Minke,
I not much help with the apple trees, I am sure someone will be though. After loosing an elm, I wouldn't choose a red oak, they are dropping like flies due to oak wilt. If you are looking for a nice shade tree I would stay away from oak and ash, both are facing serious disease issues. There are nice silver-red maple crosses that offer fairly quick growth (because of the silver maple) and lovely fall color. Look for Acer freemanii, Celebration maple and Autumn Blaze maple are pretty easy to come by, they grow pretty quickly and as a bonus there are no messy seeds. Unless you have your heart set on deciduous trees, you may want to look at some of the pines or spruce, they offer year round interest and shade. Austrian pines, for example, are hardy and withstand a variety of soil conditions.

As far as nurseries go, I am not familiar with the nurseries in your area, but ask around, you can find smaller nurseries, that are not far out of the way, that can offer good prices in the fall if they do not have the room to overwinter all their stock.

The stump is only an issue if it bothers you.

You can plant trees into the fall, just remember that, even in the cooler weather, they need to be watered consistantly till freeze. You may want to check on the resistance of the tree you choose to frost crack if they are to be planted in an area that will recieve alot of harsh sun in the winter.

Good luck, I am sure that you will recieve more advice than this...Helen.

I bought five trees in the last few weeks and went to lots of nurseries. I think Gertens in Inver Grove Heights had the best selection. I bought a birch there. I also bought two hydrangea trees from Bachmans (went to Lyndale store, Apple Valley and Lakeville. Not as good as a selection but 25% off and free delivery in the metro area. Bought two seviceberries (tree form) from Lilydale Garden Center in Lilydale. Nice trees, 25% off, reasonable delivery. Not a huge amount of trees.

All three had very helpful people.

I lost both of my elms in 2004 to DED. It was a sad day watching them come down.

I did not have the stumps ground out because I had enough room to plant the new trees. I incorporated the stumps in some garden beds and put some large pots of annuals on them. I can't see them anymore. The stumps did continue to sprout for a couple of years. This was the first summer they did not so I think it is finally dead. I added some more gardens this year and came across many of the old roots. They are finally starting to rot and are easily removed now.

It was a tough decision on what to plant since I cannot fit that many trees in my yard. You have the right idea to plant something fast growing for shade and something that will be long lived and eventually a glorious tree. I tried to look around the neighborhood also and see what types of trees were not common. I figured adding to the diversity would be a good thing. So I ended up planting:

Ginkgo 'Autumn Gold'-fruitless,male
'Apollo' Sugar Maple-columnar
Northern Pin Oak-fairly fast growing actually

Others I considered:
Kentucky Coffee Tree-somewhat hard to find
White Pine-Would have shaded the house in the winter
Shagbark Hickory-hard to find

I didn't consider a Honeylocust because it is the boulevard tree on my block. It is a fine tree, though a bit overplanted around the cities.

I weighed the threat of oak wilt in my choice. Oaks are few and far between in my part of Minneapolis and most are in the white oak group (Bur, Swamp White, White) which are generally considered less susceptible to the disease. Lots of good info on the web about Oak Wilt in Minnesota.

On the stumps....My neighbor rented a stump grinder for half a day for $72 and removed my stumps and his. I used a stump killer a few years back on a smaller stump and it did the trick. It was a liquid that you applied to the stump. After a few months the thing just crumbled after I hit it with an ax. (Probably could have used something smaller than an ax.)

Red oak is a fine choice as long as you keep it away from other red oaks and you don't prune it in May-June. I've planted several over the years. They tolerate drought and wind quite well. One caution for red oak: the have enormous acorns. I have one over my patio. They 're so thick this year, the acorns are like huge ball bearings.

I would avoid any linden trees since they are a delicacy for the swarming japanese beetles. These insects skeletonize the leaves, leaving them brown. The huge trees at 3M were all brown this year from the beetles. If you think they're not a problem, where you live, just wait; the wave is slowy progressing over the Cities, from east to west. My linden and cherries are chewed up.

Also avoid any ash tree. The latest exotic pest, the Emerald Ash Borer kills entire trees. They are killing forests of them in Michigan and Indiana. Nothing seems to stop the spread. Like the JBs, the could arrive in MN at some point.

When we bought our house 6 years ago we only had one mature tree. Since then, and after some trial and error, we've planted 7 trees and will plant two more soon. Most of them were bought at Linder's in St. Paul, with a few from Home Depot and Lowe's. The more normal ones are a Red Maple, a Summit Ash, a green Ash, lilac bush and a Sunburst Honeylocust. My favorite tree so far has been an Autumn Gold Ginkgo. I wish I would be around in 250 years to see the tree in all it's glory. I have also ordered from www.forestfarm.com a Kentucky Coffee tree and a His Majesty Cork tree, which was developed by the U of M. We decided on the last two after visiting the Lanscape Arboretum in Chanhassen. We'll be getting those two very soon. From everything I have read, there is still time to plant trees, as the ground won't freeze for at least another 6 weeks or so.

About Oak trees. I will never again buy a house that has an oak tree near the entrance. Every August I spend most of the month raking and grooming my grounds to get rid of the acorns. A complete nuisance to say the least. If I don't clean them up then every time I step outdoors I am stepping on acorns in bare feet. The tree is now way too mature to cut it down so I just have to live with it.

We have two mature Burr Oak trees in our South Minneapolis yard. They are gorgeous, and a mess to clean up after. We have them trimmed in the winter about every 3 years. Winter being the operative word. I love them, but would stay away from planting one because of the mess.

We planted a Mountain ash and a Meteor Cherry tree. Both small tress for out small back yard the Cherry came from the now defunct Lyndale garden center and the ash from Bachmans Lyndale during one of their free delivery sales. Both have been healthy happy trees.

Try the Arb's online database of suppliers--post on another recent thread here.

Out Back Nursery is having a 50% sale soon, you can google for their website and get details.

A suggestion: A typically overlooked tree is the crab apple. but not the crab apple of old that dropped fruit on the ground. New varieties have Spring bloom and winter colored fruit that persists until Spring. These trees provide wonderful color in the winter and then feed the migrating grossbeaks in the Spring.
I like the types with bright red as opposed to maroon colored apples. The red is a real show stopper in winter.
SOme varieties are: Red Splndor; Adams.