Average Lifespans for Garden Trees

The typical homeowner doesn’t really have to think much about how long the tree they plant will live. The average time most of us live in the same home, according to the National Association of Home Builders, is only about 13 years … and just about any tree will live longer than that.

But maybe your plans are different: you might have found your dream home and intend to live there a long time. Or perhaps you’re thinking of planting a living memorial, say at the birth of a grandchild who, you hope, will live to be at least 90. If so, you might want to look for a tree that will likely outlive your need for it.

What follows is a list of trees and their average lifespan under home garden conditions. Yes, many of them do live longer (sometimes much longer!) under exceptionally good conditions, but in the average lot, where soil is often severely compacted, where lawnmowers damage trunks, where roots are dug up to repair pipes and foundations, and where trees in declining health are often removed decades before they’d topple over in the wild, you can expect a serviceable life of about the number of years cited below.

1. Acer negundo (box elder, Manitoba maple) — 60 years
2. Acer platanoides (Norway maple) — 100 years
3. Acer rubrum (red maple) — 100 years
4. Acer saccharatum (silver maple) — 100 years
5. Acer saccharum (sugar maple) — 75 years
6. Acer tataricum ginnala (Amur maple) —60 years

   

7. Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) — 75 years
8. Amelanchier canadensis (serviceberry) — 40 years
9. Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch) — 75 years
10. Betula nigra (river birch) — 70 years
11. Betula papyrifera (paper birch) — 30 years
12. Betula pendula (European white birch) — 30 years
13. Carpinus caroliniana (American hornbeam) — 80 years
14. Catalpa speciosa (northern catalpa) — 75 years
15. Celtis occidentalis (northern hackberry) — 80 years
16. Cercis canadensis (redbud) — 40 years
17. Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) — 30 years
18. Diospyros virginiana (persimmon) — 60 years
19. Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian olive) — 50 years
20. Fagus grandifolia (American beech) — 125 years
21. Fagus sylvaticus (European beech) — 125 years
22. Fraxinus americana (white ash) — 100 years (10 when the emerald ash borer is present)
23. Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash) — 75 years (10 when the emerald ash borer is present)
24. Ginkgo (ginkgo) — 100+ years
25. Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust) — 75 years
26. Juglans nigra (black walnut) — 100+ years
27. Juniperus chinensis (Chinese juniper) — 75 years
28. Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain juniper) — 50 years
29. Juniperus virginiana (eastern red cedar) — 50 years

    

30. Larix decidua (European larch) — 100+ years
31. Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) — 100 years
32. Magnolia × soulangeana (saucer magnolia) — 50 years
33. Malus domestica (apple) — 30–40 years
34. Malus spp. (crab apple) —variable, some 30 years, others 50 years
35. Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes (dawn redwood) — 100+ years
36. Morus alba (white mulberry) — 100 years
37. Nyssa sylvatica (black tupelo) — 100 years
38. Picea abies (Norway spruce) — 75 years
39. Picea glauca (white spruce) — 75 years
40. Picea mariana (back spruce) — 50 years
41. Picea pungens (Colorado blue spruce) — 75 years
42. Pinus mugo (mugho pine) — 75 years
43. Pinus nigra (Austrian pine) — 50 years
44. Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) — 75 years
45. Pinus strobus (eastern white pine) — 100+ years
46. Pinus sylvestris (scots pine) — 75 years
47. Platanus × hispanics (London plane tree) — 75 years
48. Populus balsamifera (balsam poplar — 60 years
49. Populus x canadensis ’Robusta’ (Canada poplar) — 40 years
50. Populus deltoides (Eastern cottonwood) — 70 years

    

51. Populus nigra ‘Italica’ (Lombardy poplar) — 20 years
52. Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) — 50 years
53. Prunus avium (sweet cherry) — 25 years
54. Prunus cerasus (sour cherry) — 25 years
55. Prunus laurocerasus (cherry-laurel) — 50 years
56. Prunus maackii (Amur cherry) — 30 years
57. Prunus padus (bird cherry) — 50 years
58. Prunus pensylvanica (pin cherry) — 20 years
59. Prunus persica (peach) — 15 years
60. Prunus serotina (black cherry) — 60 years
61. Prunus serrulata (Japanese flowering cherry) — 30 years
62. Prunus virginiana (chokecherry) — 30 years
63. Pseudotsuga menziesii glauca (Rocky Mountain Douglas fir) — 100+ years
64. Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear) — 25 years
65. Pyrus communis (common pear) — 50 years
66. Quercus alba (white oak) — 100 years

    

67. Quercus palustris (pin oak) — 75 years
68. Quercus robur (English oak) — 75 years
69. Quercus rubra (red oak) — 75 years
70. Robinia pseudacacia (black locust) — 75 years
71. Salix × sepulcralis ‘Chrysocoma’ (golden weeping willow) — 50 years
72. Salix nigra (black willow) — 70 years
73. Sequoiadendron giganteum (Sierra redwood) — 100+ years
74. Sorbus aucuparia (European mountain ash) — 25 years
75. Taxodium distichum (bald cypress) — 100 years
76. Taxus baccata (European yew) — 100+ years
77. Taxus cuspidata (Japanese yew) — 75 years
78. Thuja occidentalis (eastern white cedar, arborvitae) — 100+ years
79. Thuja plicata (western redcedar) — 100+ years
80. Tilia americana (basswood) — 75 years
81. Tilia cordata (little-leaf linden) — 75 years
82. Tsuga canadensis (hemlock) — 75 years
83. Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock) — 100+ years
84. Ulmus americana (American elm, white elm) — 30 years (100+ for varieties resistant to Dutch elm disease)