Carefully chosen and placed trees have a huge effect on your landscape. Beyond their aesthetic value (it is estimated that each mature tree adds roughly $1,000 to your property value), trees can buffer you and your house from extreme temperatures, which will make you more comfortable and lower your utility bills.

When rain is scarce, concentrate on watering your trees, not your lawn. This is true even though your lawn will look like it needs it more. Here's an excellent article from UGA that explains how trees cool their surroundings, and also cool themselves through transpiration. They cannot effectively do this without a consistent and adequate water supply.

I have never, NEVER heard that a mature tree adds value to your property. Most people even get rid of them, especially so in suburban areas because they either block out the light from the garden and house or they leave a leafy mess in autumn or take up too much space.

That seems like a pretty broad statement, Arico. I have several mature trees on my property, which is large enough to keep them in scale. They provide screening, shade, fruit, fall color, and winter interest. The few that have died over the years I have replaced with better suited cultivars. I do live in a rural area, so am fortunate to have enough space to accommodate large evergreens (cedar, fir, spruce, hemlock) as well as smaller ornamentals (crabapple, dogwood, katsura, golden chain, Japanese maples) and fruit trees (cherry, pear, plum). I like to think they have added value, certainly in my mind if not on paper.

Well perhaps, but that is exactly what the TS meant, they add value on paper while I think they absolutely don't, not here anyway.

What is the TS?

Topic starter

I have also heard that trees add value. Years ago my in-laws had clear cut all the oaks and maples for fire wood and every chance I get I plant more.

The value of something is all in the eyes of the beholder, more so for these sort of things ;) Personally I only think large mature trees look good in larger gardens or parks.

The first thing we did with both of the houses we have owned, after moving in, we cut all the trees.
My parents did the same thing.

mature trees are nice if they are healthy and farther away from the house. Personally I think most town yards are WAY too small for the silver maples, cypress and willow trees most people plant all over town. Within a few years the utility companies are out butchering them. They also cause thousands of dollars of damage to roofs, sewer/water lines, sidewalks/paved areas, not to mention fall on the house. They drop pollen, fruit, leaves all over the roof/gutter and driveway and are just a nuisance. The other thing is, people plant trees that get too large and then wonder why the landscaping around the house looks so awful...well it's sucked to death by the tree roots! For sure not conducive to gardening, and cost a small fortune to have one taken down should it be needed. Not only that, but most of them are so huge in smaller yards that it causes disputes with other landowners and having to worry about it damaging someone else's home/utilities.

Yikes. That seems really drastic to me. There are lots of resources out there with recommendations for trees for small lots, sidewalk trees, trees OK to plant close to structures, small trees, etc. Rather than a scorch-the-earth approach, I would carefully choose trees that would fit the lot. As an example using trees native to my area - it would be difficult to pull off a big leaf maple in an urban front yard (100' plus), but a vine maple (20-30') would be a lovely accent (small, well behaved, gorgeous fall color). Can't imagine a yard without some trees - strikes me as a bit single-dimensional.

Plus, where do you hang your hammock??

Bonehead said:Yikes. That seems really drastic to me. There are lots of resources out there with recommendations for trees for small lots, sidewalk trees, trees OK to plant close to structures, small trees, etc. Rather than a scorch-the-earth approach, I would carefully choose trees that would fit the lot. As an example using trees native to my area - it would be difficult to pull off a big leaf maple in an urban front yard (100' plus), but a vine maple (20-30') would be a lovely accent (small, well behaved, gorgeous fall color). Can't imagine a yard without some trees - strikes me as a bit single-dimensional.

Plus, where do you hang your hammock??

They come like this nowadays

I like the shade of a tree when I lay in my hammock. And plus how are the birds supposed to poop on you with no tree

well I replanted trees. Just not the huge 'shade' trees that really belong in huge yards, parks and well, the forest !
I planted with crabapple, redbud, dogwoods, holly, plums, and cherry trees. And I didn't put them really close to the house. We actually cut a huge silver maple that some moron planted 8 ft from our house. no kidding. Like, what where they thinking? An Elm that was so large I could not get my arms around it-15 ft from our sewer tank. Whoever did that had a brain fart moment.

Personally, I love going through neighborhoods with large, mature trees. I do think it increases the value of a home, for me. When I was looking for homes, I was much more impressed with homes that had mature trees, especially mature trees by the street. Mature trees in front of windows of a house, though, is often bad placement and detracts from the home. Well-placed mature trees, though, are great.

That said, however, I have recently (last few years) gotten into the gardening mindset and now I want my trees to be more productive...and very few people have fruit-bearing or nut-bearing trees, especially around here. Most people have maples or other trees that produce non-edibles.

In my yard, in addition to maples, evergreens, and sycamore, I have apple trees, pear trees, and a plum tree--which is great for me, but I completely understand how some people wouldn't want fruit trees. Trees CAN be a very personal thing...but I do still think mature trees add value to the house. That seems like a very plausible assertion, to me.

IMHO a house without trees in the yard sticks out like a sore thumb. Trees and landscaping marry your home to your yard making a attractive place to call home. We live in a city and everyone has trees in their yards. Here in the cold north trees provide shade and break the wind providing valuable savings on both heating and cooling. I remember when we first built our home and the trees were small it was so hot in the summer and the winter winds made huge snow drifts. When you see a home here without trees it is a new home and the owners have not yet landscaped. When your yard is landscaped with trees, shrubs and flowers the birds and butterflies will also make their homes in your yard which in turn gives us and our neighbors lots of enjoyment.

I am one for the trees. I will not purchase a house without a bunch of them The first thing I noticed on our
Forever Home in Virginia was the amazing oak we now have the pleasure of caring for. I have been looking for
more trees to plant in the spring . So far a Weeping Willow is going by the stream and a bunch of fruit trees .

I LOVE trees

Here is our new big baby..and it keeps the house cooler in the summer


and his friend

They are getting their falls colors now and are Beautiful

Maybe it is regional. But trees do add to the value of your home here. I had a drunk driver knock down a lilac bush that was mature so it was really a 8' tree. The insurance company said property value of 600.00.

Anyone that is in real estate in this city know the value of trees. A house without trees have a lower value and will take longer to sell in my area.

Had a house like that in my neighborhood with no trees. The guy hated raking the leaves he removed every tree on the property and replaced with some evergreen bushes that he kept trimmed like balls. When they tried to sell the house it sat for 2 yrs when in this area they sell in 3-6 months. An acre of land with some round balls is just not attractive for the home or the property.

It probably sat a long time for a reason other than the landscaping. If he had strange taste outdoors, there is a good chance he had some strange stuff going on inside as well. Plus some houses are tied up in red tape/inspection things that take forever to sell.

Do you think trees and property value increase (or lack thereof) could be tied to climate? In a colder, or more cloudy climate, buyers might want clear spaces for the sunlight. In very hot areas, like mine, trees are gold if they shade the house--cooling bills at locations with shade trees are often half that of locations without trees. Just a thought.

Debra, tree placement is just as valuable in cold areas too. They block the wind and cold in cold areas. One of the reasons evergreens are so popular as foundation plants for us cold country people. "The Mature Tree" in suburban areas is also a privacy provider that owners love. They do not want to look out their door/window and look at their neighbors.

Frilly I am sure it was a group of things but I am also sure it was held back because of the landscape. It is how it seems to work in this area. Buyers market you could say. Prospective buyers do a lot of drive by and if it does not look like what they want they keep driving. One of the selling points around here that is included in the ad "Mature Trees"

As my side line income I purchase properties with the purpose of renting/flipping. It is amazing the lack of vision people have when they buy houses. I could not believe one woman said because of the way the house was staged she could not tell whether the house was 4 bedrooms or 3 bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was set up as an office. (a desk, Bookcase, etc) When I asked her why was she confused she said because one room looked like an office and not a bedroom. Dah