Tree 101: Figuring Out What Kind Of Trees We Have

Stumped by which kinds of trees are in your yard? Here some tips to help quickly identify any unknown tree!

This year is about about trees – learning about them, tending to them, pruning a few, and in some  cases, chopping them.

Our yard is packed with trees. No matter which side you're viewing it from there are trees around.

In the front, we have an apple tree that needs a little bit of love,  and a few dogwoods.

By the house we have pine trees (duh!) which provide shade and help keep the cooling bills reasonable (but clog our gutters). And in our backyard we have oaks scattered.

And then there are the others.

What Kind of Tree is This?

Walking the property, we found quite a few trees we didn't know.

As we were chopping down the weeds we found some unknown to us saplings and when we were trying to clean up the yard we discovered unfamiliar leaves.

Being curious, we searched online to see what they were.

If you're stumped (yeah, I went there) with identifying the trees in your yard, here are some of my favorite tools:

• What Tree Is That?
• LeafSnap: Take a picture with this app and see what tree you have.
• Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region
• The Sibley Guide to Trees

Heads up, if you're not familiar with the terminology, the questions can throw you off.

I admit I had to rely on the pictures to help me out. So feel free to snap away and make sure you get the correct identification.

The good news is it looks like we have quite a collection of trees in our yard, besides the ones I mentioned, we also have:

• Magnolia
• Walnut
• Tulip
• Green Ash

Dealing with Sick Trees

We love having trees on the property, but we've also had some problems as a few of them needed to be taken down.

In June a huge limb from one of the oaks fell off and smashed our patio set. The scary part was we were relaxing on it not even five minutes before! (Prayer of thanks for that)

We've also had to have professionals come in and chop down some sick oaks. On the down side, it set us back a pretty penny, but we now have more sun come in right in the area we need it to be in (next year's garden spot).

Thoughts on Trees

Hoping when the leaves fall later this year on the remaining trees, we can use add some mulch on tip and get the whole yard ready in time for next spring.

I'd love to here the set up around your place. Which trees do you have in your yard? Any favorites?