Trees That Add Value to Your Property

• Any time there is a bucolic scene on TV, a movie or a print ad of a home, there are trees in it. Home is about a feeling of security and stability, and trees, especially mature ones, help to anchor that feeling. Trees provide cooling shade in the summer, color and character to our home, a place to play for our children and fresh, clean air to our environment. Trees can add to the sales price of your home. The trick is finding the tree varieties that speak to buyers and urge them to open their pockets a little wider.
  
  

Mature Trees

• Mature trees can be expensive, but provide more visual impact than smaller, less mature trees. The moving process can be traumatic for a tree, but selecting a tree that is native to the area and placing it in the right location and conditions will help it thrive.
  
  

Fruit and Nut Trees

• The ability to go out into the yard and pick some fruit or nuts for a meal holds a great deal of appeal to many buyers. Wildlife may come to eat, providing a chance to view nature. Fruit and nut trees come in different sizes, from dwarf to large, and many also flower as well. There are trees suitable for every region of the country, from citrus and peach in the South to apple in the North and avocado out West.
  
  

Maples

• Come fall, the stars of any foliage color change show are the maples. Maples come in a range of sizes, from small graceful Japanese maples to large red maples. Graceful leaves and pleasing shapes give maples year-round appeal. Maples also make wonderful shade trees.
  
  

Oaks

• The mighty oak is distinctive and has been used as local landmarks for generations. Oaks can live for hundreds of years and will grow to an enormous size and presence. As a shade tree, oaks have no equal. The white oak and the red oak have particular appeal.
  
  

Small Flowering Trees

• Trees like the dogwood, cherry and redbud are graceful trees that look beautiful while bare in the winter before blooming with a dramatic explosion of flowers in the early spring. Size allows them to fit in almost anywhere they can get some sun and don't overwhelm the scale of single-story homes. The crape myrtle is a fast grower with year-round appeal, featuring long slender branches, oval-shaped leaves that turn amber bronze in the fall, bunches of late summer flowers and small berries in winter.
  
  

Palm Trees

• Palm trees and warm sunny climates like those in Florida and California go together. In fact, they are synonymous to most people. A healthy specimen will go a long way in invoking the proper mood for a Spanish, Art Deco or clean-lined contemporary home.