Shady 80

Recommended trees for a cooler Sacramento region

It's important to plant the right tree in the right place. Use this catalog to help narrow down your tree selection. This list includes over 80 of the best trees for the Sacramento region — trees that will thrive in our climate and soil, that are ideal for urban and suburban areas, and that are relatively free of serious pests and diseases.

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  • Deciduous or evergreen

  • Features

  • Mature size

  • Growth rate

  • Find a specific tree

Download our list of recommended trees. Please note that some information, especially regarding tree availability, is subject to change.

Vitex agnus-castus - Chaste tree leaves & flowers

Chaste tree

Vitex agnus-castus

Chinese flame tree

Koelreuteria bipinnata

Chinese pistache

Pistacia chinensis

Zelkova serrata 'Musashino' - Columnar zelkova

Columnar zelkova

Zelkova serrata ‘Musashino’

A cork oak gracefully growing in a very dry urban planter strip

Cork oak

Quercus suber

A large white flower of a Little Gem magnolia opens all the way to reveal light yellow stamens in the center, with dark evergreen foliage providing a nice contrast

Dwarf Southern magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora

European hornbeam

Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’

Fern pine leaves are lanceolate and evergreen. Although 'pine' is part of its common name, it is not actually a pine and does not have needles. New growth is bright and almost chartreuse, while older leaves are a darker green color.

Fern pine

Afrocarpus falcatus

A young but established 'Frontier' elm grows in a grassy park strip between the street and sidewalk in front of homes in midtown Sacramento. It's already tall enough to shade the sidewalk, cars parked along the curb, and the front yard. Within a decade, it will provide shade for the bike lane, street, and homes nearby.

Frontier elm

Ulmus ‘Frontier’

Beautiful twisting branches and gray-green foliage adorn a multitrunked fruitless Wilson olive growing in a front yard

Fruitless olive

Olea europaea

Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' fall color

Ginkgo

Ginkgo biloba

An incense cedar grows in front of a house; it is a tall evergreen conifer that somewhat resembles the shape of a redwood

Incense cedar

Calocedrus decurrens

An interior live oak growing near a roadside

Interior live oak

Quercus wislizeni

Japanese snowbell

Styrax japonicus

London plane

Platanus × acerifolia

Pomegranate

Punica granatum ‘Wonderful’

Red maple

Acer rubrum

Red tip photinia

Photinia × fraseri

Sawleaf zelkova

Zelkova serrata

Shantung maple

Acer truncatum

Two shiny xylosmas flank a walkway, providing evergreen interest and a touch of whimsy with their twisted trunks

Shiny xylosma

Xylosma congestum

Acacia stenophylla - Shoestring acacia

Shoestring acacia

Acacia stenophylla

Bright orange fall leaves of the Shumard oak

Shumard oak

Quercus shumardii

Strawberry tree

Arbutus spp.

Clusters of creamy yellow bay laurel flowers bloom along twigs at the base of dark green leaves commonly used in cooking

Sweet bay laurel

Laurus nobilis

A front yard trident maple invites visitors with intriguing bark patterns and leaves shaped like duck feet

Trident maple

Acer buergerianum

Brilliant red fall color and a tall pyramidal shape are a couple reasons people love the tupelo

Tupelo

Nyssa sylvatica

Quercus lobata - valley oak

Valley oak

Quercus lobata

Bright red berries on the Washington hawthorn stand out among chartreuse leaves, a favorite for birds

Washington hawthorn

Crataegus phaenopyrum