Page 16 2026 Spring Home and Garden LINCOLN DAILY NEWS April 2026 Selecting and caring for trees There’s an old proverb that says “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The secondbest time is now.” If you are planning to plant a tree soon, it is important to do your research on what trees do well in this area. A University of Illinois Extension article on tree selection says, “many tree species do well throughout Illinois’ hardiness zones. Base selections on existing site conditions and tree characteristics suitable for the planting location. Pay attention to soil conditions and wind and sun exposure.” Hardiness zones, also known as planting zones, are classified by what the average temperatures are annually. Central Illinois is in Zone 6, where minimum temperatures drop as low as -10 degrees, so it is important to choose trees that can survive low temperatures. Trees that do well in this zone include maples, weeping willows, poplars, elms, white oaks and magnolias. If you want to plant fruit trees, consider peach, apple, apricot, nectarine, plum and cherry trees. Guy Sternberg, a certified arborist who operates Starhill Forest Arboretum in nearby Petersburg, Illinois, says that of all these fruits, the most reliable and long lived in our region are apples and pears.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzExODA=