Tree Selection Guidance Tool

SDOT's Tree Selection Guidance Tool helps people pick trees that will help their neighborhood to be more healthy, beautiful, and safe.   

 This online tool allows you to browse and filter through about 150 tree species and find information on each species such as:  

• Leaf color or flower color  
• Ability to survive dry summer conditions
• Disease and insect issues
• Other factors that affect how well the tree will thrive in its environment. 

You can also select how much space you have in your planting strip and if there are wires overhead, which will help you determine which trees would fit your space best. The tool lets you click on features to select or deselect a preference. You can then download a list of your final tree selections and use it when shopping for trees. 

More information about tree selection and siting is available on our Tree Selection page and in our Street Tree Manual.  If the comments about the tree include "Great Plant Pick" you can find additional information on the Great Plant Pick Website.  

Another benefit of the Tree Selection Guidance Tool is that it will help residents choose large tree species that are appropriate for a specific location rather than small trees.   Large trees are more valuable than smaller trees for many reasons:

• Large trees help Seattle reach our goal of restoring tree canopy cover in all neighborhoods.
• People tend to drive slower on streets with large street trees.
• Trees protect people walking on the sidewalk from traffic. 
• Streets and houses shaded by trees are cooler in the summer. 
• Trees reduce the amount of water that runs off streets into streams.