This article is provided for your residents. Municipalities and other agencies and organizations may use
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reused.
A street of many colors: why it’s important to plant different kinds of trees
Provided by: Kelsey Atkinson
Whether it’s for the spectrum of colors displayed by your neighborhood trees in the fall or the variety of
birds that nest in them, we all can see the value in a diverse tree population.
The more kinds of trees there are in our neighborhoods, the more kinds of wildlife they will attract.
Different birds and pollinators will seek out different trees depending on their habitat and food
requirements. To offer local and migrating wildlife the best chance of surviving in the Chicago region, we
need to offer them the widest variety of housing and dietary options with a variety of trees. The birds
and animals reward us by spreading native plant seeds to beautify our landscape and ultimately make
our area a more interesting place to live.
Having a diverse tree population also makes our urban forest more resilient. If we don’t plant too many
trees of one kind, it’s less likely that any pest, disease, or disaster will kill a large proportion of the trees
we enjoy. A diverse urban forest will be better able to deal with current and future pest outbreaks,
diseases, and shifting climate and weather conditions.
When The Morton Arboretum recently surveyed the tree care staffs of more than 100 municipalities, 82
percent considered diversity to be “very important” in tree selection. This is not surprising given the
ravages of emerald ash borer (EAB), which has left neighborhoods with rows of stumps where ash trees
once stood. If municipalities in the past had given greater consideration to diversity in selecting trees to
plant, this invasive beetle would not have been nearly as devastating to the urban forest as a whole.
So when you choose a tree to plant in your yard or ask to have a tree planted in a public right-of-way,
consider diversity. Take a walk and notice what kinds of trees are already well represented on your
block. Then look for a kind of tree that is different from the rest. Of course it’s always important to
choose a tree that will grow well in the site’s conditions, but there are nearly always a number of
different good choices.
Need some help? Check out the Northern Illinois Tree Species List and the Northern Illinois Tree Selector
tool and Plant Finder online at mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice. You may be surprised
how many options you’ll find!
© The Morton Arboretum. From the Community Trees Program of The Morton Arboretum
(mortonarb.org/communitytrees)