In the last windstorm we had here (last Tuesday) one major limb of my 20 ft. sweet cherry tree fell. It fell between my new 6ft wood fence and my greenhouse. There were carpenter ants in the break, the tree was rotten.
So I called the city, yes they said it was diseased and could be removed, but I was told I must replant another tree (after I had paid a tree company) to remove the cherry. They gave me a brochure, listing 34 monster shade trees. No, I don’t wand a huge tree (black locust, ginkgo, maple, oak, etc.) The trees listed are heavy shade 80-140ft trees. I have a small garden. They told me the replacement tree must be on the list. I can understand that the tree must be replaced, but why am I not able to plant another cherry or a smaller tree that is my choice and appropriate for a small garden ?
I’m sorry to hear about your cherry tree! I cannot answer for the city as to why they have chosen these specific trees, you may want to contact them via 311 online.
I can tell you that if you are picking from that list and looking for one to suit your garden you may want to consider #20 Skyline Honey Locust (Gleditsia triachanthos inermis ‘Skyline’) as this tree would give your garden a dappled shade and is nice to grow plants under. A Yellow wood tree (Cladrastis kentukea) #18, is also a lovely tree that has beautiful fragrant white chain flowers in spring and is a medium growing tree. It will be 9 to 12 feet tall after 8 to 10 years. This tree is suggested for smaller gardens.
I hope this was helpful and I also hope that you have fun picking a new tree and thank you for helping to create more oxygen by planting another tree!