10 of the Best Shade Trees to Plant in Your Yard

The extremely pest-resistant ginkgo is the oldest tree on earth. Its the only surviving member of a group of plants believed to have inhabited the earth up to 150 million years ago. The tree's fan-shape leaves turn yellow in fall and drop all at once. For the easiest maintenance of a ginkgo, it's best to buy only trees labeled as male, since female ginkgos produce messy, stinky (but edible) fruit. Consider the following useful cultivars: 'Autumn Gold'; 'Magyar'; Presidential Gold (Ginkgo biloba 'The President'); Emperor (Ginkgo biloba 'Woodstock'); and 'Princeton Sentry'.

Name: Ginkgo biloba

Growing Conditions: Full sun in medium moisture, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 80 feet tall and 40 feet wide

Zones: 3-8

Buy It: 2 Ginkgo trees ($149, The Home Depot)

Congress declared the oak to be America’s national tree in 2004. This majestic shade tree has more than 60 species native to the United States, so try to choose the best oak species for your region. Live oak is the recommended oak species for Southern regions. In colder regions, northern red oak thrives the best. Burr oak, pin oak, sawtooth oak, scarlet oak, and swamp white oak are just some of the popular oak species with colorful fall foliage.

Name: Quercus spp.

Growing Conditions: Full sun in medium moisture, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 80 feet tall and wide (depending on variety)

Zones: 3-10

Buy It: Live oak ($31, The Home Depot)

Tough, low-maintenance shade trees that grow nearly anywhere, American hornbeams sport textured leaves that turn yellow to red in fall, then persist through winter. This shorter shade tree has beautiful ridged bark that's most noticeable in winter. This slow-growing, deciduous tree develops an attractive rounded shape.

Name: Carpinus caroliniana

Growing Conditions: Part shade to full shade in medium moisture soil

Size: Up to 35 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: American hornbeam tree ($10, Cold Stream Farm)

A tough shade tree that’s resistant to insects and diseases, Kentucky coffee tree was named its seeds, produced in long pods each year. Those seeds were ground, roasted, and used by early settlers as a coffee substitute. This tall, deciduous tree has scaly. gray-brown bark and yellow-to-brown fall foliage that will add bright color to your landscape. Look for standout male varieties (without seed pods, which can be messy) such as ‘Espresso’ and Prairie Titan (Gymnocladus dioicus  ‘J. C. McDaniel’).

Name: Gymnocladus dioica

Growing Conditions: Full sun in moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 80 feet tall and 55 feet wide

Zones: 3-8

Buy It: Kentucky coffee tree ($25, Old House Trees)

Slow-growing and stately, lindens come in a wide variety of types. Also known as American basswood, the heart-shape leaves provide dense shade, while the tiny yellow flowers produce small fruits that birds like. This medium to large deciduous tree produces a pale yellow fall color. Check out the following popular varieties: American Sentry (Tilia americana 'Mck Sentry'); 'Boulevard'; Legend (Tilia americana  'DTR 123'); 'Lincoln'; 'Redmond'; and Tilia americana var. heterophylla, known as white basswood or beetree linden.

Name: Tilia americana

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moisture, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 80 feet tall and 50 feet wide

Zones: 2-8

Buy It: American linden tree, ($80, Nature Hills Nursery)

One of the most dazzling shade trees for fall color is the maple. No matter what size yard you have, there's a colorful type of maple tree to fit your needs. In addition to their showy leaves, some types (such as the paperbark maple and coral bark Japanese maple) display intriguing branch color and texture. Other species, such as the red maple, display brightly colored flower clusters.

Name: Acer spp.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium to wet, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 70 feet tall and 50 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: Autumn blaze maple tree ($119, The Home Depot)

One of the largest trees native t0 North America, the tulip tree is named for its cup-shape orange, yellow, and green flowers that appear in late spring. The flowers are followed by dry, cone-shape brown fruits. Its bright green leaves turn golden yellow in fall. For a smaller cultivar, look for 'Little Volunteer' which grows up to 35 feet tall.

Name: Liriodendron tulipifera

Growing Conditions: Full sun in moist, well-drained soil.

Size: Up to 90 feet tall and 50 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Buy It: Tulip poplar ($52, Nature Hills Nursery)

Count on superb red fall color, plus shades of yellow, orange, and purple, when you plant a tupelo. This native tree is also commonly called black gum, sour gum, and black tupelo. Its dark green leaves turn bright scarlet in fall, and its fall fruits attract migrating songbirds.

Name: Nyssa sylvatica

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in average, medium to wet soils

Size: Up to 50 feet tall and 30 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: Black gum tree, ($97, Etsy)

Noted for its graceful shape, clean foliage, and resistance to Dutch elm disease, Japanese zelkova is a large deciduous tree with an upward-branching, vase-shape crown. As the tree ages, its smooth gray bark peels to reveal orange-brown inner bark. In the fall, its leaves turn a beautiful yellow-orange to red-brown color. Improved cultivars includs 'Green Vase', 'Halka', 'Musachino', and 'Village Green'.

Name: Zelkova serrata

Growing Conditions: Full sun in average, medium wet, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 80 feet tall and 80 feet wide

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Green Vase' zelkova tree, ($60, Fast Growing Trees)

With its distinctive vase shape and strong branches, elms have always been popular shade trees. Dutch elm disease, however, decimated an estimated 77 million of American elms in North America from 1930 to the late 1980s. Luckily, new disease-resistant varieties are available to start planting elms again. Lacebark or Chinese elms offer unusual mottled bark, small leaves, and good resistance to both Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle. 'Accolade' (Ulmus davidiana var. japonica 'Morton') is another Dutch elm disease-resistant deciduous elm that is noted for its vigorous growth, dark green foliage and good yellow fall color.

Name: Ulmus spp.

Growing Conditions: Full sun in medium moisture, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 60 feet tall and 40 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Buy It: Drake elm tree (2-pack), ($129, The Home Depot)