Approved Street Trees || Forestry

Approved Street Trees#

The following list has been compiled by City Forestry to help property owners, developers and landscapers select trees that are suitable for Fort Collins. These trees have been selected based on their adaptability to our soil conditions and climate variability. Trees selected for planting as public street trees should be from the list below or approved by the City Forester.

Shade trees should be placed 30-40 ft apart and planted in the center of the parkway strip. Ornamental trees are only permitted as street trees when space is limited. Please contact the City Forester for approval of ornamental trees and shade trees not listed.

For additional information on tree species, please refer to the Front Range Tree Recommendation List.

All new trees planted in City of Fort Collins right of way require a permit. Before you start the process of planting a tree in the right of way, please reach out to forestry@fcgov.com.

Botanic Name/Common Name	Moisture Requirements	Avg Height X Canopy Spread at Maturity	Cultivars	Features
Catalpa speciosa Northern catalpa	Low-medium	50 x 30		Large, white flowers in May-June, long seed pods, tolerant of heat and alkaline soil, moderate salt tolerance
Celtis occidentalis Northern hackberry	Medium	45 x 35		Withstands alkaline soil and salt, has grayish corky bark, nipple-gall and anthracnose can be an issue in the front range
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Honeylocust	Low-medium	40 x 30	Shademaster, Skyline, Imperial	Well-adapted to a range of urban conditions , susceptible to cankers and root rot, reaching maximum species percentage in Fort Collins
Gymnocladus dioica Kentucky coffeetree	Low-medium	60 x 40	Espresso, JC McDaniel, Stately Manor, Decaf	Tolerant of poor soil conditions, pollution and salt, relatively pest and disease free, may be slow to establish
Quercus buckleyi Texas red oak	Low-medium	35 x 35		Closely related to shumard oaks, has good fall colors, tolerates clay, alkaline soil and heat, grows well in full sun
Quercus macrocarpa Bur oak	Low-medium	70 x 60	Bulletproof, Cobblestone, Urban Pinnacle	Long-lived, adapted to a variety of soil and moisture conditions, full sun is ideal, acorns have fringed caps, can be difficult to transplant
Quercus muehlenbergii Chinkapin oak	Low-medium	50 x 50	Red Autumn	Requires full sun, pyramidal shape when young, round in form at maturity, tolerates clay, alkaline soil
Quercus shumardii Shumard oak	Low-medium	60 x 40	Fort Collins Select, Osage county	Has crimson-red fall foliage, western seed stock is better adapted to Colorado
Tilia americana American linden	Medium	35 x 25	Boulevard, Frontyard, Legend, Sentry, Redmond	Produces pale yellow flowers that attract bees in the spring, yellow-orange fall color, can grow in high pH soils and in full or partial sun, not suitable along streets treated with deicing salts, susceptible to Japanese beetles
Tilia cordata Littleleaf linden	Medium	40 x 30	Chancellor, Dropmore, Greenspire, Norlin, Olympic, Prestige, Shamrock	Requires full or partial sun, leaves are much smaller than American lindens, not suitable along streets treated with deicing salts, more tolerant of air pollutants than American lindens, susceptible to Japanese beetles
Tilia x flavescens Glenleven linden	Medium	45 x 25		A relatively fast growing species with more open form
Ulmus spp.	Low-medium	60 x 45	Accolade, New Horizon, David	Thin and waxy leaves, needs structural pruning, has shown good resistance to Dutch elm disease, elm leaf beetle and leaf miners,
Aesculus glabra Ohio buckeye	Medium	30 x 30	Autumn Splendor	Dense canopy, produces greenish-yellow flowers, shade tolerant, prone to sunscorch
Aesculus hippocastanum Common horsechestnut	Medium	60 x 50	Autumn Splendor, Ruby Red	Showy white and red flowers, prefers well-drained soil, tolerant of high pH
Acer grandidentatum Bigtooth maple	Low-medium	20 x 30	Manzano	Variability in fall color, no notable pests or diseases
Corylus colurna Turkish filbert	Low	45 x 30		Thrives in cold winters and hot summers, can tolerate a range of pH, requires full sun
Acer saccharum Sugar maple	Medium-high	60 x 40	Caddo, Green Mountain, Legacy, Fall Fiesta	Shade tolerant, can grow in different pH levels, poor salt tolerance, susceptible to leaf scorch and verticillium wilt, requires wider parkways
Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo	Low-medium	50 x 35	Autumn Gold, Presidential, Sentry	Only male trees should be planted, relatively pest and disease free, can be slow growing, adapted to a range of pH, pollutants, salt and heat, bright yellow foliage in the fall
Platanus acerifolia Londonplane	Low-medium	80 x 65	Bloodgood, Exclamation	A hybrid of the American sycamore and the Oriental planetree, mottled olive and brown bark, well-adapted to a range of pH, light availability and pollution levels
Styphnolobium japonicum Japanese pagodatree	Medium	50 x 50		Native to China and Korea, tolerant of air pollution and heat and drought when established, produces fragrant, white flowers and bean-like pods
Syringa reticulata Japanese tree lilac	Medium	20 x 15	Ivory Silk	Has an oval crown, produces white creamy white flowers that attract pollinators