11 Trees That Boost Property Value

Did you know that a mature, healthy tree can do as much for your property value as an updated kitchen? According to professional landscapers, home appraisers, and real estate professionals, the right tree can add between five and twenty percent to a property’s assessed valuation. It can also significantly shorten the time a listed home sits on the market. 

A proper tree can act as a living umbrella, offering relief from the hot sun or some shade for the swing set. It can provide romance and curb appeal by exploding with spring flowers or framing the front walkway with its graceful arching branches. It can also make a neighborhood more attractive to buyers, reduce energy costs, and help nourish a healthy ecosystem. 

When selecting a tree to enhance your property, factors like height, exposure, home style, seasonal interest, and climate should all factor into your decision. Read on for some tips on choosing a tree to boost your property value and a look at 11 of your most promising options.  

Choosing a Value-Adding Tree

With hundreds of tree families and thousands of species to choose from, selecting one that will add value to your landscape can be a daunting task. Before you run off to the garden center or hire a landscaper, establish some priorities by considering the following variables:

Climate

First and foremost, opt for a tree that’s hardy in your part of the world, preferably with wiggle room above and below your zone. If you live in zone 8, a crape myrtle with a hardiness zone of 7 to 10 is a better choice than a sugar maple that maxes out in zone 8. A tree suited to your zone is also more likely to harmonize horticulturally with its neighboring plants and be more hospitable to the local fauna. 

Level of Shade

In warm regions, where the AC bills soar in summer, you may be looking to provide relief from the late afternoon sun with a large shade tree. You may also be seeking a large canopy to filter a play area or lounging spot.

Conversely, if you plan to grow vegetables, install a firepit, or nurture a cutting garden, you won’t want a massive live oak tree with a 60-foot canopy eclipsing the whole yard. Determine how much shade you want first, and you’ll narrow your tree options considerably. 

Height and Scale

Do you want the tree’s canopy to insulate your roof, or are you looking for something small and pretty to accent your home’s architectural features? A flowering crab outside the bay window serves a radically different purpose than a towering maple at the home’s southwest corner. Size is the next major consideration you should make when choosing a tree. 

Always consider a tree’s mature height when selecting a genus and choosing a location. Despite young trees looking puny in a new landscape, most will grow quickly after a few years in the ground. You might be tempted to plant a row of arborvitae closer together than the nursery tag suggests, but you’ll be sorry down the road when they become crowded and suffer from poor health. 

Exposure

It’s also important to determine how much sun and wind a potential tree will receive and consider how nearby trees or buildings might change these conditions over time. A mid-sized tree that prefers full sun could become stunted by that soaring elm in your neighbor’s yard. Similarly, an understory tree like a serviceberry may experience scorch when you remove that diseased ash from the parkway. 

A magnolia with heavy blossoms vulnerable to high winds will not fare well with open northwest exposure, just as a lilac tree won’t flower well when shaded by a towering pine. Choose a tree that will sync up with your property’s light and wind conditions, both today and in 15 years. 

Seasonal Interest

The most valuable trees have four-season interest, giving your property an aesthetic benefit year-round. Pay attention to bloom time, if applicable, and know whether a potential tree will produce seeds, cones, or pods later in the season.

What color will its leaves turn in fall, and what will the branching habit of a deciduous tree be in winter? What kind of color and texture will its bark have at maturity? These things are all important to a tree’s potential value.

Maintenance

Finally, think about what kind of care a potential tree might require and how much time and money you’re willing to spend keeping it neat and healthy. A ginkgo tree has beautiful leaves and vivid fall colors, but the females drop yellow stink bomb fruits that stain the sidewalk and get stuck in your shoes. A honeylocust will litter your front lawn with seed pods in winter and pollen in spring. Bradford pear is notorious for broken branches in heavy snow. 

Only plant a high-maintenance tree if you’re willing to have it professionally pruned and are committed to cleaning up after it. Keep in mind that an expensive, time-consuming, or potentially dangerous tree might reduce your property value rather than increase it. 

Trees That Add Value

With these factors in mind, finding a tree to boost your property value should be slightly less overwhelming. To help with your decision, we’ve profiled 11 trees we believe are up to the task. Read on for a look at their unique characteristics, growing preferences, and value-adding potential.  

Sugar Maple

	botanical name Acer saccharum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 40-120
	hardiness zones 3-8

A landscape designer’s go-to trees for boosting property value. This tree provides dense shade and year-round interest. The upright crown has a clean, pyramidal shape. Its traditional maple leaves have five lobes and average between three and five inches in width. They turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange, or red in the fall.

Sugar maple has a low crown, which makes it a great privacy screen for a large area. Its bark is deeply furrowed and brown to gray in color. The branches are evenly structured and remained attractive in winter. Sugar maple is vulnerable to very few pests and diseases. 

White Oak

	botanical name Quercus alba
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 50-135
	hardiness zones 3-9

An ideal tree to boost the value of large properties where its height and width are appropriate for the scale, white oak has a magical, nostalgic presence in the landscape. Hang a tire swing from its broad, horizontal branches or sip lemonade beneath its canopy, and this happy tree will feel like a member of your family.  

White oak is attractive to butterflies and hosts hundreds of caterpillar species. Oaks are a vital tree in American ecosystems. Its leaves are lobed with rounded tips and average five to nine inches in length. They turn reddish brown in late fall and cling to branches longer than many other trees. 

Do not plant white oak near foundations or underground pipes. Its roots are wide-reaching and strong enough to cause structural damage. Have it professionally pruned in its third or fourth year to encourage a healthy branch pattern. 

Saucer Magnolia

	botanical name Magnolia soulangeana
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 20-25 feet
	hardiness zones 4-9

Saucer magnolia is a great mid-sized tree with a pyramidal shape and a charming southern personality. To boost your property value, plant this tree next to a patio, where it will serve as a beautiful backdrop to your al fresco dining space. Place one on the corner of your property to block headlights from entering your living room or screen a nosy neighbor. 

This magnolia’s leaves are large and leathery, with deep veins and prominent midribs. In warmer regions, some leaves will drop throughout the season, but most leaves remain evergreen year-round. In cold regions, they will behave deciduously and drop completely in winter. 

Flowers are white to pink, averaging between five and 10 inches in diameter. They grow from large, fuzzy buds that emerge soon after blooming is complete in spring. A magnolia should be pruned during this short period, or you’ll risk cutting off next year’s flowers.

Serviceberry

	botanical name Amelanchier spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15-25 feet
	hardiness zones 4-9

This versatile, beautiful little tree can be either multi-branched or single-stemmed. It has an upright vase shape that’s well-suited to framing a front porch or anchoring a small perennial bed. 

Serviceberry’s leaves are ovate and dark, glossy green. Flowers are small and white, opening in early spring just after the forsythia and filling the air with a light, sweet scent. After flowering is complete, fruit follows but is quickly plucked off by the birds, leaving no mess on the ground. Leaves turn brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange in fall. Buds and branches are light gray and have a zig-zag structure that’s attractive against a stark winter landscape.  

Japanese Tree Lilac

	botanical name Syringa reticulata
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 20-30
	hardiness zones 3-7

A lovely sight in any landscape, the Japanese tree lilac explodes with conical clusters of creamy white flowers in early summer. A tree lilac’s trunk can be singular or multi-stemmed with a shiny, gray-speckled bark that stands out, even in snow. 

Japanese tree lilac can stand alone as a specimen tree or provide a dappled canopy for a patch of woodland perennials. Plant a pair on opposite sides of the front walkway for a dramatic and inviting entrance, or use one to break up a large patch of grass. 

Blossoms are attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds, and a whole host of pollinators. Japanese tree lilacs are highly resistant to insects and diseases and very easy to maintain. 

Crape Myrtle 

	botanical name Lagerstroemia
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 5-30
	hardiness zones 6-9

This darling, floriferous tree is a landscape staple chosen to boost property value in the South for very good reason. Tolerant of extreme heat and occasional drought, crape myrtle comes in sizes to suit almost any landscape as long as it’s located in full sun. It works well as an accent or in a group of three to five on a larger property. 

Blooming begins in June with a cloud of pink, white, purple, or red flower clusters covering the entire canopy. It continues off and on throughout the summer before flowers fade and leaves turn shades of gold, orange, or red in the fall. Tree bark is light gray and exfoliates in winter, which is a little messy but also very attractive. 

Japanese Maple

	botanical name Acer palmatum
	sun requirements Partial shade
	height 3-30
	hardiness zones 5-8

This charismatic, ornamental tree makes a great focal point in the landscape. Depending on the species, leaves may be bright red to maroon to chartreuse in color. They are a traditional maple shape with five to nine deep lobes. 

Japanese maple comes in sizes ranging from a three-foot dwarf to a 30-foot midsized shade tree. It grows well in the proximity of taller shade trees and pops against other plants with regular green foliage. Layer Japanese maple with other grasses, evergreens, and perennials to enhance a prairie or midcentury home. It can also stand alone as a specimen plant.  

Flowering Crab

	botanical name Malus hybrids
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 12-26
	hardiness zones 4-8

A healthy flowering crab tree is a beautiful sight in spring and can be a valuable addition to your property. With a wide, sprawling habit and a profusion of sweet-smelling red, pink, white, or purple blossoms, a flowering crab sets a cheerful tone in any application. 

Leaves are serrated and pinkish-red early in the season, turning dark green in summer and dark red in fall. Bark can be gray, brown, or burgundy and has a rough, scabby texture. Branches radiate outward and should be pruned in late winter to keep a nice oval shape. 

Opt for one that does not produce fruit, so you won’t have to clean up after it or chase critters away. Plant several on a large property for an orchid effect, or choose a small cultivar to beautify a narrow, urban lot. 

Green Giant Arborvitae

	botanical name Thuja ‘Green Giant’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 40-60
	hardiness zones 5-8

This fast-growing evergreen tree is a landscaper’s go-to for a tall, narrow screen. Plant ten ‘Green Giant’ trees today on the perimeter of your property, and you’ll have a tall, dense privacy screen in just a few years. Cluster a few together near the corner of your house, and you’ll hide the AC unit while shading the attic from the hot afternoon sun. 

Inexpensive, easy to grow, and adaptable to most soil conditions, ‘Green Giant’ arborvitae is almost always a property value booster. It keeps its pyramidal shape with little grooming and stays green all winter. At maturity, it can be limbed up like a traditional tree should you desire some clearance beneath it.

Blue Spruce

	botanical name Picea pungens
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 30-60
	hardiness zones 2-7

This Rocky Mountain native is a cool climate favorite, prized for its unique color and impressive stature. Blue spruce’s needles are silver-blue and stiff. Its overall form is pyramidal or conical in a traditional Christmas tree shape. 

Blue spruce has narrow seed cones that average one inch wide and two to four inches long. They are light brown with thick scales and hang in pendulous form from the outmost horizontal branches. 

Blue spruce is a slower grower, but it’s more drought-tolerant than other spruce trees and has no serious health issues. On a large property, a few well-placed blue spruce trees can help define the landscape and anchor the property corners. This tree also offers great privacy and home-insulating potential once it reaches maturity. 

Little Leaf Linden

	botanical name Tilia cordata
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 50-70
	hardiness zones 3-7

This mid-sized shade tree has a charming personality that sets it apart from other street trees. Leaves are densely structured and ovate with serrated edges. They are dark green on top and light green underneath, giving the overall color a two-toned effect. 

Little leaf linden produces bright clusters of yellow blossoms in summer and small, hairy nutlets that attract birds and pollinators. Its bark is grayish brown with deep furrows and an attractive winter texture. 

Plant little-leaf linden for a pop of color or a modest amount of shade. It’s known for filtering exhaust and sound in urban settings and has a large clearance beneath its canopy, so you’ll often find it on smaller lots.