Best Trees To Line Driveway

Choosing the best trees to line your driveway can dramatically change your landscape. It will add beauty and value to your property as well, and is not a small decision. If your driveway is short or long, straight or curved, wide or narrow, these important factors must be considered when deciding what to plant.

If you have a gated driveway, it is nice to place larger trees as specimens on each side, with some gardens around the specimen if there is room for that. A great specimen for this look is an Ornamental Pear.  Using some of the same plants on each side will create uniformity, but they do not have to be exactly the same.

If you have a long sweeping driveway, placing tall columnar trees on one side of the driveway offers a very inviting look.  They should be placed on the side that is furthest away from the road.  This way you can see the driveway and the trees.  This look also works well for a driveway that is not very wide.   Great choices of trees would be Mountbatten Juniper, Pyramidal Oak Varieties, Flowering Cherry, or Poplar.

If your driveway is short or not that long, but you would like to plant alongside it, you can choose grafted trees.  Standard Catalpa, Standard Hydrangea, or a Standard Korean Lilac all work well here.  A tree such as this does not grow much larger in height, or width, and should be pruned each year to fit the area and retain its shape. This way you do not have to worry about the trees becoming too large and they will still give a welcoming effect to your property.

A grafted tree is made up by two plants (1) the trunk and root section (rootstock) and (2)the stem of a different cultivar (called a scion) are grafted together so the new plant has the best characteristics of both plants. They are spliced, fitted together and sealed with a sealing compound. Then left to grow together.

If your driveway is long and straight, you can plant trees on both sides of the driveway across from one another.  Once mature there will be a tunnel or ally effect.  This is very stately.  It also does take a few years to get it to maturity.  How far apart you place them depends on the tree you choose.  You should take the mature width of the tree as a guide to how far apart you want them.  You do not want the trees to interfere with vehicles.   Maple trees such as October Glory or Red Sunset are perfect and give a very welcoming effect.

How much money you want to invest in your trees, will determine the size of the trees you purchase.  The larger the tree, the more money it will cost.  If that is not an issue, start with a tree that has a trunk that is 2 ½” in diameter at chest height.  You can also go larger if you wish.

14 of the Best Trees to Line Any Driveway

Ornamental Pear Korean Sun

Pyrus fauriei Korean Sun

Zone 4 Height 4 m Spread 5 m

A compact, rounded tree with small dark green foliage.  The tree has masses of white flowers in the spring and beautiful shades of orange to red in the fall.

October Glory Maple

Acer rubrum October Glory

Zone 4   Height 15 m Spread 12 m

The intense fall color of this maple makes it very impressive.  It has an oval to a rounded shape and is brilliant in the fall with colors of bright orange to purple-red.

Red Sunset Maple

Acer Rubrum Red Sunset

Zone 4 Height 15 m spread 14 m

A very hardy maple, it retains its brilliant fall color of red and orange-red long into the season.  This variety is great as a street or lawn tree.

Standard Catalpa

Catalpa bungee – Umbrella Tree

Zone 5  Height 4 m   Spread 4 m

This is a very ornamental tree.  It has very large glossy green leaves and forms a rounded umbrella-like head.  Prune all branches off of this tree in early spring before growth starts.

Standard Hydrangea

Hydrangea Paniculata

Zone 4

There are many varieties of Hydrangea Paniculata that are grafted into tree form.  A Paniculata type of hydrangea blooms on new wood and should be pruned in late winter or early spring.   Hydrangeas are prolific bloomers.  They produce their flowers in summer and hold onto them well into the fall. 

Standard Dwarf Korean Lilac

Syringa meyeri

Zone 3 

The fragrant blooms on this lilac attract butterflies.  It blooms later than regular lilac varieties.  This cultivar has small rounded glossy green leaves and is low maintenance.  Prune this variety after flowering.

Juniperus chinensis Mountbatten

Mountbatten Juniper

Zone 3 Height 300 cm Spread 175 cm

An outstanding narrow pyramidal evergreen with dense upright branches clothed in sharply pointed needles.  The blue berries are attractive against the grayish-green foliage. This tree works well as a hedge, screen, or windbreak and requires little maintenance

Crimson Spire Oak

Quercus  x alba x robur Crimson Spire

Zone 5 Height 15 m Spread 6 m

The dark green foliage is mildew resistant and has an orange-red color in the fall.  A very columnar, tightly vertical branching tree.

Green Pillar Oak

Quercus palustris Green Pillar

Zone 5 Height 20 m Spread 4 m

A narrow, columnar form with glossy green leaves in the spring, with the fall bringing a scarlet-red display of color. Use in areas where space is a problem as a specimen planting, or as a street tree.

Pyramidal English Oak

Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’

Zone 5 Height 18m Spread 6 m

This selection has a distinct pyramidal shape with dense, tight upright branching and dark green foliage. A suitable tree for windbreaks, narrow spaces, or as a specimen.

Japanese Flowering Cherry

Prunus serrulate ‘Amanogawa’

Zone 5  Height 6 m Spread 2 M

An upright, narrow tree with fragrant double pink flowers in early spring. The young foliage is bronze-green becoming dark green at maturity and orange and red in the fall.

Swedish Upright

Populus tremula ‘Erecta’

Zone 3  Height 20 m Spread 4 m

The newly emerging foliage is bronze in spring, eventually taking a greenish-white hue with maturity.  This narrow columnar tree has sharply ascending branches

Mountain Sentinel Poplar

Populus tremuloides Mountain Sentinel

Zone 3  Height 11 m  Spread 3 m

Extremely narrow and upright habit with silvery-grey bark. Round green leaves turn golden yellow in the fall. This native cultivar is seedless and makes an impressive landscape accent in small spaces

Tower Poplar

Populus x canascens ‘Tower”

Zone 3  Height 16. Spread 4m

A seedless selection with a dense, narrow columnar form. Vertically ascending branches and triangular-shaped blue-green foliage with white undersides.