By Kim J. Gifford

EYou want to improve the value and appearance of your home, but lack the money to invest in a swimming pool, paved driveway, patio or other such quality improvements? Why not consider planting a tree?

Trees enhance their surroundings, creating year-round beauty and providing shade, shelter, privacy and innumerable other benefits. As trees grow their monetary value increases, subsequently increasing the value of the property as well. According to Money magazine, while adding a swimming pool generates a 20 to 50 percent recovery rate, landscaping may recoup 100 to 200 percent upon resale.

Here, in the Upper Valley, “it is not unusual to have large trees that are appraised out at over $20,000 each,” says Cal Felicetti, a member of the Society of Consulting Arborists and a salesperson for Chippers in Lebanon, N.H., and Woodstock, Vt. “Such trees are irreplaceable and can result in an insurance claim if they are maliciously or accidentally cut or damaged.”

The value of trees lies in their many benefits. A large, healthy tree that is well placed and aesthetically pleasing can be appraised at values as high as $10,000 to $20,000 because it adds to the overall value of your property, and would take years to plant and grow another that could serve the same function.

Aesthetic Value

Trees add beauty to a landscape throughout the year. In the warm months, trees blossom and add their own verdant cast to the lush green landscape. The value of a colorful maple is self-evident to those of us here in northern New England where tourists flock to see the vibrant display of color each fall. Evergreens have become symbolic of the winter season offering contrast to the frozen, white terrain, and even the bare branches of deciduous trees against the snow create a stark beauty.

If you have a family, a large oak or maple in your backyard could provide a place for your children to climb or build a tree fort or a convenient location for you to hang a swing or hammock.

Trees also enhance curb appeal — that first impression when people pull up to your house. They can be used to soften hard architectural lines or frame special views.

Many people design their homes to capture a view of a favorite tree from a kitchen window or office. “If it’s a window you look out of on a regular basis, its worth spending money outside that window to enhance the view,” says George Pellettieri, president of Pellettieri Associates Inc. in Warner, N.H.

Screening and Energy Benefits

Not only do trees create points of visual interest, but also you can plant them to block objectionable views such as a nearby dumpster or to create a sense of privacy between and a neighbor’s house and your own.

Trees provide shade. Plant a tree near your office window or family room and you can reduce the glare on your computer or television screen. Appropriately placed shade trees can help reduce energy costs. According to the American Public Power Association, landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent. In addition, by strategically placing trees to cut the wind, you can reduce your heating costs. You can also plant trees to reduce the effects of winter snow blowing and drifting into your driveway.

Planting a line of tall, dense trees near your home can also cut down on noise levels and obscure street noise and lights.

Environmental Value

Trees improve air quality. According to Land Steward, trees work 24/7 regulating air temperature. Each year, one mature, 30-foot tree gives a family of four enough oxygen for an entire day.

Trees also help reduce erosion, especially on steep slopes around a house that might be difficult to mow.

Where to Start

Given their obvious value, it is important to consider where to place trees before actually planting or starting a construction project. If you are going to be building a home, landscape architects recommend taking into account where the trees are located on the land and preserving those you can before tearing up the ground. “It is important that priority trees — those that are healthy, aesthetically pleasing and are good species — be recognized and protected,” says Felicetti.

Many times homeowners will clear mature trees away only to have to go back in and replant at an additional cost following construction. Without careful planning, construction can create problems even when trees are left in place. “Many construction companies work around trees, park on the roots, regrade and excavate and end up burying the stem and root flare of the trees,” says Felicetti. “They finish the job, plant grass around the trees and things look great for a few years until the trees start dying. People don’t think its related to the construction job, but it is.”

To protect trees during construction, place a fence around them. “There is a certain amount of root percentage the tree needs to minimize stress and remain healthy,” Felicetti says. This should be taken into account when putting up the protective fences.

Considerations

Before planting from scratch it is best to develop a plan and perhaps hire a landscape architect. The most important consideration is choosing the right species for the right location. In order to make the best decision you may first want to ask the following questions.

What is your purpose in planting this tree?

If your goal in planting the tree is to provide shade, you might want to consider how much shade and at what times of day it would be appropriate. Evergreens will block out sun year round, while deciduous trees that lose their leaves in winter will allow sun to warm the house in winter.

If you are trying to create a windbreak, make sure you plant the trees — evergreens work well in this case — on the proper side of the house. Mort Mather and Carl Emery, writers for Mother Earth News note, “It is not the wind blasting up against the windward side, but the vacuum created on the other side of the house that sucks air into the house. A windbreak should cause a vacuum between itself and the house.”

If your goal is one of aesthetics, choose a tree that will be of peak interest during appropriate times of the year. For example, if you choose to plant a flowering tree that blossoms in spring outside your kitchen window, but you are away in Florida every year, you miss out on this display.

How large do you want the tree to be at full maturity?

Take into account both the size of your home and the size of the tree when it is fully grown. Trees that are less than 40 feet work best with one-story homes.

“One of the most commonly planted evergreens is a white pine because they’re inexpensive, grow fast and work well for a screen tree,” says Felicetti. “But if you’re not putting it a place where you’ll want a 75-foot tree in 30 years, you shouldn’t be planting that.”

Also consider the lay of the land. You do not want to plant trees with the potential to grow to tall heights under utility wires.