18J.15.100 Plant Lists | Pierce County Code

18J.15.100 Plant Lists.

The intent of a plant material list is to foster the use of plants native to Western Washington and drought-tolerant plants common to this area. This plant material maximizes use of rainwater, reduces general maintenance needs, and reflects our natural surroundings. The use of drought-tolerant plants in landscape designs can reduce the amount of water devoted to outdoor watering at a time when population demand for water is increasing faster than the water supply.

A. Applicability. Western Washington native and/or drought tolerant plant material, i.e., groundcover, understory shrubs, and trees, shall be used within all required landscape screening, buffers, and parking lot landscaping, etc., referenced in this Chapter. This Section also provides suitable replacement trees for tree conservation pursuant to PCC 18J.15.030.

a. Plant species specifically required or prohibited by other Pierce County development regulation (e.g., Title 18S PCC – Shorelines, or individual community plan Chapters in Title 18J PCC) shall supersede this Section.

b. Only suitable native plants shall be permitted where lands are set aside only for native plantings, such as natural buffer areas, screening buffers, and tree conservation areas.

B. Design Objective. Reduce general maintenance needs, maximize rainwater use, and create designs that reflect our natural surroundings by using plants native to Western Washington and drought-tolerant plants common to the area.

1. Planting plans associated with new development applications shall reflect the recommended plant lists and/or the plant resources provided in this Section.

2. Use plants native to Western Washington and drought-tolerant plants common to the area, in that order of preference.

3. Where existing vegetation is to be retained in required landscape areas, all noxious weeds and English ivy shall be removed. Refer to the Washington State Noxious Weed website at http://www.nwcb.wa.gov for the current weed list.

4. No species included on a State or County invasive, nuisance, or species of concern list can be used to meet landscaping standards.

5. Native varieties of listed plant species are preferred over horticultural varieties.

D. Native Plant Resources. The following resources may be used to identify appropriate native plants:

1. The King County "Native Plant Resources for the Pacific Northwest" and "Native Plant Guide," provided by the Water and Land Resources Division of King County;

2. Native plant choices identified by a landscape architect or certified professional horticulturalist, subject to approval by the Planning and Public Works Department; or

3. The plants recommended on Tables 18J.15.100-1 through 18J.15.100-4 below.

Table 18J.15.100-1. Preapproved Tree List (1)(2)(3)
Tree Genus	Tree Species or Variety	Tree Common Name	Anticipated Mature Height (ft)	Anticipated Mature Width (ft)	West Coast Native
Abies	pinsapo	Spanish Fir	50	20
Acer	ginnala	Amur Maple	20	20
Acer	griseum	Paperbark Maple	25	14
Amelanchier	alnifolia	Standing Ovation Serviceberry	15	3	✔
Amelanchier	x grandiflora	Apple Serviceberry	20	20	✔
Amelanchier	laevis	Snowcloud Serviceberry	25	15	✔
Arbutus	unedo	Strawberry Tree	20	25
Betula	utilis var. jaquemontii	Jacquemonti Birch	40	30
Callitropsis	nootkatensis	Weeping Alaska Yellow Cedar	35	8	✔
Callitropsis	nootkatensis	Alaska Yellow Cedar	50	25	✔
Calocedrus	decurrens	Incense Cedar	70	12	✔
Carpinus	betulus	European Hornbeam	40	25
Carpinus	caroliniana	American Hornbeam	25	20
Cercidiphyllum	japonicum	Katsura Tree	50	25
Cercis	canadensis	Eastern Redbud	25	30
Chamaecyparis	obstusa	Hinoki Cypress	15	8
Chamaecyparis	pisifera	Sawara Cypress	50	15
Chamaecyparis	lawsoniana	Port Orford Cedar or Lawson Cypress	60	20	✔
Chionanthus	retusus	Chinese Fringe Tree	15	15
Cladastris	kentukea	American Yellowwood	30	40
Cornus	controversa	June Snow Dogwood	30	40
Cornus	mas	Cornelian Cherry	25	20
Cornus	kousa	Kousa Dogwood	25	25
Cornus	kousa x nuttalii	Starlight Dogwood	30	20	✔
Cotinus	coggygria or obovatus	Smoke Tree	25	20
Crataegus	crusgalli var. inermis	Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn	25	25
Crataegus	x lavallei	Lavalle Hawthorn	25	20
Crataegus	viridis	Winter King Hawthorn	25	25
Cryptomeria	japonica	Black Dragon Japanese Cedar	15	10
Cryptomeria	japonica	Japanese Plume Cedar	30	10
Cupressus	arizonica var. glabra	Smooth Cypress	30	15
Davidia	involucrata	Dove Tree	30	30
Eucalyptus	neglecta or parvula	Hardy Silver Gum	40	15
Fagus	sylvatica	Fastigiate Beech	25	6
Franklinia	alatamaha	Franklin Tree	25	20
Gingko	biloba	Maidenhair Tree	45	35
Gleditsia	triacanthos	Honey locust	40	30
Gymnocladus	dioicus	Kentucky Coffee Tree	50	35
Halesia	tetraptera	Carolina Silverbell	35	30
Hamamelis	x intermedia	Witchhazel	20	15
Juniperus	scopulorum	Rocky Mountain Juniper	15	6	✔
Koelreuteria	paniculata	Golden Rain Tree	25	20
Laburnum	x watereri	Golden Chain Tree	25	20
Lagerstroemia	indica	Crepe Myrtle	20	10
Maackia	amurensis	Amur Maackia	25	25
Magnolia	stellata	Star Magnolia	20	15
Magnolia	acuminata x denudata	Butterflies Magnolia	20	20
Magnolia	kobus	Kobus Magnolia	25	15
Magnolia	x soulangeana	Saucer Magnolia	30	30
Malus	sp.	Crabapple	20	12
Malus	tschonoskii	Tschonoskii Crabapple	35	22
Nyssa	sylvatica	Tupelo	40	30
Ostrya	virginiana	American Hophornbeam	40	25
Oxydendrum	arboreum	Sourwood	25	20
Parrotia	persica	Persian Ironwood	30	25
Picea	orientalis	Oriental Spruce	50	20
Picea	omorika	Serbian Spruce	50	25
Picea	abies	Norway Spruce	60	20
Pinus	mugo	Mugo Pine	20	20
Pinus	parviflora	Japanese White Pine	25	15
Pinus	contorta var. contorta	Shore Pine	30	15	✔
Pinus	flexilis	Vanderwolf's Pyramid Pine	40	20	✔
Prunus	virginiana	Chokecherry	25	20
Quercus	myrsinifolia	Bambooleaf Oak	30	25
Quercus	robur x bicolor	Regal Prince Oak	45	18
Rhamnus	purshiana	Cascara	25	20	✔
Sciadopitys	verticillata	Japanese Umbrella Pine	25	20
Sequoiadendron	giganteum	Blue Giant Sequoia	50	25	✔
Stewartia	pseudocamellia	Japanese Stewartia	25	12
Styrax	japonicus	Japanese Snowbell	25	20
Styrax	obassia	Fragrant Snowbell	25	25
Syringa	reticulata	Japanese Tree Lilac	25	20
Trochodendron	aralioides	Wheel Tree	20	20
Tsuga	mertensiana	Mountain Hemlock	20	8	✔
Tsuga	diversifolia	Northern Japanese Hemlock	40	20
Ulmus	caprinifolia x parvifloia	Frontier Elm	40	30
Zelkova	serrata	Japanese Zelkova	24	30
Betula	papyrifera	Paper Birch	50	30	✔
Betula	nigra	River Birch	40	35	✔
Catalpa	bignoniodes	Eastern Catalpa	40	30
Catalpa	x erubescens	Purple Catalpa	45	45
Catalpa	speciosa	Northern Catalpa	50	30	✔
Cedrus	deodara	Deodar Cedar	50	30
Celtis	occidentalis	Hackberry	45	35
Cupressus	bakerii	Baker Cypress	50	35	✔
Eucommia	ulmoides	Hardy Rubber Tree	45	45
Juglans	regia	English Walnut	50	50
Magnolia	acuminata	Cucumber Magnolia	50	40
Phellodendron	amurense	Eyestopper Cork Tree	40	35
Quercus	bicolor	Swamp White Oak	50	50
Quercus	canby	Sierra Red Oak	45	40	✔
Quercus	chrysolepis	Canyon Live Oak	55	30	✔
Quercus	coccinea	Scarlet Oak	50	40
Quercus	garryana	Oregon White Oak	60	50	✔
Quercus	ilex	Holm Oak	50	50
Quercus	imbricaria	Shingle Oak	55	50
Quercus	kellogii	California Black oak	60	45	✔
Quercus	macrocarpa	Bur Oak	50	50
Quercus	muehlenbergii	Chinquapine Oak	50	45
Quercus	phellos	Willow Oak	50	50
Quercus	rubra	Red Oak	50	40
Sophora	japonica	Japanese Pagoda Tree	40	40
Tillia	tomentosa	Silver Linden	60	50
Ulmus	parviflora	Emerald Vase Elm	50	35
Zelkova	serrata	Japanese Zelkova	60	50
Zelkova	carpinifolia	Caucasian Elm	60	50
Aesculus	hippocastanum	Horse Chestnut	75	70
Fagus	sylvatica	European Beech	80	50
Liriodendron	tulipifera	Tulip Tree	60	25
Lithocarpus	densiflorus	Tanoak	75	90	✔
Metasequoia	glyptostroboides	Dawn Redwood	70	25
Pinus	ponderosa	Ponderosa Pine	100	22	✔
Platanus	x acerifolia	London Plane Tree	55	40
Platanus	orientalis	America Sycamore	75	75
Pseudotsuga	menziesii	Douglas-fir	80	20	✔
Quercus	falcata	Spanish Oak	80	50
Quercus	frainetto	Italian Oak	80	60
Sequoia	sempervirens	Coastal Redwood	100	25	✔
Sequoiadendron	giganteum	Giant Redwood	80	50	✔
Thuja	plicata	Western Red-Cedar	100	25	✔
Ulmus	americana	American Elm	70	65
Ulmus	japonica x wilsoniana	Accolade Elm	70	60

(1)All trees listed in Table 18J.15.100-1 are suitable for use as street trees and parking lot trees.

(2)Any tree species that is not listed in Table 18J.15.100-1 may be administratively approved by the Planning and Public Works Department as an alternative to a listed tree as appropriate to the proposed use and planting location.

(3)Evergreen trees are not pre-approved street trees or parking lot trees and may only be approved by the Planning and Public Works Department on a case-by-case basis.

Table 18J.15.100-2. Recommended Shrubs Species

Suitable for use in landscape areas; not all plants listed will be appropriate for areas that require only native plants.
Serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia	Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum	Ramanas rose Rosa rugosa
Strawberry tree Arbutus unedo	Russian arborvitae Microbiota decussate	Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
Winter blooming camellia Camellia sasanqua	Oregon wax myrtle Myrica californica	Senecio Senecio greyii
Wild lilac Caenothus species	Persian parrotia Parrotia persica	Common lilac Syringa vulgaris
Rock rose Cistus species	Wild mock orange Philadelphus lewisii	Tamarisk Tamarix species
Smoke tree Cotinus coggygria	Ninebark Phisocarpus species	Evergreen huckleberry Vaccineum ovatum
Hardy ice plant Delosperma nubigenum	Portugal laurel Prunus lusitanica	Yew Taxus species
Broom Genista species	Firethorn Pyracantha species	Thyme Thymus species
Pacific rhododendron Rhododendron macrohphyllum	Red huckleberry Vaccineum parviflorum	Juniper Juniperus species
Sumac Rhus glabra or typhina	Chaste tree Vitex agnus-castus	Kerria Kerria japonica
Nootka rose Rosa nootka	Yucca Yucca species	Crape myrtle Lagerstroemia indica

Table 18J.15.100-3. Recommended Groundcover Species

Suitable for use in landscape areas; not all plants listed will be appropriate for areas that require only native plants.
Manzanita, Kinnikinnick Arctostaphylos species	Bunchberry Cornus canadensis	Salal Gaultheria shallon
Wild ginger Asarum caudatum	Coastal strawberry Fragraria chiloensis	Oregon grape Mahonia species
Barberry Berberis species	Wild strawberry Fragraria virginiana	Western trillium Trillium ovatum
Cotoneaster Cotoneaster species

Table 18J.15.100-4. Recommended Vine Species

Suitable for use in landscape areas; not all plants listed will be appropriate for areas that require only native plants.
Evergreen clematis Clematis armandii	Honeysuckle Lonicera species	Wisteria Wisteria species