For shade that stands up to a Brazos County summer, start with the tough Texas oaks and elms: live oak, bur oak, Shumard oak, chinkapin oak and cedar elm. All five are on Little Millican Farms's species list, and all five are in the Texas A&M Forest Service's Texas Tested Texas Tough program, which selects trees proven to handle Texas conditions. Pick among them by how much room you have, how fast you want shade, and how much you can water.
What makes a shade tree "tough enough" here?#
A shade tree in College Station, Bryan or out toward Navasota has to get through long stretches of summer heat, dry spells that can last for weeks, and the occasional hard winter freeze. The trees that do well share a few traits: they tolerate drought once their roots are established, they cope with a range of soils, and they grow into a size the lot can actually hold.
The Forest Service's Texas Tested Texas Tough program is a useful shortcut. It grew out of an urban tree improvement program the Forest Service set up in 1973 with Texas cities and commercial nurseries, and the trees it features come from family lines tested for survival in Texas. Seven of the trees it features are on the farm's list: live oak, bur oak, Shumard oak, chinkapin oak, cedar elm, baldcypress and southern magnolia (covered below).
How do the main shade trees compare?#
The sizes and water needs below are the Forest Service's own figures for its tested trees. Your tree may end up smaller or larger depending on soil, water and space.
| Tree | Mature height × width | Growth (per year) | Water needs | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live oak | ~50 ft × 100 ft | up to 2.5 ft | Tolerates drought | Evergreen; spreads far wider than it is tall |
| Bur oak | ~70 ft × 60 ft | up to 1 ft | Low | Tolerates drought, heat and pollution; large acorns |
| Shumard oak | up to ~100 ft × 60 ft | up to 2.5 ft | Moderate | Leaves turn scarlet in fall |
| Chinkapin oak | ~70 ft × 40 ft | up to 2 ft | Low | Suits all but the wettest spots |
| Cedar elm | ~70 ft × 40 ft | up to 1.5 ft | Drought tolerant | Yellow fall color; very common Texas elm |
| Baldcypress | ~90 ft × 60 ft | up to 2 ft | Moderate | Deciduous conifer; handles wet and dry ground |
The full species pages are linked in the sources below.
Which one fits my yard?#
Start with the space, because that is the choice you can't undo.
A wide lot with room to spread: live oak. It is a familiar Texas shade tree, keeps its leaves all year, but the Forest Service lists it at roughly twice as wide as it is tall. Plant it well clear of the house, the driveway and overhead lines.
A big yard, and you'd rather water less: bur oak. The Forest Service lists its water needs as low and describes it as tolerant of drought, heat and pollution. It grows more slowly than live oak, so it is a tree you plant for the long haul.
You want fall color: Shumard oak turns scarlet in autumn, and cedar elm turns yellow. Shumard is the taller of the two, so give it height as well as width.
A narrower space: chinkapin oak and cedar elm both have a listed spread of about 40 feet, noticeably narrower than live or bur oak. Chinkapin is rated low for water. Chinkapin oak is also on Texas A&M AgriLife's Texas Superstar list of plants recognized for performance in tough Texas conditions.
A low spot that stays wet after rain: baldcypress. It's found naturally in swamps and wetlands yet is also listed as drought tolerant, so it suits a spot that is wet at some times of year and dry at others.
Is an evergreen shade tree a good idea?#
It can be. Live oak is the evergreen most people picture, and it's on the farm's list. Southern magnolia is also evergreen and is in the Forest Service program, but the Forest Service lists its water needs as high, so plan on watering it more than the oaks. Little Gem magnolia, a named cultivar of southern magnolia, is on the farm's list as well.
Chinese pistache is another shade tree on the farm's list, and it also appears on AgriLife's Texas Superstar list.
What else is on the farm's list?#
Beyond the trees above, the farm's species list includes Mexican white oak, water oak, red oak, white oak, American elm, Texas ash, Mexican sycamore, Drummond maple, river birch and weeping willow, plus native pecan and several named pecan varieties. The mix in the rows changes through the year and the current inventory isn't published online, so email the tree farm to confirm what's in the rows today before you make the drive down FM 2154.
To check how any species suits your county, the Forest Service's free Texas Tree Selector helps you find trees that will grow where you live. The farm's current website links to it too.
How do I help a new shade tree through its first summer?#
Plant in fall if you can. Our guide to when to plant trees in the Brazos Valley explains why the cooler months give roots a head start. Then water deeply and regularly through the first summers: an AgriLife forester quoted in AgriLife Today suggests a soaker hose just outside the root ball, run until the water reaches 10 to 15 inches down, about every three to four days in that first summer. He also notes that native species tend to perform better than trees from somewhere else, which is another point in favor of the native oaks and elms.
Size matters too. A larger container gives you more shade sooner but a heavier root ball to plant and water. The tree size guide lists typical heights for every container, and our post on container sizes walks through what each one means.
Ready to choose your shade tree?#
Browse the kinds of trees the farm grows on the trees page, then ask for a quote with the species, the size and your ZIP code. The farm delivers and plants on request, priced by your location.