Ornamental landscape tree in residential neighborhood in Aurora, CO

Dani

Hi there, I live in a residential neighborhood in Aurora, Colorado and have noticed a pretty tree planted around some houses repeatedly. I have already identified some other trees in that area but this one stumps me. I got books from the library and still I am not sure. I looked online and remain puzzled. I will attach some photos. What I can say for sure is that the leaves in fall are yellow to golden to bronze and orange and some remain green even now (just a few) but definitely not red like some maples or purple like a white ash. The spring bloom I think is white but I am not sure. Its possible that the green leaves are already visible when it blooms but I cannot say this for sure. The height is 30+ feet on a few and less on some younger ones. The bark is smooth, greyish to reddish-brownish with some pattern in there, vertical lines that look like scars and horizontal marks. On some of the bigger trees I noticed that the lower bark gets thicker and not smooth anymore, more like rough and thick and uneven. The tree shape is rounded and attractive looking similar in shape to a Canada Red Chokecherry which is also planted repeatedly nearby but has of course purple leaves and dark fruit in summer.. The tree in question however does not have any fruits as far as I can tell or remember from walking by earlier this summer.
It is being planted close to houses so I think its a neat and not messy tree.
The leaf shape is oval, elongated on some and a bit broader on others, there are long petioles, the margin has little teeth but they are not very visible, the leaf veins are not many, I counted only about 5 on each side and alternate and they round a bit like on a dogwood tree leaf but veins are less visible on top and the leaf bottoms show the veins better and leaf bottom color is lighter than top. Some leaves seemed more shiny than others but most looked matted at least in fall foliage. Leaves are about 2 inches long but less than half in width. Leaves are alternate on tree branches, have no glands and there are no little leaf growths at the base of petiole. So its a petiole that comes from a wooden looking branch with longish buds to a leaf arrangement that is alternate and not symmetrical. The leaves hang rounded off these branches because the petioles are fairly long (more than half the size of the leaf so about 1.5inches) which makes the tree look pretty. I thought maybe ornamental prunus or pyrus but which one? Dogwood looks different but a bit similar and Beech looks different but a bit similar so I excluded those for various reasons and crabapples too we have a lot of those but the tree bark is different and the fruit is hanging on there plentiful they also don't look as symmetrical and smooth somehow than tree in question. Colorado is hardiness zone 5b so that should exclude some options...Ask questions if you need additional info I may have omitted.
Please comment if you have any ideas that may help identify this tree.
BTW I am from Germany so I hope my English description was clear enough.
Thanks in advance,

Sincerely, Dani

Attached Thumbnails

     

Joey Meister

Cleveland flowering pear, Pyrus calleryana? they are planted around here a lot. white flowers in spring but do not produce fruit

Dani

Thanks for your response. How positive are you about Pyrus Calleryana, Cleveland Pear or could it be another cultivar of pyrus calleryana or even pyrus ussuriensis for example?

What threw me off so far when I considered various flowering pear images was the fall foliage and the shape of tree, much more red to purple and much less broad and round in shape, more like oblong or are there a lot variations in those factors within one cultivar or would it point to another one. See attachments.



Dani

Attached Thumbnails

   

Brent Ferris

I thought pear usually had glossy leaves. Might be an apple/crabapple? Any fruit on tree or ground? closeups of buds and leaves with scale would help.

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered)

Dani

Thanks for your response!
I took additional photos yesterday and today of the tree shape, bark and twigs. See attachments of tree bark, tree outline in winter and twigs.

There is at least one crabapple cultivar available for Colorado that is fruitless too I have read since. It is supposed to have a yellowish bark? Or perhaps I never noticed any fruit on tree in question but the birds took them off a long time ago so it could be something else still besides malus and pyrus?

I did see some upright looking ornamental pears the last few days with very reddish mixed foliage planted street side and at a garden center and they have not lost their foliage yet unlike my tree in question which was golden yellow to orange until Oct 25th when the first snowstorm hit Colorado this year and some trees got defoliated in the process, not the upright ornamental pears (Chanticleer) though. Crabapple and Apple Trees have not lost their leaves yet either but Cherry trees have lost most of them similar to my tree in question. Ash trees have lost all of them, many of the Maples have too but not all...is there such a difference within ornamental pears that some would be in full red glory and others totally without leaves after the first snow never turning reddish? But why all the ones with the rounded shape? For some reason I did not read this difference when I googled various ornamental pear cultivars. If anything the tree(s) in question were in a more protected location than the ones that still have the foliage on...and the tree shape is very different.I know that among the Hawthorn trees here, most are full of berries and leaves and a few have lost them all some weeks back (different cultivar). So who knows? BTW tree in question looks very muscular close up at bottom, bark is much more ridged and roots partly exposed going into lawn area on the older ones (I took image of that too but could only attach 3 photos at a time so ask if you want to see it) but the higher up branches are like image shows, smooth, grayish to reddish sometimes (I have another image of that) and sometimes with a yellow tinge and some twigs likewise are thin and reddish brown and smooth while others are thick and twisted and grayish but buds look mostly reddish brown.
I did read online that the new Bradford Pear is more round with stronger and wider angled branches??? Do they in particular lose their leaves early? I counted about 6 similar looking mystery trees in this landscaped residential neighborhood nearby some older and taller than others but that's why I was talking in plural even though there could be theoretically some more variation as some seemed to have glossy leaves but others not but lets start with the one I took the pictures of that had matted leaves on fall foliage.

Thanks again,
Dani

Attached Thumbnails

     

Brent Ferris

If the trunk bark looks gray and like muscles rippling, and the upper bark is also grayish but smooth, you could be looking at Blue Beech (Carpinus caroliniana). Fall colour usually yellow; fruit often inconspicuous, like a nutlet. Typically grows to 25-30 feet, tolerates a lot of shade (understory tree) but also grows in sun. Grows in zones 2 to 9.

Trees vary a lot within the species as well as between species. Some hold on to some of their leaves thru the winter - like Hawthorn, Beech and Oak; some let them go early - like Maple and Ash. But even within a species, some trees come out early, some late, some lose early, some late, and all the variations in between. Trees are individuals -- just like people. Many siblings vary a lot in height and structure, so do trees. Sometimes snow can knock leaves off, sometimes not. BUt wet snow can cause a lot of stress to leaved trees if the snow clings - the extra weight can easily crack and break branches and limbs.

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered)

Dani

Hi again and thanks!

I have looked at American Hornbeam/ carpinus caroliniana before because of the muscular look and mostly smooth bark and especially because of the golden yellow fall foliage images but I thought the bark does look somewhat different on this tree and the fruit is totally absent at least at this time of year. I will post photo of lower trunk of my tree in question just to show what I meant. I would say its muscular but not 'that' muscular. What do you think?

I am inclined to think at this point that it probably is an ornamental pear tree (which cultivar(s) I am not sure) with a more apple tree shape and for some reason and that is the part that looks different than most photos I saw mostly yellow golden fall foliage and no reddish foliage persisting into winter also foliage did not seem very glossy but that could be fall related. I could go to a local garden center and have twigs analysed or wait til spring and take pictures of spring blooms etc. to get further certainty or perhaps just run into the landscaper who actually planted these trees

A couple of other options I looked at were Prunus padus, Mayday tree is popular in Colorado but I have never seen it in person so have no comparison and I think it has glands on petioles and fruit in summer plus I don't remember the long flower clusters. Spring Snow Crabapple which is fruitless but I have not seen closeup of bark on a photo is another option especially because bloom looked somewhat like that in my memory or some kind of an ornamental cherry plum or bird cherry tree but so far I do not remember fruit from this summer and petioles are long for sure without glands nor small leafy growths at base where twig and leaf stem meet. One more detail I noticed were reddish leaf stems by the way at least in fall on the trees in question. Sibley guide to trees shows green leaf stems on Bradford Pear leaves and leaves look shorter and rounder???

When I googled Callery Pear and New Bradford Pear images online I came across a long list of photos and some of them fit tree in question regarding leaf shape, bark and even tree shape at times but not so much fall foliage color so maybe this varies from year to year depending on weather and probably cultivar. Also like treeshaveneeds said, it could vary somewhat within a species because trees are individuals and not identical clones. signs101:

One thing I have to say is that the brochure from the Colorado State University on recommended trees for Colorado and Denver areas listed various ornamental pear cultivars, pyrus calleryana and some pyrus ussuriensis and the Prairie Gem cultivar of the latter is supposed to have yellow fall foliage and a rounder shape and I think some of the Callery Pear cultivars are more yellow in fall and rounder than others but the literature on that varied
I am surprised they recommend these trees for Colorado considering all the snow storms with broken tree limbs that occur here yearly fall or spring but perhaps while they are pretty they are attractive and I read something about stronger cultivars these days with better branch angles. But I heard sooner or later they have issues too. So far the trees in question look still solid and I am looking forward to spring to see more details of blooms etc. but if anyone has any more specific id or thinks this is definitely not ornamental pear but something else for sure I am open for suggestions and comments as the truth is enlightening and I am still learning about trees.

Thanks again,
Dani

Attached Thumbnails

     

Brent Ferris

Lower bark looks more like a pear. Pear is normally very strong wood, and can withstand a lot of storms. But any tree has its limits, and the storms of Colorado may be really rough on most any tree. The structure may be more important than the species for the life of a given tree,

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered)

Dani

Hi there again,

thanks, that's cool. Since those are landscaped trees perhaps they are pruned to a certain shape that holds up better in the weather? You are correct, many different tree species may have broken limbs here sooner or later so that is probably not be the decisive factor in planting and Colorado does care a lot about ornamental values like pretty fall foliage and spring blooms... During the last snow storm they said on the news the most important preventative measure is proper pruning and tree maintenance and then of course you may need to brush off some snow on some especially burdened branches during a snow storm but in Germany where I am from they plant more for longevity and fruitfulness than ornamental factors and I don't recall a lot of storm damage but then again the weather is not as extreme as in Colorado at times. Is it possible to prune an ornamental pear tree to have a more wider rounder canopy rather than being columnar and narrow or is this just the cultivar?

Dani