Healthy Hedges W = Tolerates Wet Conditions Recommended Privacy Screen D = Tolerates Dry Conditions Replacements, Following Removal

Key

Species in boxes are our top picks and are highlighted with a photo. Healthy Hedges W = Tolerates wet conditions Recommended privacy screen D = Tolerates dry conditions replacements, following removal

= Prefers sunny locations of European buckthorn

= Prefers shade

http://chicagorti.org/HealthyHedges

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 9 10 11 12 13

Grass, Ground, and Herbaceous Shrubs Understory/Small Trees Canopy

Canada Anemone W Palm Sedge W Virginia Bluebells Lead Plant D Shrubby St. John’s Wort Prairie Willow Downy Serviceberry D Cockspur Hawthorn American Beech Anemone canadensis Carex muskingumensis Mertensia virginica Amorpha canescens Hypericum prolificum D Salix humilis Amelanchier arborea Crataegus crus-galli Fagus grandifolia (1-2’ H x 1’ W) (2-3’ H x 1-2’ W) (2’ H x 1-2’ W) (1-3’ H x 1-3’ W) (3-5’ H x 3-5’ W) (5-8’ H x 2-5’ W) (15-25’ H x 10-12’ W) (20-25’ H x 20-25’ W) (50-80’ H x 50-70’ W)

Wild Ginger Curly Wood Sedge Solomon’s Seal D Shrub Indigo W Winterberry W Elderberry W Allegheny Serviceberry Downy Hawthorn 9 White Pine Asarum canadense Carex rosea Polygonatum biflorum Amorpha fruticosa Ilex verticilata Sambucus canadensis Amelanchier laevis Crataegus mollis Pinus strobus (6” H x 6-12” W) (12” H x 12” W) (2-4’ H x 1-2’ W) (10-15’ H x 15-20’ W) (6-12’ H x 6-8’ W) (5-10’ H x 5-10’ W) (15-25’ H x 15-25’ W) (20-30’ H x 20-40’ W) (80-120’ H x 20-40’ W)

Butterfly Weed D 3 Beak Grass Wild Petunia D New Jersey Tea 11 Spicebush W Bladdernut Blue Beech 6 Hardy hawthorn with White Oak 8 Asclepias tuberosa Diarrhena obovata Ruellia humilis Ceanothus americanus Lindera benzoin Staphylea trifolia Carpinus caroliniana distinct lateral branching, Quercus alba (2-3’ H x 2-4’ W) (2’ H x 1’ W) (1-2’ H x 1-3’ W) (2-4’ H x 2-4’ W) (6-12’ H x 6-12’ W) (10-15’ H x 8-12’ W) (20-25’ H x 15-20’ W) soft fuzzy leaves, and (60-100’ H x 100’ W) showy white flowers One of the showiest Pale Purple Coneflower Little Bluestem D Posies of white flowers Ninebark D Early Low Blueberry 5 Mid-sized trees with followed by red fruits. Stately long-lived oak found milkweeds, it has orange Echinacea pallida Schizachyrium scoparium transform into unique seed Physocarpus opulifolius Vaccinium angustifolium smooth, gray bark. in every county of Illinois. clusters of flowers and (2-3’ H x 1-2’ W) (2-4’ H x 1-2’ W) heads for winter interest on (5-10’ H x 5-10’ W) (2-3’ H x 2-4’ W) This tree grows well in Ironwood Features light gray bark long, narrow leaves. It is this densely rounded shrub. different soils and pH. Ostrya virginiana and rounded leaves that drought-tolerant, will not Bottlebrush Grass Prairie Dropseed 1 Fragrant Sumac This is one tough little (40-45’ H x 20-30’ W) turn a rich red in fall. move around much in the Elymus hystrix Sporobolus heterolepsis Buttonbush W Rhus aromatica shrub. White flowers in Redbud 4 garden, and is a host for (3-4’ H x 1” W) (1-2’ H x 2-3’ W) Cephalanthus occidentalis (5-8’ H x 8-10’ W) spring attract insects. Cercis canadensis Chokecherry Red Oak many pollinators. (6-12’ H x 12-18’ W) Fruits appear in June and (20-30’ H x 25-35’ W) Prunus virginiana Quercus rubra Purple Lovegrass D Dense tufts of sprawling American Currant W 12 attract birds when ripe. (20-25’ H x 15-20’ W) (60-100’ H x 100’ W) Swamp Milkweed W Eragrostis spectabilis narrow-leaved grass that Hazelnut Ribes americanum Attractive multi-stemmed Asclepias incarnata (1-2’ H x 1-2’ W) turn golden in fall with a Corylus americana (3-5’ H x 3-5’ W) Nannyberry 7 tree with heart-shaped Staghorn Sumac Basswood/Linden (2-5’ H x 2-3’ W) lovely sweet scent. (5-8’ H x 5-10’ W) Viburnum lentago leaves. Magenta flowers Rhus typhina Tilia americana Big-leaf Aster Fast-growing shrub with (15-20’ H x 8-10’ W) in spring transform into (15-25’ H x 15-25’ W) (60-90’ H x 30-60’ W) Lady Fern 2 Eurybia macrophylla Sky Blue Aster Witchhazel D arching stems. Drooping unique peapods. Athyrium filix-femina (1’ H x 1’ W) Symphyotrichum Hamamelis virginiana yellow flowers mature into Excellent privacy hedge Arborvitae 10 Canadian Hemlock (2’ H x 1’ W) oolentangiense (10-20’ H x 15-20’ W) sweet-tart, edible fruit. Fall replacement. Has clusters Pagoda Dogwood Thuja occidentalis Tsuga canadensis of white flowers in summer Wild Geranium 13 (2-3’ H x 1-2’ W) foliage is a lovely red. Cornus alternifolia (30-60’ H x 10-15’ W) (40-70’ H x 25-35’ W) This hardy fern is great Geranium maculatum Wild Hydrangea and lovely red foliage in fall. (15-25’ H x 20-30’ W) for perennial borders and (1’ H x 1’ W) Golden Alexanders Hydrangea arborescens Carolina Rose This is a hardy, versatile woodlands. Zizia aurea (3-5’ H x 3-5’ W) Rosa carolina Blackhaw evergreen. The narrow Viburnum prunifolium Colony-forming forb with (1-3’ H x 2-3’ W) (3-8’ H x 4-6’ W) profile makes it a nice (12-15’ H x 12-20’ W) Hairy Wood Mint showy pink-purple flowers. choice for windbreaks. It Blephilia hirsutus requires very little care when used as a hedge. (3’ H x 18” W) Rough Blazing Star D Liatris aspera Wild Hyacinth (2-3’ H x 1-2’ W) Camassia schilloides *Plants shown are not to scale and (6-12” H x 12” W) Provided by: represent various seasonal characteristics. TIPS FROM OUR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS & BEST PRACTICES Healthy Hedges • Identify invasive species and remove them. Buckthorn is best controlled by cutting the Recommended privacy screen stem a few inches above the soil, then applying replacements, following removal herbicide to the cut stump. of European buckthorn • Assess what you have. Bare spots? Trees? Low areas with water? Have your soil tested. Learn the right plants for the right yard.

• Consider planting native species.

• Reduce turf grass and pesticide use.

• Eliminate insecticide use.

• Conserve water and collect rainwater.

• Use a mulching mower instead of a bagger. Alternatively, rake and compost leaves and clippings to redistribute on gardens for nature’s free fertilizer.

By developing a network of critical landscapes, everyone can work together to safeguard the resources and places that benefit people, wildlife, and the economy. Learn more online at chicagorti.org/HealthyHedges Buckthorn is the most common tree in the Chicago region, making up approximately 40 percent of our canopy, according to a 2010 tree census conducted by the U.S. Forest Service and The Morton Arboretum. Provided by: It will continue to be an issue until the whole community is involved: from private landowners to homeowner associations, golf courses to garden clubs, businesses to school districts.

But momentum is building and will continue to build. See the reverse page for recommended species to plant in place of invasive buckthorn. Together, public and private partners are working toward a buckthorn-free Chicago region.

Let’s tell this invader: “The BUCKTHORN stops here!” Photo courtesy Sage Advice LD