I'm kind of surprised that only half of the available species are native to Southern Ontario:
...and this specific "Baumanii" cultivar isn't on the list.
The list is really unfortunate.
It was such a battle just to get Norway Maple off the list!
Little leaf linden is marginally invasive and really should not be there.
A lot of the problem is that some great species are slow to grow and more costly and the City doesn't want to pay for them.
They also generally don't want to plant conifers, on their own ROW they don't like them because of spread near the base and sightlines, on private property they tend to argue they don't give much shade.
but they're great for habitat. You can also achieve shade by simply planting more. But the City likes the one and done model. I think they should let people opt-in (not be forced) to allow a forest on their front lawn.
You could see White Pine, Aspen, Chokecherry and Ninebark planted together. Very pretty, nice habitat.
Or you could do Beech-Hemlock which is a great combo if the site is slightly damp.
Or just full-on Cedar, plant 5-7 of them together instead of one.
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For conventional plantings. One tree in the middle, so to speak.....we ought to plant:
Shagbark Hickory and Bitternut Hickory, which are just excellent native species, but there aren't many growers, because they''re slow.....
Black Cherry should be on the list too. Gorgeous tree.
Black Walnut will grow just about anywhere, but people might not appreciate the rather heavy, tennis-ball sized nuts dropping in their yard.
Butternut, which is endangered has similar issues.
And something that actually should be planted more too is American Chestnut. There is a risk of blight, that's what almost wiped it out..,..... but it tolerates a huge range of conditions.
