Help me choose a small tree!

[ArseyTussle]

I have a rowan, a mimosa, and an autumn flowering cherry all in a line (short wide garden and I'm using these for screening).

I have a gap to fill and can't decide what to put in it. Pear? Crabapple? Plum? Something else? I don't have the patience to buy a pine/yew/spruce and wait for it to grow. And I don't want a cypress type conifer.

I think it's probably too windy for a magnolia, otherwise open to ideas!

Oooh yes I love lilac, it's hardy too.

Ooh, lilac. Is it evergreen, or have I imagined that?

The mimosa is about 5 feet tall but the trunk is only about 1cm diameter, it has a lot of bulking up to do!

What height and spread do you need?
Also bear in mind the quite bright Mimosa blossom to avoid a clash with that....
Viburnum opulus is a nice suggestion, great for wildlife, pretty flowers and lovely berries...

Doesn't the mimosa blossom very early before lilac?, It needs to be sheltered from strong winds too, if you're by the coast.

What about Philadelphus Aureus? (mock orange) It has sweet smelling flowers, is hardy too.

Lilac is deciduous, but often seems semi - evergreen IYSWIM . Just be careful though , they have a horrid tendency to sucker everywhere if you damage the roots at all, and can end up a right menace ( bitter voice of experience)

My lilac is decidous - at least I hope so as all the leaves have fallen off!! I got the one called 'Belle De Nancy' which apparently has highly fragrant double flowers. I got a small one and it is planted as a specimen in the lawn so hopefully I should be able to keep it under control. I love the smell of lilac.

This one (although not where I bought it from): www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/syringa-vulgaris-belle-de-nancy-tree-pp890

Oh dear, I've just seen that mimosa can grow to quite a size. I bought it because I wanted something evergreen that grew faster than a spruce.

The space to fill is about 3 to 4 m wide, and a height of about 4 - 5 would be plenty tall enough.

Yes, I'd thought about the rather vivid blossom of the mimosa, so thought a white blossom would be best. Timing wise, isn't a mimosa's flowering time March-ish?

Can a mock orange be grown as a tree? I'd like a single trunk.

You would have to keep pruning mock orange to get a single trunk it is a shrubby tree. Same with the mimosa which is a very ambitious plant to have in an english garden btw . Yes it flowers early depending on the weather of course.

Oh god, ambitious because they die?! I read some articles that said they were easier to grow in the uk than people think, they just may not flower. Oh dear, wonder if I've made a mistake, it will either expire at the first whisper of wind or grow to 20 metres.

Oh dear sorry I would give it shelter and cosset it ! I didn't do that and as I said mine (which had been in the garden before we moved here) expired after 2 weeks of frost, though it hadn't been very happy for 3 years before.

Is your garden south facing btw? What type of soil is it?

So a mimosa isn't just vulnerable while young, it could go at any time?! Eek!

The tree is in front of our boundary wall, which is about 4 feet tall at that point. The side of the wall the tree is on faces East, but the tree is already taller than the wall, IYSWIM, so it gets West sun at the end of the day, and the sun from the south as it moves round.

Soil-wise, I'm not really sure, there's a mix of some sandy areas and some heavier areas due to it having been a brown field site. The part with the mimosa is reasonably well dug over and not too heavy.

To be honest, it was pretty cheap, so if it doesn't make it at least I've had a go, and can think of something else. I just thought it was a fab solution as I love the foliage and of course it's evergreen.

Well just have a go and it'll be a lesson learned won't it? It MIGHT do well, if it's meant for english gardens, what did the label say? You have to bear in mind that their natural habitat is on the hills in the South of France !

Shamelessly placemarking as we need something for screening but it has to go in a brick built raised bed which is only about four feet from front to back and also about four feet deep.

I shall speak French to it every day ppeat, astride a bicycle whilst wearing onions and a Breton top. When yours died was it obvious straight away, and was it a nightmare to dig up?

Hhm, 2017, I'm obviously not an expert, but I'd worry about a tree in the real sense in your shoes. I know some trees are shallow rooting, but it seems a lot of those are also wide rooting. I read an interesting article about upsizing shrubs once, can't remember where, but it mentioned in it that growing a shrub as a standard results in smaller roots than planting a tree. Have you thought of the dreaded bamboo? Non-running obviously, but I'm still too scared.

Yes it was obviously dead ,it was completely brown and droopy (sort of collapsed). I did try and cut it right back and mulch etc. but it was waste of time. The roots were BIG but it was OLD. Even dh (who speaks good french, ) and drinks lots of red wine couldn't help it

I agree with you about using a shrub rather than tree for 2017 maybe a box hedge? or holly?

Talking about bamboo I bought the most beautiful slow growing one from england and it still is amazing, it has self seeded in one place but it has not grown like the 'common' type at all. It's gorgeous all year.

It's called Nandina Domestica or Heavenly Bamboo. It is frosted at the moment but with green leaves and red berries. Superb.

ooh - I have that too ppeatfruit - I moved 2 years ago it as it was in the shade, and not thriving - its just getting re-established. Mine is sort of reddish stems , but no berries ...

Mine has white flowers in the summer, then reddish leaves in the autumn which are usually bright green. Then the berries in the winter. Maybe yours will cheer up now it's in the sun ( though mine isn't in full sun).

Thank you.
Nandina is now on my shopping list.

It does take time to grow though 2017 do you have the time?