Sorry to hear about your maple, mak, but good for you for planning for the future and taking some time to consider your options. You might want to think a little more about your personal preferences (e.g., native species? heavy shade? flowers? nuts and debris?) as well as your site’s limitations (e.g., clayey soil?).

Your town is already likely refraining from planting once popular, but now problematic species, such as elms and ashes, which are unfortunately succumbing to pathogens.

Basswood is a beautiful, native, shade tree that produces delicately fragrant and tiny flowers in early summer. It is a northern species, however, whose natural range currently extends to the southern Illinois border. In planning ahead for global climate change, it makes sense to consider local species with a more southern geographic range.

What type of maple did you have before? If you decide to go this route again, it would be best to avoid a silver maple. Though this species grows fast, produces bright yellow foliage in the fall, and can endure our area’s soggy, clay-rich soils, these trees tend to fall apart in storms and are a poor choice for the potentially more severe weather ahead. Red maple, sugar maple, and Norway maple are all more durable maple species, though the Norway is not a native tree in our area.

Good luck with your decision! That’s the fun part!