Trees we plant

Contacts

Municipal Office

395 Mulock Drive P.O. Box 328 Station Main, Newmarket, Ontario
L3Y 4X7
905-895-5193

Email Us

Newmarket is located in the Lake Simcoe watershed in a region characterized by a mixture of broad leaf and coniferous trees, such as eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), red oak (Quercus rubra), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red pine (Pinus resinosa), white ash (Fraxinus Americana), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis).

The Town also includes 382ha of the Oak Ridges Moraine in the south west part. While Newmarket is north of the Carolinian forest zone some species representative of that zone such as American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) and black walnut (Juglans nigra) are present.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​There are many common trees that are planted by the Town of Newmarket's Parks & Property Services arborists on municipal boulevards. This page provides information on the types of trees you may encounter in Newmarket.

Autumn Blaze

Autumn Blaze Maple 

Botanical name: Acer x fremanii 'Jeffers Red'

Family name: Aceraceae

Commonly known as the Autumn Blaze Maple. It is a hybrid of red maple and silver maple that combines the best features of both. The Autumn Blaze has the vigour and adaptability of the silver maple along with the beauty and strength of the red maple.

 Like its silver maple parent, Autumn Blaze grows quickly. The growth rate of this cultivar is about four times faster than that of a red maple. Under optimal conditions it can grow 3 feet or more per year. Eventually it will grow to 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide.

 At maturity, it will have an oval to rounded crown with ascending branches and a well-defined central leader. This tree is not as susceptible to storm damage as silver maple because it has superior crotch angles and a well-balanced branching habit (inherited from its red maple parent) but still has the weaker wood characteristic of the silver maple. It grows in a very uniform shape, so requires little pruning. 
 
Summer foliage is medium green. In the fall Autumn Blaze consistently develops brilliant, long-lasting orange-red colour. This vivid colour, as well as its rapid growth rate, is the main reason to plant this tree. It also has some winter interest , with the new growth retaining a red colour after leaf drop that persists until the following season.

If you want a large, fast-growing tree with spectacular fall colour, Autumn Blaze® maple is an excellent choice. This dependable selection of Acer x freemanii ('Jeffsred', P.P. No 4864) is a hybrid of red (A. rubrum) and silver (A. saccharinum) maple that combines the best features of both: it has the vigour and adaptability of the silver maple along with the beauty and strength of the red maple. It has received excellent ratings from all parts of the U.S. and is also very popular in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. 
 
Autumn Blaze® is very adaptable to a wide range of climate and soil conditions. It tolerates clay soil, and will withstand wet soil conditions and drought. This tree will grow in a wide range of climates from Wisconsin to central Florida, and is hardy in USDA zones 3-8. Consider it for a site that isn’t right for red or sugar maple, or as a more colourful alternative in place of silver or Norway maples. 
 
Like its silver maple parent, Autumn Blaze® grows quickly. The growth rate of this cultivar is about four times faster than that of a red maple. Under optimal conditions it can grow 3 feet or more per year.

Eventually it will grow to 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide. At maturity it will have an oval to rounded crown with ascending branches and a well-defined central leader. This tree is not as susceptible to storm damage as silver maple because it has superior crotch angles and a well-balanced branching habit (inherited from its red maple parent) but still has the weaker wood characteristic of the silver maple. It grows in a very uniform shape, so requires little pruning.

Summer foliage is medium green. In the fall Autumn Blaze® consistently develops brilliant, long-lasting orange-red colour. This vivid colour, as well as its rapid growth rate, is the main reason to plant this tree. It also has some winter interest , with the new growth retaining a red colour after leaf drop that persists until the following season. 
 
With its distinct upright oval form, Autumn Blaze® is excellent as a specimen planting, but can also be used in groups. Because of its size it is most appropriate for the larger yard, commercial landscapes and parks. Its thin bark is easily damaged, so it's best not to use this tree in high pedestrian traffic areas. Autumn Blaze® has fewer problems with leafhoppers and verticillium wilt that adversely affect some slower-growing maples. Since it's a seedless cultivar, you won't have to worry about weeding out thousands of seedlings.
Bur Oak

Botanical name: Quercus mac​rocarpa 

Family name: Fagaceae

Le​​​​​af: Alternate, simple, 6 to 12 inches long, roughly obovate in shape, with many lobes. The two middle sinuses nearly reach the midrib dividing leaf nearly in half. The lobes near the tip resemble a crown, green above and paler, fuzzy below.

a picture of the leaf of a bur oak tree 

Flower: Monoecious; male flowers are yellow-green, borne in long, drooping slender catkins, 2 to 4 inches long; female flowers are green tinged in red and appear as single, short spikes, both appear shortly after the leaves.

a picture of the lflower of a bur oak tree 

Fruit: Acorns are quite large (1 1/2 inches long) and 1/2 enclosed in a warty cap that has a long-fringed margin, maturing in one growing season in late summer and fall.

a picutre of the fruit of a bur oak tree, which is an acorn 

Twig: Quite stout, yellow-brown, often with corky ridges; multiple terminal buds are small, round, and maybe somewhat pubescent often surrounded by thread-like stipules; laterals are similar, but smaller.

a picture of the twig of a bur oak tree 

Bark: Ashy gray to brown in colour and quite scaly, but noticeably ridged vertically on large trees.

a picture of the bark of a bur oak tree 

Form: A large tree that often reaches over 100 feet tall with a long clear bole. In the open it becomes a very wide, spreading tree.

a picture of the whole bur oak tree ​


English Oak

English Oak

Botanical name: Quercus robur

Family name: Fagaceae

Description: English oak is a majestic tree with a very wide-spreading crown, a short sturdy trunk, and deeply fissured gray-brown bark. It can grow to 140 ft (42.7 m) tall with a rounded spread of 80 ft (24.4 m) or more, but is usually smaller in cultivation. English oak has small deciduous leaves, 3-5 in (7.6-12.7 cm) long, with 3-7 pairs of rounded lobes, and extremely short petioles (leaf stems). They remain deep green long into autumn before turning brown and then persisting on the tree well into winter. The typical oak flowers are hanging catkins which appear with the emerging leaves in early spring. The acorns are elongate, about 1 in (2.5 cm) long, with a cup that covers 1/3 of the nut. 

picutre of an english oak tree 

Culture: English oak is tolerant of acidic to alkaline soils. It grows only a foot (0.3 m) or so a year in youth but can live more than 700 years. 

Light: Full sun.

Moisture: English oak does well with regular watering. It cannot tolerate extended droughts. Powdery mildew, a fungus that grows on the leaves, can be a problem in humid climates.

Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 - 8. Cold hardiness is variable and even mature trees sometimes are killed by a hard winter freeze. Nor is English oak well-adapted to the hot, dry summers of the middle or southern U.S. Outside its native range, English oak is best adapted to Canada and the northeastern U.S., in zones 5 and 6.

Propagation: Oak species are propagated by seed. The acorns are planted as soon as they mature and left outside over the winter. Named cultivars are propagated by grafting. Fast-growing sucker shoots (sometimes called "water sprouts") are grafted onto seedlings of the same or a related species. 

 picture of leaves and seed of an english oak tree

Usage: English oak is used as a shade tree or a specimen tree in larger landscapes. It is popular in Europe, Canada and the northeastern U.S. The species and most cultivars of English oak are best suited for parks and other large areas.​​

Ginko

Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo)

Botanical name: Ginkgo biloba

Family name: Ginkgoaceae​

Leaf: Alternate, simple, fan-shaped, 2 to 3 inches long and wide; parallel, fan-like venation, may be irregularly 2 to 3 lobed at the broad edge or just wavy, petiole long, light green above and below. 
picture of a leaf of the ginko tree 

Flower: Dioecious; tiny green males are borne on 1 inch long catkins; female "cones" are 1 1/2 to 2 inch long peduncles, bearing 1 to 2 ovules, present in mid-spring. 

Fruit: Actually a naked seed; 1 inch long, with a fleshy covering that develops a strong, unpleasant odour when it drops to the ground, inner hard seed is edible, maturing in the fall after the first frost. 

Twig: Light reddish brown, becoming gray with numerous and obvious spur shoots; buds are broadly conical to dome-shaped and reddish brown. 

Bark: Light grayish brown with irregular ridges, eventually becoming deeply furrowed. 

Form: Usually a narrow, oval crown when young, eventually developing an irregular, much broader crown of a few large branches. Spur shoots are obvious. 

picture of the ginko tree 

Littleleaf Linden

Littleleaf Linden 

Botanical name: Tilia cordata

Family Name: Tiliaceae

picture of the littleleaf linden leaf and tree 
Leaf: Alternate, simple, ovate to cordate, 2 to 4 inches long, with serrate margins, pinnately veined, inequilateral base, green above and paler below. ​

Flower: Monoecious; pale yellow, borne below a long, gracefully curving leafy wing in a many branched cluster, several inches long, appearing in early to mid-summer. ​

Fruit: A round, conspicuously 4-ribbed nutlet (1/4 inch) that is covered with gray-brown hair; occur in a hanging cluster with a curving, leafy bract acting as a wing on top of the cluster, ripening in the fall. 

Twig: Slender, zigzag, green-brown or red-tinged (particularly in the winter); terminal bud is false, buds are plump with one side bulging conspicuously, edible and when eaten they are mucilaginous. 

Bark: Gray or brown, ridged with shallow furrows; young stems are brown and soon become ridged. The bark is quite fibrous. 

Form: A small to medium tree to 70 feet with a dense, round crown. In the U.S. it is typically only seen when open grown where it develops into a small tree as wide as it is tall.  ​

London Planetree

London Planetree

Botnaical name: Platanus × acerifolia

Family name: Platanacea 

Summary
Foliage: Deciduous broadleafpicture of the whole London Planetree
Height: 75 to 100 feet
Spread: 65 to 80 feet
Shape: Spreading
Large green leaves have no effective fall colour. The ornamental bark flakes off, exposing white, smooth bark underneath.
  
Plant Needs
Zone: 5 to 8
Light: Partial shade to full sun
Moisture: Wet to moist
Soil Type: Sandy, loam, or clay
pH Range: 3.7 to 6.5
 
Functions
Suggested uses for this plant include shade and specimen plant.
 
Planting Notes
Transplants readily.  Tolerates a wide range of conditions, including air pollution.  Plant in a location that will allow the plant ample room to spread. Do not plant where branches will interfere with power lines.
 
Comments
The most striking feature of the London Planetree is its flaking bark that peels to reveal a lighter coloured bark underneath. Best used only in open areas where its growth will not be restricted.

picture of the leaf of a london planetree a picture of the bark of the London Planetree 
Northern Catalpa
Botanical name:Catalpa speciosa

Family name: Bignoniaceae  

Leaf: Whorled (or the opposite, when whorled one of the three leaves is often smaller), cordate, 5 to 12 inches long, pinnately veined, entire margins, overall soft and flexible feeling, light green to green above and soft pubescence on the underside. 

Flower: Monoecious; very showy, white (yellow and purple spots on insides), 5 fuzzed petals form an overall bell shape, 1 inch long; appear in open, branched, upright terminal cluster (8 to 12 inches long) in late spring. 

Fruit: Long (10 to 18 inches) bean-like, hanging capsules, round in cross section, very stiff; each capsule contains numerous flattened seeds with 2-papery, fringed wings; the seeds mature in autumn, but the capsule may remain attached over winter. 

Twig: Stout, green, and later reddish brown in colour, numerous lighter lenticels; terminal bud is absent, lateral buds are small and covered with red-brown scales; leaf scars very unique elliptical or round sunken saucers, light in colour. 

Bark: Gray to reddish brown, separated into irregular shallow fissures and scaly ridges. 

Form: A medium sized tree to 80 feet with spreading, crooked branches and an irregular crown. The bole may be straight but is generally crooked. 
Northern Red Oak
Botanical Name: Quercus rubra

Family Name: Fagaceae

Leaf: Alternate, simple, 5 to 8 inches long, oblong in shape with 7 to 11 bristle-tipped lobes, sinuses extend 1/3 to 1/2 of the way to midvein, generally very uniform in shape, dull green to blue-green above and paler below. 

Flower: Monoecious; males in yellow-green slender, hanging catkins, 2 to 4 inches long; females are borne on short axillary spikes, appearing with the leaves in spring. 

Fruit: Acorns are 3/4 to 1 inch long and nearly round; cap is flat and thick, covering about 1/4 or less of the acorn, resembling a beret; matures in 2 growing seasons, in late summer and fall. 

Twig: Quite stout, red-brown and glabrous; terminal buds multiple, quite large, conical, and covered with red-brown, mostly hairless scales but terminal scales may bear some frosty pubescence. 

Bark: On young stems, smooth; older bark develops wide, flat-topped ridges and shallow furrows. The shallow furrows form a pattern resembling ski tracts. 

Form: A medium sized to large tree that reaches up to 90 feet tall, develops a short trunk and round crown when open grown, straight with a clear, long bole when grown with competition. 

Shademaster Locust
Botanical Name: Gleditsia triacnthos var. Inermis 'Shademaster'

Family name: Fabaceae

Description:
One of the finest and most popular shade trees, valued for its delicate, ferny appearance which casts a dappled shade below; upright spreading and fast growing, seedless, very tolerant of adverse growing conditions, makes a great 

Ornamental Attributes:
Shademaster Honeylocust has dark green foliage throughout the season. The pinnately compound leaves turn an outstanding yellow in the fall. The flowers are not ornamentally significant. The furrowed khaki (brownish-green) bark is not particularly outstanding.

Landscape Attributes:
Shademaster Honeylocust is an open deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.
This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favour of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Shademaster Honeylocust is recommended for the following landscape applications;

Plant Characteristics:
Shademaster Honeylocust will grow to be about 45 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 40 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 8 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.

Silver Maple
Botanical name: Acer saccharinum

Family name: Aceraceae

Leaf: Opposite, simple with 5 deeply palmate sinuses, lobe margins coarsely serrate, 2 1/2 to 5 inches long; light green above, pale, silvery white below. 

Flower: Monoecious; greenish to reddish flowers appear in dense clusters in early spring long before leaves. 

Fruit: Samara, largest of any native maple, divergent wings 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long, germinate as soon as released, mature in late spring. 

Twig: Similar to red maple but stouter and often more chestnut-brown in colour, unpleasant odour when crushed; buds reddish brown with large scales, flower buds often in conspicuous dense clusters. 

Bark: Light gray and smooth when young, when older breaks up into long thin strips, loose at ends. Similar to red maple but coarser. 

Form: Can become quite a large tree reaching over 100 feet tall, trunk usually short, dividing into several sub-trunks. Long slender branches sweep downward and then curve gracefully upwards. 


Sugar Maple
Botanical name: Acer saccharum

Family name: Aceraceae

Leaf: Opposite, simple and palmately veined, 3 to 6 inches long, 5 delicately rounded lobes, entire margin; green above, paler below. 

Flower: Light yellow-green, small, clustered, hanging from a long, slender (1 to 3 inch) stem, appearing with or slightly before the leaves in early spring. 

Fruit: Two-winged horseshoe-shaped samaras about 1 inch long, appearing in clusters, brown when mature in the fall. 

Twig: Brown, slender and shiny with lighter lenticels; terminal buds brown, very sharp pointed, with tight scales. 

Bark: Variable, but generally brown, on older trees it becomes darker, develops furrows, with long, thick irregular curling outward, firm ridges. 

Form: Medium to tall tree (to 100 feet) with very dense elliptical crown. 

Tulip Tree
Botanical name: Liriodendron tulipifera

Family name: Magnoliaceae 

Leaf: Alternate, simple, palmately veined, orbicular, 4-lobed with an entire margin, 4 to 8 inches long, notched to flat top. Somewhat shaped like a tulip, light green to green. 

Flower: Monoecious; perfect, showy, resembling a large tulip, but high in the tree, 2 1/2 inches long, with yellow-green petals and an orange corolla, appearing in late spring to early summer. 

Fruit: An oblong (cone-like) aggregate of samaras (2 inches long), deciduous at maturity; each samara is 1-winged, 1 1/2 inches long, and curved upwards at seed cavity (resembling the front keel of a boat); maturing August to October and disseminating through late fall and winter; base whorls of samaras persist on fruit into following spring and resemble wooden flowers high in the tree. 

Twig: Red-brown in colour, often with a shiny appearance or a waxy bloom. Stipules are large and encircle the twig; buds are elongated and valvate, resembling a "duckbill". Twigs have a sweet, spicy odour when broken. 

Bark: Light gray-green and smooth when young, later developing flat-topped ridges and conspicuous white-coloured furrows in diamond-shaped patterns. On older trees sapsucker holes are common. 

Form: In a forest, a large tree with a long, straight limb-free bole very often reaching over 100 feet tall. Open-grown trees have a pyramidal crown when young, becoming oval in shape with time. 

Tree Care Tips 

If you received a new boulevard tree from the Town of Newmarket, please follow these tree care tips. 

How to water the tree
  • Remember to keep tree soil moist but not soaked. Overwatering a tree can cause negative effects to the tree's health. It is important to check the tree's soil below the surface and not at the surface.
  • Apply 90 litres (20 gallons) of water once every two weeks for clay sites and once a week on sandy sites.
  • Continue to water your tree until mid-fall. Once weather temperatures begin to drop, less watering will be required.
Mulch for Trees
  • Mulch can be very beneficial to trees as it maintains moisture, reduces compaction and helps improve soil conditions. The key is to apply mulch properly. Mulch that is applied improperly can cause the tree to die.
  • Apply mulch wide, not deep. A five to ten centimetre (two to four inch) layer is ideal. Too much mulch can cause problems with oxygen and moisture levels.
  • Keep mulch away from the trunk of the tree to avoid trunk rotting.
Tree Reminders
  • Not to plant flowers around trees. Flowers often require more frequent watering than trees. As a result, this can have negative effect on younger trees.
  • Not to build a retaining wall and/or garden bed(s) as they can have a negative effect on trees. The trunk of the tree should never be buried, and the soil should always be level with the base of the trunk. If the base of the trunk is buried, it has the potential to rot out the base and ultimately cause the tree to die.
  • Not to remove the wooden support stakes as they provide the necessary support until new trees establish a good root system. The Town will return to remove the support stakes within one-to-three years of planting.
  • Not to apply any products or dressings to tree wounds. These products will hinder the natural healing process of the tree.
  • Not to prune Town boulevard trees. If the boulevard tree requires pruning, please contact the Town of Newmarket at 905-895-5193 and the Town will review for necessary work.

Additional Resources

​Relevant Pages
 ​Helpful Links
 ​Latest News