. This native tree has lined Magill Walk on the Swarthmore College campus since the 1880s. It has a rounded crown at maturity and will reach 60 feet tall. Its autumn color is yellow.

Tilia tomentosa ‘Sterling’ – silver linden. This is a Eurasian native that grows to 50-70 feet tall. It is noted for its attractive foliage, which is glossy green on top. In the slightest breeze, its leaves flutter with flashes of their silver-white undersides. It tends to have a broad columnar shape, and is upright branching. Fragrant flowers occur in early summer. Its autumn color is pale yellow. It has very good tolerance to street-tree conditions.

Acer saccharum “Fall Fiesta” — sugar maple

Cladrastis kentukea — yellowwood

Ginkgo biloba ‘Magyar’ – maidenhair

Nyssa sylvatica ‘Green Gables’ – native sour gum

Quercus bicolor – swamp white oak.

Tilia tomentosa ‘Sterling’ – silver linden

Medium to Small-Sized Trees 

Suitable for planting under utility lines and in narrower curb strips (less than five feet).

Aesculus x carnea “Fort McNair”— red horsechestnut. A hybrid of a horse chestnut and a buckeye, this medium-sized tree (30-40 feet tall) has prominent rose-red flowers in May and some resistance to foliage blotch in the summer. Full sun to light shade.

Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis — “Shademaster” honeylocust. A medium-sized (45 feet tall) open, airy tree with tiny leaflets. Autumn color is a clear gold and the leaves are so small there is little to rake up. A strong grower with a vase-shaped form when young, maturing into a more rounded shape.

Aesculus x carnea “Fort McNair”— red horsechestnut

Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis — “Shademaster” honeylocust