Species of Trees Planted in Nelson Park and Nelson Sitting Park

  • Red Maple
    • Red maple is one of the best named of all trees, featuring something red in each of the seasons—buds in winter, flowers in spring, leafstalks in summer, and brilliant foliage in autumn. This pageant of color, along with the red maple's relatively fast growth and tolerance to a wide range of soils, makes it a widely planted favorite.
    • Abundant on moist slopes and increasingly common in partially cut woodlots. It is an extremely rapid-growing tree, furnishing a fairly strong, close-grained wood, extensively used for cheap furniture
    • Boasts brilliant deep red or yellow fall color with red stems in winter
  • Sugar Maple “Green Mountain”
    • Besides providing beautiful borders to many miles of highway, and hundreds of thousands of gallons of maple syrup from the many thousands of sugar bushes in all parts of the state, it yields a wood of high grade.
    • The sugar maple is one of America’s most-loved trees. In fact, more states have claimed it as their state tree than any other single species—for New York, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Vermont, the maple tree stands alone. One of its most prominent features is amazing fall color. As the seasons change, the leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow, burnt orange, and red.
  • American Hornbeam
    • The tree is slow-growing and is rarely found larger than 10 inches in diameter.
  • Eastern Redbud/Weeping Redbud
    • Known as the harbinger of spring, the Redbud’s delicate blossoms and buds are one of the season’s most dramatic displays. But this tree’s beauty doesn’t end with its flowery show. Unique and irregular branching patterns combine with a trunk that commonly divides close to the ground to create a very handsome, spreading and often flat-topped crown.
  • Yellowwood
  • Honeylocust “Shademaster”
    • A fast-growing tree with fragrant spring flowers. Its delicate, open silhouette lets grass grow underneath. Tiny leaflets turn yellow or yellow-green in fall. Pollution, salt and drought tolerant. Adapts to a wide range of soils. Prefers full sun.
  • Tuliptree
    • One can argue about whether the "tulips" are the outline of its leaves or its cup-shaped flowers. But both undoubtedly contributed to the fanciful name given to this tree by early settlers. And the tuliptree is still beloved for its beauty today, serving as the state tree of Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. It is the tallest of the eastern hardwoods — and a rapid grower when conditions are right.
    • Its large tulip-like, greenish yellow flowers have given rise to the name "tulip tree."
  • Sweetgum
    • Sweetgum is one of the most aggressive pioneer tree species and quickly takes over abandoned fields and unmanaged cut-over forests. It will comfortably grow on many sites including wetlands, dry uplands and hill country up to 2,600'.
    • The American sweetgum — with its star-shaped leaves, neatly compact crown, interesting fruit, and twigs with unique corky growths called wings — is an attractive shade tree. It has become a prized specimen in parks, campuses, and large yards across the country.
  • Black Gum
    • One of the most attractive native trees around. Summer leaves are a dark green with a high-gloss appearance, but the most spectacular part of this tree is the fall foliage with many shades of yellow, orange, bright red, purple or scarlet that may appear on the same branch. Bark matures to medium gray and resembles alligator hide. Fruit is bluish-black and is loved by many birds.
  • White Oak
    • Growing to large size and producing lumber of high grade and value. It is found in moist as well as in dry locations. White oak acorns are an important food for wildlife.
    • This beautiful tree can be found presiding over pastures, providing shade in urban parks and suburban neighborhoods, and thriving in natural stands throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. It is also the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois, and Maryland.
  • Swamp White Oak
    • As the name suggests, this oak is found growing wild in low-lying and swampy areas — often moist bottomlands or river banks. But it grows just as well in an urban or suburban setting, with tolerance to compacted soil and (perhaps surprisingly) drought.
  • Bur Oak
    • The bur oak is a mighty sight to behold. A coarsely textured crown, wild and wooly acorns and a massive trunk with rough and deeply furrowed bark combine to make one impressive tree. Those characteristics helped this oak survive the elements of its wide-reaching natural range. In fact, the natural bur oak range is the northern- and western- most of all the eastern oak species.
  • Willow Oak
    • A handsome oak with willow-like leaves. Foliage is light to bright green in summer and yellow, yellow-brown and russet in fall. Relatively fast-growing, it tolerates poorly drained soil.
  • American Linden

Information on these trees was gathered from the Arbor Day Foundation, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and One Tree Planted