Late-season droughts are common in southeastern landscapes. Many trees are stressed by prolonged periods of hot, dry weather

Clatterbuck, Wayne K.

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University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Trace

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Home Garden, Lawn, and Landscape UT Extension Publications 5-11-2012 SP570 Drought-Tolerant Trees Wayne K. Clatterbuck Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_agexgard  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons Recommended Citation "SP570 Drought-Tolerant Trees," Wayne K. Clatterbuck, SP570 , https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_agexgard/117 The publications in this collection represent the historical publishing record of the UT Agricultural Experiment Station and do not necessarily reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information about UT Ag Research can be found at the UT Ag Research website. This Trees for Tennessee Landscapes - Choosing the Right Tree is brought to you for free and open access by the UT Extension Publications at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Home Garden, Lawn, and Landscape by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk.edu. Drought-TolerantTreesWayne K. ClatterbuckAssociate ProfessorForestry, Wildlife & FisheriesAgricultural Extension ServiceThe University of TennesseeSP 570Late-season droughts are common in southeastern land-scapes. Many trees are stressed by prolonged periods of hot,dry weather. Selecting trees that use water efficiently with-out the need for frequent watering or irrigation is one wayto make your landscape more resistant to droughts. Withimpending water shortages in many urban areas leading toprohibitions of irrigation or watering, planting trees that aremore tolerant to drought conditions is the best long-termsolution to a healthier, low-maintenance landscape.A few of the factors to consider when selecting trees thatuse water efficiently are (Coder 1999):  • Native trees are better adapted to local soil, moisture,climate and pest conditions than non-native trees.  • Trees with small leaves (linden, elm, ash, willow oak)are more easily cooled and have better water-use effi-ciency than trees with larger leaves (sycamore, cotton-wood, basswood).  • Upland species are usually more drought-resistant thanbottomland species.  • Early successional species, those that colonize old fieldsand disturbed sites (pines, black locust, elms), use wa-ter more effectively than late successional species (sugarmaple and beech).  • Trees with deep, upright crowns are more effective inwater use than those with flat, wide-spreading crowns.  • Trees with multilayered crowns having many livingbranches and leaf layers (oak, ash, gum, hickory) aremore water-efficient than those trees with leaf canopiesSara Clatterbuck (both photos)Willow oak with its narrow thin leaves and multilayered crown is anexcellent drought-tolerant landscape tree.Thick leaf waxes of eastern redcedar foliage assist in itsdrought tolerance.Wayne K. ClatterbuckSassafras is a native tree that is tolerant of poor, dry sites.Wayne K. ClatterbuckTrees with drought-tolerant attributes.Botanical Name Common Name Leaf Size Crown         Leaf WaxAcer rubrum Red maple small oval            lightCarya spp. Hickories leaflets rounded            lightCeltis occidentalis Hackberry small oval            moderateCercis canadensis Eastern redbud large spreading            moderateDiospyros virginiana Persimmon medium rounded            moderateGinkgo biloba Ginkgo small pyramidal            lightGleditsia triacanthos Honeylocust leaflets vaselike            lightGymnocladis dioicus Kentucky coffeetree leaflets oval            lightIlex spp. Hollies small (evergreen) pyramidal            heavyJuglans nigra Black walnut leaflets rounded            lightJuniperus spp. Junipers - eastern redcedar evergreen columnar            heavyKoelreutaria paniculata Golden rain tree leaflets rounded            lightNyssa spp. Blackgum medium oval            lightPinus spp. Pines — shortleaf, pitch,             evergreen pyramidal            heavy                                                 Virginia, eastern white, loblollyQuercus spp. Oaks — chestnut, post,               medium oval/rounded          moderate willow, southern red, overcup, live, Shumard, northern red, black, scarlet, bur, pinRhus spp. Sumacs leaflets spreading            lightRobinia pseudoacacia Black locust leaflets spreading            lightSassafras albidum Sassafras medium                     oval/rounded          lightUlmus spp. Elms small vaselike            moderatePrinting for this publication was funded by the USDA Forest Service through a grant with the Tennessee Department ofAgriculture, Division of Forestry. The Trees for Tennessee Landscapes series is sponsored by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.that concentrate leaves in single layers along the outer edgeof the crown (beech, sourwood, redbud, magnolia).  • Drought-tolerant plants usually have thick leafwaxes and bark, efficient stomatal control and ext-ensive root systems.Examples of a few trees that are not drought-tolerantinclude black cherry, dogwood, yellow-poplar, basswood,birch, buckeye and sycamore. These species respond todrought by shedding their leaves prematurely or wilting.     Although there is not an ideal drought-resistant tree forevery landscape, many trees have drought-resistant featuresand are more tolerant of dry conditions than others. The fol-lowing table lists some trees that will tolerate dry conditionsonce established. However, as with any new planting, theywill need to be watered until they are established.ReferenceCoder, Kim D. 1999. Tree selection for drought resistance.The University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forest Re-sources, Athens GA. 4 p.Appreciation is expressed to Sam Jackson for design of this publication.SP 570 - 15M - 12 - 00 R12 - 4910 - 21 - 002 - 01TENNESSEEDEPA R T M E N T O F A G RI C UL TUREF O R E S T RYDEP ARTMENT OF AGRICULT UREFOREST SERVICEU SThe Agricultural Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race,  color, national origin, sex, a e, disability, religion or veteran status and is an EqualOpportunity Employer. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and county governments cooperating in furthera ce of Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Agricultural Extension Service  Charles L. Norman, Dean

SP570 Drought-Tolerant Trees

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SP570 Drought-Tolerant Trees

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