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

Pinus eldarica - Mondell pinecone - SelecTree

Afghan pine

Pinus eldarica

Pinus halepensis - Aleppo pine - SelecTree

Aleppo pine

Pinus halepensis

Ostrya virginiana - American hop hornbeam fruit

American hop hornbeam

Ostrya virginiana

Hesperocyparis arizonica - Arizona cypress foliage

Arizona cypress

Hesperocyparis arizonica

Willow like leaves, dark brown bark, and a multitrunk structure featured on a no-fuss Australian willow growing in a very tiny planter strip in downtown Sacramento

Australian willow

Geijera parviflora

Pinus nigra - Austrian black pinecone - SelecTree

Austrian black pine

Pinus nigra

Bald cypress

Taxodium distichum

Silvery blue needles on a blue atlas cedar

Blue atlas cedar

Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’

Quercus douglasii - blue oak acorn and leaves

Blue oak

Quercus douglasii

A younger bottle tree in a front yard showing off its upright pyramidal form

Bottle tree

Brachychiton populneus

Light bark and broad, dark green leaves on a bronze loquat

Bronze loquat

Eriobotrya deflexa

Bubba desert willow

Chilopsis linearis ‘Bubba’

Very large unripe acorns of the bur oak, green and round with frilly buff caps

Bur oak

Quercus macrocarpa

Smooth elongated leaves of the California bay are slightly slimmer than those of a sweet bay, and they have a pungent, warm, herbal aroma

California bay laurel

Umbellularia californica

Pillars of white flowers adorn the tips of California buckeye branches in spring

California buckeye

Aesculus californica

Platanus racemosa - California sycamore

California sycamore

Platanus racemosa

A gigantic centurian camphor tree sprawls over midtown Sacramento's former Java City, now Paesano's, in a small planter strip between the sidewalk and street. This aromatic evergreen was iconic in the City of Trees, but it was removed and its wood recycled after verticillium wilt killed it.

Camphor

Camphora officinarum

A row of Canary Island pine planted along a residential street

Canary Island pine

Pinus canariensis

Rounded leaves on a carob tree

Carob tree

Ceratonia siliqua

Vitex agnus-castus - Chaste tree leaves & flowers

Chaste tree

Vitex agnus-castus

Chestnut leaf oak

Quercus castaneifolia

Chinese flame tree

Koelreuteria bipinnata

Chionanthus retusus - Chinese fringe tree flowers

Chinese fringe tree

Chionanthus retusus

Chinese pistache

Pistacia chinensis ‘Keith Davey’

Coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia

A trio of fiery crimson columnar red maples putting on a dazzling fall display

Columnar red maple

Acer × freemanii ‘Armstrong’

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 magnificent Deodar cedar trunk winds upward toward the sky while its drooping evergreen foliage shades a grassy field.

Deodar cedar

Cedrus deodara

Bright yellow flowers of palo verde have orange centers

Desert Museum palo verde

Parkinsonia × ‘Desert Museum’

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

A sweet Eastern redbud blooms in a front yard garden. This homeowner has created a special garden bed separate from the lawn for this tree and an evergreen shrub, free of grass so the tree will thrive.

Eastern redbud

Cercis canadensis

Emerald Sunshine elm

Ulmus propinqua ‘JFS-Bieberich’

European hackberry

Celtis australis

European hornbeam

Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’

Twisting branches on an evergreen pear

Evergreen pear

Pyrus kawakamii

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 gracilior

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 ‘Autumn Gold’

Koelreuteria paniculata - Goldenrain tree flowers

Goldenrain tree

Koelreuteria paniculata

A hedge maple has a cute rounded canopy kind of like a hedgehog

Hedge maple

Acer campestre

Holly oak

Quercus ilex

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

Italian stone pine

Pinus pinea

Bright pink to red buds open to soft pink flowers before leaves emerge on the Japanese crabapple

Japanese crabapple

Malus floribunda

Japanese snowbell

Styrax japonicus

Jeffrey pine

Pinus jeffreyi

Kentucky coffeetree

Gymnocladus dioicus ‘Espresso’

A littleleaf linden grows in a pyramidal shape in a residential front lawn

Littleleaf linden

Tilia cordata ‘Greenspire’

London plane

Platanus × acerifolia

Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica

Oregon ash

Fraxinus latifolia

Pepper tree

Schinus molle

Persian ironwood

Parrotia persica ‘Vanessa’

Persimmon

Diospyros kaki ‘Fuyu’

Pineapple guava

Feijoa sellowiana

Pomegranate

Punica granatum ‘Wonderful’

Ponderosa pine

Pinus ponderosa

Hot pink flowers bloom before leaves emerge on the Prairifire crabapple

Prairifire crabapple

Malus ‘Prairifire’

Princeton Sentry ginkgo

Ginkgo biloba ‘Princeton Sentry’

Prospector elm

Ulmus ‘Prospector’

Red maple

Acer rubrum

A red oak grows in a front yard with a large round canopy of dense foliage

Red oak

Quercus rubra

Photo coming soon

Red Push pistache

Pistacia × ‘Red Push’

Red tip photinia

Photinia × fraseri

Graceful whips of foliage stream downward from a river birch in a front yard

River birch

Betula nigra ‘Dura-Heat’

Soft pink and white petals with a fuschia underside color the fist-sized flowers of saucer magnolias in late winter before leaves emerge

Saucer magnolia

Magnolia × soulangeana

Sawleaf zelkova

Zelkova serrata

Pointy and lobed green leaves of a scarlet oak

Scarlet oak

Quercus coccinea

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

Silver linden

Tilia tomentosa ‘Sterling’

Southern live oak

Quercus virginiana

Southern magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora

Spring Snow crabapple

Malus ‘Spring Snow’

Strawberry tree

Arbutus ‘Marina’

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

Pointy and lobed leaves of a Texas red oak

Texas red oak

Quercus buckleyi

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

Trident maple

Acer buergerianum

Glossy, serrated, assymetrical leaves of the Triumph elm

Triumph elm

Ulmus ‘Morton Glossy’

Cream colored and tulip-shaped flowers with orange streaks on inner petals give the tulip tree its name.

Tulip tree

Liriodendron tulipfera

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

Tupelo

Nyssa sylvatica

Turkey oak

Quercus cerris

Upright English oak

Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’

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

Western redbud

Cercis occidentalis

Elongated willow-like leaves and an upright form define the willow oak

Willow oak

Quercus phellos

Photo coming soon

Wireless zelkova

Zelkova serrata ‘Wireless’

Large, soft yellow flowers sit atop branches of the Yellow Bird magnolia

Yellow Bird magnolia

Magnolia × ‘Yellow Bird’