A specimen tree is a particularly impressive or unusual tree that stands out in the landscape. Adding a specimen tree to your yard is a great way to create visual interest, provide shade and height, attract wildlife, and increase property value. When selected and cared for properly, specimen trees become beautiful focal points and conversation starters.

What Makes a Tree a Specimen

There are several factors that set specimen trees apart:

Rare or Unique Species

Uncommon tree varieties that are not often seen in landscapes can qualify as specimens. A dawn redwood, Amur maple, or Persian ironwood would be considered specimens since they are much less common than oaks, maples, and other trees widely available at nurseries. The rarity immediately draws the eye.

Outstanding Size

A tree that is significantly larger than others around it, with a thick, towering trunk and expansive canopy, commands attention. Size alone can turn an ordinary tree into a specimen.

Fantastic Form

Interesting shapes, contorted branching, beautiful flowers or leaves, and other striking features apart from size can make a tree a specimen. Weeping varieties, tightly columnar or vase-shaped trees, and those with wild cascades of blossoms all make excellent specimens.

Maturity

A venerable, mature tree that has thrived in a yard for decades lends a sense of history and dignity. Its substantial trunk and spreading limbs tell the story of years of growth.

Location

Positioning a tree in a prominent location where it becomes a focal point, like the center of the front lawn, also helps it function as a specimen. Situated right, even a more common tree variety can draw the eye.

Paying attention to these qualities will help you select a tree destined to be a specimen from the start. However, any ordinary tree can potentially become a specimen if you choose the right location for it and provide attentive care as it grows. Place an average tree where it has space to reach its mature size, keep it pruned for best structure, and even a typical maple or oak will shine.

Benefits of Specimen Trees

Adding the right specimen tree in the right place can greatly enhance your landscape. Consider these benefits:

Provide Height and Canopy

A specimen tree with a broad, spreading canopy can lend height and drama to a flat, one-dimensional yard. Thelarge crown also provides ample shade during summer months.

Attract Attention

The specimen immediately draws the eye thanks to its outstanding form, flowers, leaves or other traits. It becomes a living sculpture and conversation piece.

Increase Property Value

A distinctive, mature specimen tree can boost a home’s curb appeal and value by thousands of dollars. Home buyers are drawn to character and landscaping.

Attract Birds and Wildlife

Specimens, especially native varieties, provide excellent shelter and food sources for local wildlife. Their canopies host nesting songbirds, and flowers and fruits feed pollinators.

Improve Air Quality

As a large tree, an excellent specimen has substantial leaf surface area for taking in carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen, and filtering air pollutants.

Offer Winter Interest

Evergreens, trees with colorful or peeling bark, those with persistent fruit, and specimens with striking bare branch structure keep a yard lively year-round.

Provide Personal Satisfaction

Choosing, planting, and nurturing a tree to maturity over decades creates a sense of purpose and life-long enjoyment.

As an investment that matures over years or decades into a permanent living landmark, a specimen tree confers beauty, shade, nature, and meaning onto a landscape.

How to Choose a Specimen Tree

Selecting just the right tree to become a future specimen in your yard takes careful thought:

Choose an Appropriate Species

Factor in your climate zone, soil, sun exposure, and space available when deciding on a tree. Some details to research:

• Cold/heat hardiness range
• Mature height and width
• Growth rate
• Soil moisture needs
• Sun requirements
• Invasive roots or not
• Native or non-native

Match these specs to your yard’s conditions.

Seek Out Uncommon Varieties

Rare and unique trees that are not planted everywhere can have great visual impact. Visit specialty nurseries to find interesting options beyond the typical trees at home stores.

Look for Outstanding Features

Seeking trees touted for striking flowers, foliage, bark, or form will help you select one with specimen qualities.

Inspect Tree Health and Structure

Examine trees at the nursery for damage, disease, crossing branches, root flaws, and proper taper. Choose the healthiest, well-structured tree possible.

Purchase a Larger Tree

For a bolder initial impact, invest in at least a 1.5 inch caliper tree, or a containerized or B&B specimen. Larger starts will establish and grow more quickly.

Plan Proper Placement

Picture how the tree will fit into your existing landscape depending on mature size. Frame it as a focal point, allow sufficient room to grow, and highlight the best side.

Choosing a rare or exotic variety suited to your site, in excellent health, with intriguing characteristics, and planting it prominently, sets your specimen up for success. Be picky – this is a tree meant to last decades.

How to Plant and Care for a New Specimen Tree

Providing ideal conditions both at planting and in subsequent years ensures your specimen thrives:

Prepare the Planting Site

Dig a wide planting hole only as deep as the root ball, then amend the soil removed from the hole with compost to lighten and enrich it. Improve drainage if needed.

Handle the Tree Properly

Carefully move the tree by its root ball, never the trunk. Make sure it stays well watered during transport and storage. Inspect for damage prior to planting.

Prune Only What is Essential

Remove any clearly dead, damaged, or crossing branches. Avoid excessive pruning at planting which removes too much foliage.

Place the Tree Carefully

Orient the tree with the best side facing out. Set the root ball on firmly packed soil so the base of trunk is at original ground level.

Backfill Properly

Fill around root ball carefully to eliminate air pockets. Do not cover top of root ball with soil. Water thoroughly while backfilling.

Stake Only When Necessary

Stake the tree only if site is windy. Use wide strapping and allow some trunk movement. Remove stakes after one year.

Apply Mulch

Mulch the entire root zone out to the tree’s drip line with 2-4 inches of organic material like shredded bark to retain moisture. Pull back mulch from trunk.

Water Deeply and Infrequently

Give the tree about 1-1.5 inches of water per week from rain and/or irrigation, more in hot weather. Aim for deep soaking to encourage deep roots.

Proper planting and aftercare provides the best start to nurture a long-lived, healthy specimen. Be sure not to damage the tree during transport, prune lightly at planting, stake only as needed, and irrigate slowly and deeply.

How to Prune and Maintain a Specimen Tree

Once planted, tailored pruning and attentive care keep a specimen looking its best:

Allow the Tree to Establish

Aside from cleaning out dead wood, do not prune the tree for at least one year after planting to allow sufficient establishment.

Maintain Proper Mulch

Replenish mulch around the tree every 1-2 years, pulling it back from the trunk. Good mulch conserves moisture and suppresses weeds.

Water Slowly and Deeply

Even established specimens need supplemental water during drought. Aim for the equivalent of 1 inch of rainfall per week.

Prune Judiciously

Never remove more than 25% of the tree’s crown at once. Prune to enhance the tree’s best qualities, never shearing into a ball.

Prune at Proper Times

Prune spring bloomers right after flowering. Summer and fall bloomers can be pruned in late winter.

Fertilize Sparingly

Apply a slow release organic fertilizer only every 2-3 years for mature trees. Excess nitrogen can damage tree health.

Watch for Pests

Scout regularly for common insects like borers, scale, and aphids. Also check for diseases like rusts and rots. Treat promptly.

Clean Up Wind Damage

Remove broken branches, cut back splits and cracks to sound wood, and repair damage from heavy storms to maintain form.

Address Safety Concerns

Have dead branches high in the canopy removed. Shorten extended limbs overhanging the home. Monitor for decay and weaknesses.

With attentive maintenance and occasional corrective pruning, a prized specimen tree will develop gracefully and safely over generations.

Ideal Specimen Trees for Different Settings

When selecting a specimen, keep the tree’s eventual mature size and characteristics in mind in relation to available space:

Small Urban and Suburban Yards

Good choices include:

• Japanese maple – graceful form, vivid fall color
• Dogwood – showy flowers, red fall leaves
• Smoke tree – airy, billowing canopy
• Crape myrtle – multi-season interest
• Japanese snowbell – ornamental canopy

Larger Suburban Lots

Excellent options include:

• Oak – majestic native, fall color
• Elm – vase shape, towering size
• Maple – brilliant autumn hues
• Linden – large, aromatic flowers
• Dawn redwood – rare, pyramidal habit

Rural Acreage and Large Estates

Wonderful choices are:

• Bur oak – massive, rugged native
• Black walnut – edible nuts
• Baldcypress – striking “knees”
• Turkish filbert – unique canopy
• Ohio buckeye – showy spring blooms

Streets and Parkways

Great public trees are:

• London plane – pollution tolerant
• Japanese zelkova – graceful vase shape
• Ginkgo – fan shaped leaves, no pests
• American hornbeam – muscle branch structure
• Kentucky coffeetree – open and airy

No matter your available space, there is a specimen tree ideally suited for you. Seek out rare cultivars, improved varieties, and lesser known species to create unique interest.

12 Outstanding Specimen Trees

Looking for inspiration? Here are 12 specific trees cherished for their specimen qualities:

Weeping Willow

The dramatic, cascading “waterfall” canopy of weeping willow makes this a quintessential specimen. Provides lush shade over gardens and water features. Avoid planting near buildings or infrastructure since roots are aggressive.

Seven-Son Flower

A small ornamental specimen renowned for billowing, fragrant clusters of pink flowers in spring. Grows to about 25 feet tall. Needs well-drained soil and full sun. Also called heptacodium.

Southern Magnolia

This iconic, classic magnolia features huge, fragrant white blossoms in late spring into summer, evergreen foliage, and showy red seeds. Grows 50-80 feet tall. Requires acidic, organic soil.

Eastern Redbud

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Gets its name from the vibrant pink-purple flower clusters that smother its crooked bare branches in early spring. Max height around 30 feet. Grow as a multi-trunk specimen.

Serviceberry

This native, ornamental tree offers multi-season beauty, with white spring flowers, tomato-red summer berries, purple-red fall color, and attractive peeling bark for winter interest. Give it room to spread.

Japanese Maple

The gold standard of ornamental specimen trees, valued for artistic branching, finely cut leaf forms that range from reddish to purple to green, and brilliant fall color. Keep well-watered and prune to enhance form. Protect from wind and winter sun.

American Smoketree

A unique, smaller specimen tree featuring unusually puffy, billowy “smoke-like” clusters of flowers and foliage. Grows 15-20 feet tall and wide. Plant as a focal point for its cloud-like character.

Franklinia

Extremely rare in the wild, this tree dazzles with 3-inch white camellia-like blooms from late summer into fall. Grows 20-30 feet tall. Needs consistently moist organic soil. Often sold as a multi-trunk form.

Star Magnolia

This magnolia is ideal for smaller yards, with abundant starry white spring flowers on a 20 foot frame. It leafs out late so early flowers are highlighted. Uneven growth habit needs occasional pruning.

Crabapple

A classic spring-flowering specimen. Choose disease-resistant cultivated varieties known for heavy, long-lasting spring blooms in shades of pink or white. Max height around 25 feet. Needs full sun and well-drained soil.

Crape Myrtle

Available in a range of sizes from dwarf to tree-form, crape myrtle features showy summer flower clusters, attractive peeling bark, and vivid fall color. Provides multi-season beauty with little care needed. Prune out suckers unless growing as a multi-trunk specimen.

Ginkgo

Distinctive fan-shaped, golden fall foliage make this a popular specimen tree. Extremely pest and disease resistant and pollution tolerant. Avoid female trees, as they produce messy, foul-smelling fruit. Reaches 50-80 feet.

This sampling of possibilities demonstrates the diversity and allure of specimen trees. Do your research to pick the ideal one to become a living work of art in your landscape.

Main Takeaways

• Specimen trees are individual trees that stand out thanks to superior form, size, flowers, foliage, or location.
• They provide visual impact, height, wildlife habitat, shade, and property value improvements.
• Carefully match the species to your climate and yard conditions. Seek out uncommon selections.
• Plant your specimen prominently, provide attentive planting care, and prune judiciously to maintain its assets.
• Treat the tree properly at every stage to help it thrive for generations of enjoyment.

A specimen tree becomes a living legacy, maturing over seasons and decades into an exceptional landscape treasure. With knowledge and care, you can grow a magnificent specimen that enhances your property and neighborhood for years to come.

Frequently Asked Questions About Specimen Trees

Specimen trees are signature trees that stand out in the landscape. If you are considering adding one of these special trees to your yard, you likely have some questions. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about selecting, planting, and caring for specimen trees.

What is a specimen tree?

A specimen tree is one that displays unique visual characteristics that catch the eye and create interest in the landscape. It is an exceptional, high-quality tree rather than an average tree. Specimen trees stand out because of attributes like size, form, leaf color, flowers, bark, or overall beauty. They become focal points in the landscape.

What makes a good specimen tree?

Any tree can potentially become a specimen, but certain species are naturally showy or striking. When selecting a specimen, look for trees known for wonderful flowers, foliage, bark, form, size, or other features. Uncommon tree varieties can also make excellent specimens since they are less common in landscapes. Healthy, mature trees in prominent locations can also qualify as specimens.

What are the best types of specimen trees?

Some top choices are Japanese maples for versatility and beauty, dogwoods and redbuds for spring flowers, weeping varieties like willow for form, magnolias for their flowers, and crabapples for profuse spring blooms. Conifers like pine and spruce can become focal point specimens shaped by pruning. But any tree variety can potentially become a specimen with proper placement and care.

Where should I locate my specimen tree?

Choose a prominent location where your specimen tree can become a true focal point. Plant it where it has room to grow and can be viewed from many angles. Frame it as a standout feature in your front lawn or position it to shade a deck or patio and beautify the view. Avoid crowding the tree or hiding it behind other plantings.

How big will my specimen tree get?

Before selecting a particular specimen, research its expected mature height and width along with growth rate. Account for its eventual size to ensure you allow adequate room for it to reach maturity without encroaching on structures. A tree that outgrows its space will lose its specimen qualities.

How can I maximize initial impact?

For immediate wow factor, select the largest caliper tree you can afford or accommodate. B&B, containerized, and slightly more mature trees showcase their assets right away. Quickly staking a central leader also helps create good form. Be prepared to pay more for an exceptional tree.

What care do specimen trees need?

Provide attentive care both at planting and as your specimen matures. Handle it carefully when transporting. Stake only when necessary. Prune judiciously in the first years to train structure. Water deeply and infrequently. Replenish mulch and fertilize lightly. Address pests or diseases promptly to maintain health.

How often should I prune my specimen tree?

Aside from cleaning out dead wood, avoid pruning for at least one year after planting. After that, prune to maintain the tree’s best qualities. Never remove more than 25% of the tree’s crown at once. Prune spring bloomers soon after flowering and summer/fall bloomers in late winter.

Are specimen trees high maintenance?

Specimen trees need attentive planting practices and occasional pruning and training of wayward branches for best results. But once established, pruning is only needed every few years along with watering during drought, occasional organic fertilizer, and watching for pests. The care is manageable.

How much do specimen trees cost?

As outstanding trees, expect to pay more for a specimen vs. a generic nursery tree. Large specimen trees 25-30 feet tall can cost over $1000. More reasonable are specimens 15 feet tall, ranging from $400-600