Species Guidance

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This page is a work-in-progress and we are very happy to hear from you if you have comments or suggestions about what we have written here. It is of course, only a small selection of the vast number of trees out there.

How to find the right tree or trees for your street

1.    How wide are the pavements on your street?

In general the smaller your pavement the smaller should be your tree. In these guidelines we suggest a number of trees for different size pavements. But there are other considerations to take into account.

2. How exposed and how sheltered is your street?

Some tree species have adapted to life in extremely windy conditions such as the top of a cliff. Tamarix are the most wind resistant of street trees and Hawthorn and Cockspur come close behind. Any tree with delicate leaves is unsuitable as its leaves will be ripped off by a strong wind.

3. How Mediterranean is your street?

Because buildings can both store and reflect heat some of Lewisham street’s have Mediterranean microclimates. For this reason there are lots of Olive trees growing in front gardens, and along Stanstead Road there are several Loquat Trees which both flower and fruit. And as the climate warms such mediterranean trees will flourish. The magnificent Crepe Myrtle may not flower every year but sometimes it does as in the photo above.

4. How can you assess your street?

One way is to walk round your street and the surrounding streets and to see which trees are thriving and which trees are either struggling or are causing damage to the pavement.

Another way is to ask your Area Rep for a list of possibilities.

5. Ornamental Cherries

Widely loved for their blossom, flowering cherries can be extremely destructive to pavements and garden walls, as such Lewisham Council has now stated these are no longer allowed in hard paving and are to be planted in soft verges only.

6. What do you hope to get from your tree?

Colour? shape? flowers for bees? berries for birds? Or a barrier against the noise and pollution of a busy street?

7. Do you suffer from hay fever or asthma?

Research indicates that the production of large amounts of pollen from certain trees can have a localised impact on allergy sufferers. Street Trees for Living lists some of the top producers of pollen to be avoided by hay fever and asthma sufferers, and also when planting near to schools or in avenues in public highways. For more information on ways to help reduce risk of exposure to allergic pollen for people living with pollen and respiratory allergy please visit the Allergy UK website.

8. Species availability

Occasionally, when ordering trees, it is not possible to meet species requests, usually because a tree is unavailable. In this case, STfL and Lewisham Council will choose the closest possible substitute.

Trees high in pollen count

  • Acer Maple (certain species only)

  • Alnus Alder

  • Betula Birch

  • Carpinus Betulus Hornbeam

  • Corylus Hazel

  • Juglans Walnut


 

  • Juniperus Juniper

  • Ligustrum Privet

  • Liquidambar styraciflua American Sweetgum

  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood

  • Olea Olive

We encourage you to research this matter further when choosing species if you or your family suffer from asthma or pollen allergies. A good place to start is the Trees & Design Action Group’s ‘Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure’ that has a column entitled ‘issues to be aware of’. In this column it states if pollen is a potential issue.

STfL photo competition winner, Ivy aged 13. Well done Ivy!

STfL photo competition winner, Ivy aged 13. Well done Ivy!

Street Trees for Living‘s recommended list of street trees!

The following list provides you with some species ideas.

You’ll find most of these trees on the Barcham Trees website where you can discover more about your chosen tree. We are able to work with more expensive species than those listed below if the difference in cost is made up by the sponsor, but we cannot guarantee a like-for-like replacement if the tree fails within the first two years.

Barcham Trees also has its own Tree Eco Ratings Table; a guide to the extent carbon is stored per variety.

How diverse are STfL trees?

The 10-20-30 rule (Santamour,f, 2002) is a method of ensuring your tree population remains sufficiently diverse:

  • No more than 10% should be the same species (prunus avium, wild cherry)

  • No more than 20% should be the same genus (prunus, cherry)

  • No more than 30% should be the same family (Rosacea Family)

Our recent tree audit has revealed that of 1110 trees STfL have planted, 418 trees (43%) are within the Rosacea Family, including 173 Prunus, 126 Sorbus, 114 Malus, 40 Pyrus and 30 Crateagus. This means we are exceeding the target of planting no more than 30% of street trees in the same family. The Rosacea family trees are usually smaller trees making them suitable for narrow pavements. They are also important for wildlife including birds and pollinating insects such as bees. We will still continue to plant these trees in sites where they are best suited, but at the same time encourage planting of suitable street trees from other families.

For this winter's planting we will be addressing the importance of street tree diversity in our communication with residents and on our website.

 

For narrow pavements (1.8m)

  • Acca sellowiana Pineapple Guava - not available

  • Aralia elata Japanese Angelica Tree - not available

  • Acer platanoides Maple - available

  • Acer platanoides Crimson Sentry - available

  • Acer pseudoplatanus Brilliantissimum Maple - small number available

  • Acer ginnala Maple - small number available

  • Acer griseum Paperbark Maple - not available

  • Acer buergerianum Maple - very small number available

  • Betula pendula Zwisters Glory Silver Birch - available

  • Cercis siliquastrum Judas tree - available

  • Chitalpa x tashkentensis Summer Bells Desert Willow - not available

  • Clerodendrum trichotomum Harlequin Glorybower - not available

  • Cotinus coggygria Royal Purple - not available

  • Crataegus laevigata Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn* - available

  • Crataegus monogyna Stricta Hawthorn* - available

  • Crataegus x lavalleei Carrierèi Hawthorn* - available

  • Crataegus x prunifolia Splendens Hawthorn* - available

  • Davidia involucrata Hankerchief Tree - not available

  • Halesia Carolina Snow Bell - very small number available

    Lagerstroemia indica Crepe Myrtle - available, extra charge of £165
    only does well if south facing and with reflected heat, doesn’t flower every year

  • Ligustrum japonicum Japanese Tree Privet - available

  • Ligustrum lucidum Chinese Tree Privet - not available

  • Liriodendron tulipifera Fastigiata Upright Tulip Tree - available

  • Malus Baccata Street Parade Crab apple* - available

  • Malus Floribunda Crab apple* - available

  • Malus Evereste Crab apple* - available

  • Malus Rudolph Crab apple* - available

  • Malus Toringo Crab apple* - available

  • Malus Mokum Crab apple* - available

  • Melia Azedarach Chinaberry - not available

  • Magnolia denudata Magnolia Yellow River - not available

  • Magnolia Kobus Magnolia - available, extra charge £32

  • Pyrus Chanticleer Ornamental Pear - available

  • Sophora Japonica Japanese pagoda tree - available

  • Syringa Vulgaris Lilac - not available

  • Tamarix Salt Cedar - small number available

    *Please note that these trees are in the Rosacea family. We want to minimise planting too many trees in this family to reduce risk of pests and disease by increasing diversity. For more information see paragraph about street tree diversity above.

 

For wide pavements & soft verges (3m)

  • Acer Campestre Field Maple - available

  • Acer Campestre Elegant Field Maple - available

  • Acer Campestre Elsrijk Field Maple - available

  • Acer Campestre Lineko Field Maple - available

  • Acer Campestre Louisa Red Shrine Field Maple - available

  • Acer platanoides Norway Maple - available

  • Aesculus hippocastanum indica Indian Horse Chestnut - not available

  • Carpinus betulus Columnare Hornbeam - available

  • Carpinus Fastigiata Upright Hornbeam - available
    not in areas prone to subsidence

  • Carpinus betulus Lucas Upright Hornbeam - available

  • Celtis australis Nettle Tree - available

  • Catalpa bignonioides Indian Bean Tree - available

  • Cornus mas Cornelian Cherry - available - extra charge £137

  • Gymnocladus dioica Kentucky Coffee Tree - not available

  • Juglans nigra Black Walnut Tree - available

  • Juglans regia Persian Walnut Tree - available

For medium sized pavements (2.4m)

  • Acer campestre Arends - available

  • Acer rubrum Red Sunset - small number available

  • Albizia julibrissin Persian Silk Tree - not available

    expensive so species provided will be smaller than usual or sponsor will need to pay the difference

  • Alnus incana aurea Alder - not available

  • Arbutus unedo Strawberry Tree - not available
    expensive so species provided will be smaller than usual or sponsor will need to pay the difference

  • Betula ermanii Silver Birch - available

  • Betula Nigra River Birch - available

  • Betula pendula Silver Birch - available

  • Cercidiphyllum japonicum Katsura tree - small number available

  • Corylus colorna Turkish Hazel - available

  • Cornus contraversa Dogwood - small number available

  • Ginkgo Biloba Maidenhair - available
    to be avoided by people with allergies

  • Gleditsia triacanthos Sunburst Honey Locust - available

  • Ilex castaneifolia Chestnut-leaved Holly - available, extra charge £375

  • Keolreuteria paniculata Golden Rain Tree - available

  • Ligustrum japonicum Japanese Tree Privet - available

  • Liquidambar Slender Silhouette Sweet Gum - available

  • Liquidambar styraciflua Worplesdon / Fastigiata Sweet Gum Worplesdon / Fastigiate - available

  • Liriodendron tulipifera Tulip Tree - available

  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood - available, extra charge £106

  • Parotia persica vanessa Persian Ironwood - available, extra charge £250

  • Paulownia tomentosa Foxglove Tree - not available

  • Pinus sylvestris Fastigiata Upright Pine - not available

  • Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Bessoniana’ Thornless False Acacia - available

  • Robinia pseudoacacia Rotterdam Black Locust - not available

  • Tilia cordata Winter Orange Small Leaved Lime Winter Orange - available, extra charge £61

  • Tilia mongolica Mongolian Lime - not available

  • Ulmus Vada Wanoux Elm (disease resistant) - available

  • Keolreuteria paniculate Golden Rain Tree - available

  • Liquidambar styraciflua American Sweetgum - available

  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood - available, extra charge £106

  • Parrotia persica Persian Iron Wood - available

  • Paulownia tomentosa Foxglove Tree - not available

  • Platanus x hispanica London Plane - not available

  • Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine - not available

  • Tilia cordata Small Leaved Lime - available

  • Tilia cordata x Mongolica Harvest Gold Mongolian Lime - not available

  • Ulmus Vada Wanoux Elm (disease resistant) - available

  • Ulmus New Horizon Resistant Elm - not available

  • Tilia cordata small leaved lime - available

Prunus, Malus, Sorbus, Amelanchier and Crataegus all in short supply. LBL now states Prunus in soft verges only due to pavement damage.