Summer is hot, but trees are cool! Trees in general emit water vapor from their leaves. This helps oxygenate and cool the air around the tree. Shade trees offer additional protection to you and your home as well. Plan out where you want to plant your trees so that their shade serves a real purpose! Plant them next to your patio so that you can enjoy the shade and be protected from the intense morning and evening sun, or plant them on a south-facing side of your home to help protect your home from the hot summer sun. Read more about using trees to help reduce your energy bill here!
One great tip that we have to offer is to plant in varying sizes. Any tree casts shade, but broad coverage is what makes for a good shade tree. It can take a while for a tree to reach its mature size however, so planting trees and shrubs that will complement each other is important. For example, planting tall and fast growing shrubs with a shorter life next to your young shade trees that take longer to develop will help supplement your shade until your trees are big enough to offer shade by themselves. Here are some trees we carry that offer shade:
Honey Locust: Hardy for Colorado
Mountain Ash: Not an actually an ash, not susceptible to EAB
Linden: Hardy, big leaves
Catalpa: Large Leaves
Elms: Dutch Elm Resistant
Sensation Box Elders: Xeric, bronze foliage
Ohio Buckeye
Shumard Oak: Beautiful fall foliage, high PH tolerance
Ginkgo Tree: Can make into tea which stimulates mental activity
