City Shade: Street Tree Planting Program

Thank you for your interest in the City Shade Street Tree Program! Together, we can make our community a more beautiful, healthy, and vibrant place to live. Additional Permitting, Volunteer and Donation Information coming soon. Want to receive program information directly to your inbox? Click here to subscribe to City news and announcements via "Notify Me."  

Upcoming Events

As part of the City Shade Street Tree Program, we invite you to a series of upcoming community events. Learn tree planting techniques from experts, connect with like-minded individuals, and contribute directly to the growth of our urban forest! Additional details will be provided soon. 

List of Approved Street Tree Species

View the full list of Approved Street Tree Species to find a tree best suited for your planting site. Note: Trees planted in the public right-of-way must meet American Standards for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60). All trees must be a minimum 3-inch caliper, measured 6 inches above the base. 

City Shade Trees Under Cultivation

The following six species are currently under cultivation by the City Shade program:

 1. Katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum 

The Katsuratree, native to Japan and China, makes an excellent specimen or shade tree. It is a deciduous, single or multi-trunked, understory tree with a dense, rounded habit that typically matures to 40-60’ tall in cultivation, but can reach 100’ or more in the wild. It is grown for its beautiful shape and its attractive foliage. In spring, heart-shaped leaves emerge reddish-purple, changing to medium green with a slight bluish tinge in summer then turning to quality shades of gold, orange and red in autumn. Although not aromatic, the fallen autumn leaves have been varyingly described as smelling of cinnamon, burnt sugar or ripe apples. Bark is light gray-brown and slightly shaggy. This is a dioecious tree (male and female flowers on separate trees). Tiny flowers (red on male trees and green on female trees) appear in spring before the foliage but are not particularly showy. Pollinated flowers on female trees are followed by clusters of greenish pods (to 3/4” long). Best grown in rich, moist, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerates full sun, but has little tolerance for drought particularly when young. Best sited in a location protected from strong winds and hot afternoon sun. 

 2. Golden Rain, Koelreuteria paniculata, 

This is a small, open-branching, irregularly-shaped, deciduous tree with a rounded crown which typically grows 30-40' tall and as wide. Features pinnate or bipinnate, feathery, compound leaves (to 18" long), each leaf having 7-17 irregularly lobed leaflets. Leaves emerge pinkish bronze to purplish in spring, mature to a bright green in summer and turn yellow in fall. Bright yellow flowers (1/2" wide) appear in early summer in long, terminal, panicles (12-15"). Falling blossoms may or may not resemble "golden rain", but the fallen blossoms often form an attractive golden carpet under the tree. Flowers give way to interesting, brown, papery seed capsules which somewhat resemble Chinese lanterns. Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Adapts to a wide range of soils. Tolerates drought and many city air pollutants.

3. Scarlet Oak or American Red Oak, Qercus coccinea 

True to its name, the scarlet oak produces wonderful scarlet fall color. This species is native to the Chicago region. It grows to 60-70' (to 100' in the wild) with a rounded, open habit, a dominant central leader and is strongly pyramidal: lower branches are pendulous, middle branches are horizontal and upper branches are upright. . Leaves are 3-6" long and deeply cut with bristle-tipped, pointed lobes. Foliage is a glossy green in summer turning to scarlet in fall. Monoecious, with neither male (drooping catkins) nor female (solitary or clustered) flowers being showy. Fruit is an acorn (1/2" to 1" long).. Bark is grayish brown, thinnish and smooth but with age develops narrow relatively shallow ridges and furrows. Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers dry, acidic, sandy soils. Native to southeastern Missouri.

4. Garry Oak or Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana

A beautiful white oak tree native to the Pacific Coast of North America. They can grow to be quite large (60’ or more) with a trunk diameter (up to 40”) with mushroom-shaped crown of green leaves and sturdy trunks. Over time, tree branches will naturally take sharp twists or even corkscrew-like turns as the tree grows. This growing characteristic gives the Garry oak a distinct, contorted look that becomes more noticeable with age.

Garry oak leaves are leathery and deeply lobed with shiny, dark green tops and yellowish-green undersides. Bark on a mature Garry oak is a silver-grey and rough textured with thick furrows. The tree is deciduous, with the leaves turning brown and falling in the autumn. They prefer sunny locations that will not be shaded by other trees. Once established, Garry oaks are naturally drought tolerant.

You will find them growing from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Southern California. Garry oak is the only native oak in Washington and British Columbia, and the principle native oak of Oregon. Garry oak ecosystems provide an incredibly rich habitat for wildlife. Intact Garry oak ecosystems with Garry oak trees and associated understory ecosystem plants have become rare, and in some locations are critically imperiled and at risk of extinction. These special trees and their ecosystems are worth planting and preserving for future generations.

5. English Oak, Quercus robur

English oak is native to mixed woodland areas from the British Isles to the Caucasus. It has been widely planted in North America since the 1600s. It is a large, majestic, deciduous oak of the white oak group that typically grows in cultivation to 40-70’ (less frequently 100’) tall with a broad-spreading, rounded crown and a short trunk. Leaf color is dark green to blue-green in summer but fall color is not special because the leaves either abscise green or persist and change to a nondescript brown. Bark is deeply furrowed grayish black. Insignificant monoecious yellowish-green flowers in separate male and female catkins appear in spring as the leaves emerge. Fruits are oval acorns (to 1” long) on 1-3” long stalks. Acorn caps extend approxmately 1/3 the acorn length. The acorns provide a valuable food source for several small mammals and some birds but trees may take 25-30 years to bear a first crop of acorns. This is an excellent specimen tree or can be planted in a grouping in large open landscapes. Prefers moist well-drained loams in full sun but adapts to a wide range of soil conditions. 

6. Japanese Pagoda Tree, Styphnolobium japonicum 

The Japanese pagoda tree, or Chinese scholar tree, is native to China and Korea, but not Japan. It is a medium to large deciduous tree that typically matures to 50-75’ (less frequently to 100’) tall with a broad rounded crown. It is generally cultivated for its attractive compound foliage and fragrant late summer flowers. Pinnate leaves (to 10” long), each with 7-17 oval, lustrous, dark green leaflets, remain attractive throughout the growing season. Leaves retain green color late into fall, resulting in no fall color or at best an undistinguished greenish yellow. Small, fragrant, pea-like, creamy white flowers (each 1/2” long) bloom in late summer in sweeping terminal panicles to 12” long and to 12” wide. Flowers fall to the ground around the tree after bloom covering the ground with a blanket of white. Flowers give way to slender, 1- to 6-seeded, knobby, bean-like pods (to 3-8” long) that mature to brown in fall and persist into winter. Although not native to Japan, the specific epithet and common name seem to recognize the early use of the tree in Japan around Buddhist temples. Best grown in rich, medium moisture, well-drained sandy loams in full sun to part shade, but best in full sun. Tolerant of common city pollutants and conditions. Once established, it is also tolerant of heat and some drought. Newly planted saplings may not flower for as long as the first 10 years. This species was formerly known as Sophora japonica.

City Shade Planting and Care Guide 

View guidance for planting, mulching, watering and pruning your tree. 

City of Port Angeles Tree Trimming Guidance

The Streets Division of the Public Works & Utilities Department asks for your cooperation in keeping trees located along city streets trimmed correctly. This applies to trees located in the space between the street and sidewalk. 

Street Tree Regulations

All Street Trees must adhere to the standards for planting, pruning and removal, as defined in Chapter 11.13 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code.