Small tree choice.

lostinrates

I love trees, and i am devestated that thios summer i am going to lose an oak tree, because it is too close to my house.

I want to plant a couple of smaller trees to maintain my privacy ( very important, and to enjoy in their own right. I have already planted a canyfloss/ burnt sugar tree and have soace for i think two more. Because of location, root spread is an issue, but small trees are fine ( a structural engineer is vetting my choices)


The garden is l shaped and has different planting schemes down each side...one is just white, the other is mainly red and pink, but i might be adding blues i think.


I am toying with a juneberry tree and a strawberry tree. Experiences with either or other suggestions are welcome please!

annie123

My friend has an old strawberry tree in her garden and it's lovely but she has pruned some of the lower branches off as it looked like a 25' tall and wide shrub, rather than a tree.
No idea if it was just her one or if it's how they grow.

lostinrates

annie123 wrote: »

My friend has an old strawberry tree in her garden and it's lovely but she has pruned some of the lower branches off as it looked like a 25' tall and wide shrub, rather than a tree.
No idea if it was just her one or if it's how they grow.

They do look shrubby in pictures. I think you have to actively train it as a standard.

blossomhill_2

My choice would be crab apple, fits in with both white and pink themes. Or a flowering cherry

lostinrates

Both nice choices. I have got a crab apple planned for elsewhere already and i think a flowering cherry might look wrong. I will put it on the long list thpugh, it does fulfill all my requirements.

westiea

Arbutus unedo (The Strawberry Tree) will require work to keep it as a tree, as its natural inclination is to bush out as a shrub. Amelanchier (The Juneberry Tree) is definitely a worthy tree and I would recommend that over the Arbutus.

If you have a look here at Crocus they give you a few ideas of suitable trees for small gardens..

I personally would avoid Ornamental Cherries in a small garden as they are notorious for creating structural house problems as they are shallow rooted.:eek:

The Sorbus genus (Mountain Ash/Rowan) are lovely trees with both flower, berry and good autumn colour. There is a wide variety to choose from for berry and flower colours and also shape.

splodger_seedswapper

just a small tip - regarding the root growth of a tree, as you say that roots have been an issue

the roots of a tree can grow to at the least the length of it's longest branch (obviously unpruned) so when searching for suitable specimens, check that they are on dwarf rootstock (if applicable) and check what the expected height / width growth perameters are - that should give you a good idea of what the roots might do (this is not fool proof, but it is a pretty good indicator)

hope that helps

ladylouise62

I would also recommend Amelanchier - a lovely thing in spring, and with a nice habit, then lovely in Autumn. It has edible berries apparently - I've never been able to beat the birds to them :-) I don't have one in my present place, but I get to see my Mum's every year and it's fantastic..

Also - it's a shrub rather than a tree so doesn't grow ginormous, but is big enough for your needs.. unless you are trying to hide a 10 storey block

lostinrates

ladylouise62 wrote: »

I would also recommend Amelanchier - a lovely thing in spring, and with a nice habit, then lovely in Autumn. It has edible berries apparently - I've never been able to beat the birds to them :-) I don't have one in my present place, but I get to see my Mum's every year and it's fantastic..

Also - it's a shrub rather than a tree so doesn't grow ginormous, but is big enough for your needs.. unless you are trying to hide a 10 storey block

Great, thats a positive for the june berry, so that looks increaingly likely a choice for one of the 'vacancies'.