Native street trees: which ones take pavement, salt and drought, and how to fit one to the strip and the wires

On a street, plant a tree that takes little, hard-packed soil, heat off the pavement, dry spells and, in the North, road salt. Among the natives we grow, white fringetree and eastern redbud suit a narrow strip, and black gum and Kentucky coffeetree a wide one. Before planting, check three things: the strip’s width, the wires overhead, and who owns the strip, which is usually the town.

What the street does to a tree

Pavement soaks up the sun and gives the heat back after dark. Cities run about 1 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the countryside by day and 2 to 5 at night, most of all in the humid East.

Road salt arrives two ways. Spray from traffic can carry up to 1,000 feet and dries the buds of leafless trees in late winter. Salt in the meltwater builds up in the soil over time, more in clay than in sand.

Most of a tree’s water-absorbing roots lie in the top 6 to 18 inches, and compacted soil calls for more room. In a sidewalk opening with less than 200 square feet of open soil, a tree’s growth is held back within 20 years.

How wide a strip, how far from the wires

A tree of 20 feet or less suits soil too limited for anything bigger. One of 40 feet or less needs a strip 4 to 8 feet wide, and a taller one more than 8. Eastern redbud and American holly also fit a tree lawn of 3 to 4 feet. Keep the trunk at least 2 feet from the pavement for a tree under 30 feet, 4 for one under 50 and 6 for a larger one.

The site check judges wires by the International Society of Arboriculture’s zones. Within 15 feet of distribution wires, plant a tree that matures at 20 feet or less, and from 15 to 50 feet, one of 40 feet or less. A taller tree is cut back for the rest of its life, as the site check warns for a 30-foot redbud 10 feet from the wires.

Native street trees we grow, small to large

A fact sheet recommends each tree below for streets.

Close to the wires, white fringetree stays within the 20-foot limit. Yaupon is planted 15 feet from them, since some yaupons pass 20 feet. From 15 to 50 feet out, eastern redbud and hop hornbeam stay within 40.

Black gum earns its place on heavy city ground:

“Does amazingly well in wet, compacted soils typical of many urban areas with highly disturbed clay soil.” (UF/IFAS Extension, Nyssa sylvatica: Black Tupelo)

Flowering dogwood and sourwood do not withstand city pollution, and cucumber magnolia does not take compacted city soil, so keep all three out of a street strip.

Blue Whale Trees grows all nine from seed, and the street trees page lists the rest.

Why a street needs more than one kind

Before about 1970, the street trees of many eastern cities were mostly elms, and Minneapolis lost many of its elms to Dutch elm disease. From 2014 the city set out to replace 30,000 ash street trees, lost or threatened to emerald ash borer. The usual guard, credited to Frank Santamour in 1990, is the 10-20-30 rule: at most 10 percent of a city’s trees in one species, 20 in a genus and 30 in a family. Minneapolis also bars a sixth tree of any genus on a block:

“The Minneapolis urban forest is more diverse and more resilient to future pests and conditions as a result of utilizing neighborhood and street block scale tree selection guidelines.” (Potyondy, Minneapolis Street Tree Planting Guidelines to Increase Diversity, 2025)

For one strip, choose a tree unlike those already on the block.

Whose strip it is, and before you dig

The strip between the sidewalk and the curb is usually public right-of-way, even where the owner beside it must care for the trees. Planting there usually takes the town’s permit, and some towns accept only species from their own list. Call 811 a few business days before digging, so the buried lines are marked.

Then choose and check:

• Choose. The tree finder opens on small street trees for zone 6; set your own zone and height limit.
• Check. The site check tests a species against your distances to wires and house.

Common questions

Can I plant a tree in the strip by the road?

Usually only with the town’s permit, since the strip is most often public right-of-way.

What trees can be planted under power lines?

Within 15 feet of the wires, choose a tree of 20 feet or less, such as white fringetree. From 15 to 50 feet, choose one of 40 feet or less, such as eastern redbud.

Which street trees tolerate road salt?

Kentucky coffeetree, black gum and yellowwood are among the natives that take road salt. Hop hornbeam does not tolerate salt.

How wide does a tree lawn need to be?

A tree of 40 feet or less needs a strip 4 to 8 feet wide, and a taller one more than 8. Eastern redbud and American holly fit 3 to 4 feet.

Sources

• What Are Heat Islands?: US Environmental Protection Agency: pavement that takes in the sun’s heat and gives it back after sunset, and cities about 1 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than outlying areas by day and 2 to 5 degrees at night, most of all in humid regions of the eastern United States.
• Minimize Deicer Damage with Salt Tolerant Plants: Penn State Extension (Mary Jo R. Gibson, updated 2026): salt spray and soil-borne salt as the two kinds of deicer damage, spray carried up to 1,000 feet by traffic and wind, its harm to the buds of deciduous trees in late winter, and salt from meltwater building up in the soil over time, more in clay than in sand.
• How much space does a tree’s root system need to grow properly?: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach: the water-absorbing roots in the top 6 to 18 inches, the space between sidewalk and curb as right-of-way, more planting area for compacted soil, and the trunk at least 2, 4 or 6 feet from pavement for small, medium and large trees.
• Trees and Plants: The Morton Arboretum, the planting-site definitions and the pages for tupelo, Kentucky coffeetree and yellowwood: the city parkway as usually publicly controlled ground, growth restricted within 20 years in a sidewalk opening with less than 200 square feet of open soil and sooner in a smaller one, road salt among the tolerances of all three trees, clay for yellowwood, and drought and restricted sites for coffeetree.
• Avoiding Tree & Utility Conflicts: International Society of Arboriculture (2021): low-zone trees of 20 feet or less within 15 feet of distribution wires and where soil is too limited for larger ones, medium-zone trees of 40 feet or less from 15 to 50 feet with planting areas 4 to 8 feet wide, tall-zone sites wider than 8 feet, and the repeated pruning of trees that outgrow their zone.
• Nyssa sylvatica: Black Tupelo: UF/IFAS Extension, the fact sheets for black tupelo, yaupon, fringetree, eastern redbud, American holly, baldcypress and cucumbertree: the quotation on black gum, yaupon in sidewalk cutouts, high salt spray tolerance for yaupon and American holly, fringetree in a sidewalk tree pit, redbud and holly in a tree lawn 3 to 4 feet wide, holly as a street tree with its lower branches removed, baldcypress on streets from Charlotte to Tampa and its drought tolerance, and cucumbertree’s intolerance of compacted urban soil.
• Gymnocladus dioicus: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, the pages for Kentucky coffeetree, eastern redbud, hophornbeam, flowering dogwood and sourwood: Kentucky coffeetree as a dependable city tree that takes drought and air pollution, redbud’s sensitivity to lawn herbicides, hophornbeam’s tolerance of drought and clay but not salt, and dogwood and sourwood as trees that do not withstand pollution or urban settings.
• Minneapolis Street Tree Planting Guidelines to Increase Diversity: P.J. Potyondy, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (2025): elm as the main street tree of many eastern cities before 1970 and the losses to Dutch elm disease, the replacement of 30,000 ash street trees from 2014, the 10-20-30 rule credited to Frank Santamour in 1990, the limit of five trees of one genus to a block, and the quotation on the city’s more diverse urban forest.
• Forestry FAQ’s: City of Gahanna, Ohio: the tree lawn as public right of way, the permit needed to plant a street tree, and the adjacent owner’s duty to maintain it.
• Street Tree Placement: City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa: a permit to plant in the right-of-way and a species chosen from the city’s own tree list.
• Before You Dig: Common Ground Alliance, 811 Before You Dig: calling 811 a few business days before digging so that buried utility lines are marked with paint or flags.