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.

Find your tree

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

Hesperocyparis arizonica - Arizona cypress foliage

Arizona cypress

Hesperocyparis arizonica

Quercus douglasii - blue oak acorn and leaves

Blue oak

Quercus douglasii

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

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

California buckeye

Aeculus californica

Platanus racemosa - California sycamore

California sycamore

Platanus racemosa

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

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

Bright yellow flowers of palo verde have orange centers

Desert Museum palo verde

Parkinsonia × ‘Desert Museum’

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

Fruitless olive

Olea europaea

Koelreuteria paniculata - Goldenrain tree flowers

Goldenrain tree

Koelreuteria paniculata

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

Jeffrey pine

Pinus jeffreyi

London plane

Platanus × acerifolia

Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica

Pepper tree

Schinus molle

Persian ironwood

Parrotia persica

Pomegranate

Punica granatum ‘Wonderful’

Ponderosa pine

Pinus ponderosa

Red tip photinia

Photinia × fraseri

Sawleaf zelkova

Zelkova serrata

Shantung maple

Acer truncatum

Acacia stenophylla - Shoestring acacia

Shoestring acacia

Acacia stenophylla

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

Pointy and lobed leaves of a Texas red oak

Texas red oak

Quercus buckleyi

Quercus lobata - valley oak

Valley oak

Quercus lobata

Western redbud

Cercis occidentalis

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

Willow oak

Quercus phellos