SPECIES GUIDANCE

Choosing your tree

From available space to pollen count, there is lots to consider when choosing a tree.

We aim to ensure a variety of street trees across London as well as choosing species best suited to the location.

The best tree for your street

How much room is there?

In general the smaller your pavement the smaller the tree, however there are other considerations such as size of front gardens, proximity to other buildings and other trees and street furniture. Our species guidance recommends trees based on eventual canopy size - small, medium or large - ensuring enough space is available for your tree at maturity. Once your location has been confirmed we will let you know which size is suitable.

How exposed or sheltered is your street?

Some tree species have adapted to life in extremely windy conditions such as the top of a cliff. Tamarix are the most wind resistant of street trees and Hawthorn and Cockspur come close behind. Any tree with delicate leaves is unsuitable as its leaves will be ripped off by a strong wind.

How can you assess your street?

One way is to walk round your street and the surrounding streets and to see which trees are thriving and which trees are either struggling or are causing damage to the pavement. Another way is to ask your Area Rep for a list of possibilities.

Which trees are high in pollen?

The following trees are high in pollen; Acer Maple (certain species only), Alnus Alder, Betula Birch, Carpinus Betulus Hornbeam, Corylus Hazel, Juglans Walnut, Juniperus Juniper, Ligustrum Privet, Liquidambar styraciflua American Sweetgum, Metasequoia glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood.

Thinking of an Ornamental Cherry?

Widely loved for their blossom, flowering cherries can be extremely destructive to pavements and garden walls, as such Lewisham Council has now stated these are no longer allowed in hard paving and are to be planted in soft verges only.

Do you suffer from hay fever or asthma?

Research indicates that the production of large amounts of pollen from certain trees can have a localised impact on allergy sufferers. Street Trees for Living lists some of the top producers of pollen to be avoided by hay fever and asthma sufferers, and also when planting near to schools or in avenues in public highways. For more information on ways to help reduce risk of exposure to allergic pollen for people living with pollen and respiratory allergy please visit the Allergy UK website.

What species are available?

Occasionally, when ordering trees, it is not possible to meet species requests, usually because a tree is unavailable. In this case, STfL and Lewisham Council will choose the closest possible substitute.

Carbon sequestration

Street trees are an important asset in the fight against climate change. However, trees don’t start to absorb carbon until they are roughly thirty years of age minimum. Therefore it is very important that we try to plant as many long-lived trees as possible where we can. Examples of these are: Quercus, Ginkgo, Tilia, Platanus, Carpinus and Taxodium.

Click HERE to view Barcham’s ‘Top Trunks’ guide. You can find out how long your tree will live for and how much carbon it stores at maturity! We have also added this information to our tree species list below.

Tree diversity

The 10-20-30 rule (Santamour,f, 2002) is a method of ensuring your tree population remains sufficiently diverse:

  • No more than 10% should be the same species (prunus avium, wild cherry)

  • No more than 20% should be the same genus (prunus, cherry)

  • No more than 30% should be the same family (Rosacea Family)

    • Acer ginnala - Amur Maple (50, C)

    • Acer platanoides Crimson Sentry (150, C)

    • Betula pendula ‘Fastigiata’ - Upright Silver Birch (50, B)

    • Cercis siliquastrum - Judas Tree (35, C)

    • Crataegus laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ and ‘Plena’ - Hawthorn* (75, C)

    • Crataegus x lavalleei - Lavallée Hawthorn* very small (75, C)

    • Crataegus x persimilis - Broad-leaved Cockspur Thorn* very small (75, C)

    • Lagerstroemia indica - Crape Myrtle (35, C)

    • Ligustrum lucidum - Chinese Tree Privet (75, B)

    • Ligustrum japonicum - Japanese Tree Privet (75, B)

    • Magnolia ‘Galaxy’ - Hybrid Magnolia (50, C)

    • Magnolia ‘Star Wars’ - Hybrid Magnolia (50, C)

    • Malus cultivars - Crab Apple* (50, C)

    • Pyrus calleryana Chanticleer - Ornamental Pear* (75, C)

    • Syringa vulgaris Lilac - Lilac Tree very small (50, D)

    • Tamarix gallica - French tamarisk (50, C)

    • Acer buergerianum - Trident Maple (50, C)

    • Acer campestre - Field Maple (150, B)

    • Acer platanoides ‘Columnare’ - Norway Maple (150, B)

    • Acer rubrum - Red Maple (75, B)

    • Alnus cordata - Italian Alder (75, B)

    • Betula pendula - Silver Birch (75, B)

    • Betula pubescens - Downy Birch (50, B)

    • Corylus colurna - Turkish Hazel (50, B)

    • Crataegus monogyna - Common Hawthorn* (75, C)

    • Ginkgo biloba - Maidenhair Tree (250, B)

    • Gleditsia triacanthos - Honey Locust (100, B)

    • Koelreuteria paniculata - Golden Rain Tree (35, D)

    • Liquidambar styraciflua - Sweetgum (150, B)

    • Magnolia ‘Heaven Scent’ - Hybrid Magnolia (50, C)

    • Magnolia kobus - Kobushi Magnolia (50, C)

    • Robinia pseudoacacia - False Acacia (100, A)

    • Sorbus intermedia - Swedish Whitebeam* (50, C)

    • Sorbus x thuringiaca - Hybrid Sorbus (50, D)

    • Tilia henryana - Henry’s Lime (150, C)

    • Tilia mongolica - Mongolian Lime (150, C)

    • Ulmus - Elms resistant cultivars (100, A)

    • Acer platanoides - Norway Maple (150, A)

    • Aesculus Indica – Indian Horse Chestnut (150, A)

    • Carpinus betulus - Hornbeam (150, A)

    • Celtis australis - Nettle Tree (150, A)

    • Lireodendron tulipifera - Tulip Tree (150, B)

    • Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia (50, C)

    • Pinus Nigra - Black Pine (150, B)

    • Platanus x hispanica - London Plane Tree (250, A)

    • Styphnolobium japonicum - Japanese Pagoda Tree (100, B)

    • Tilia cordata - Small-leaved Lime (150, A)

Species list

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Click + to expand list

With each species below you will find a number of different cultivars

Figures in brackets refer to Life Expectancy and Carbon Credit Score A-E

*Please note that these trees are in the Rosacea family, a species which dominates current street tree stock. We will only plant a small percentage of these trees per year to increase tree diversity in order to reduce the risk of pests and diseases. For more information please see the paragraph about street tree diversity above.