Looking For A Low Maintenance Medium Height Tree

[roses2]

Hi there, I have a small London garden (5m x 8m) and am looking for a small tree to go at the back that won't bother me or the neighbours too much.

Preferably:

• grows to a max of 3m tall
• very low maintenance - doesn't need pruning
• will withstand not being watered regularly
• suitable for thick heavy London clay soil
• preferably evergreen and won't shed leaves all over my / my neighbours garden

Does such a tree exist?

I looked at the RHS website and the Spindle Tree came up in the search but I think this is deciduous and sheds its leaves which will require cleaning up.

Evergreens also shed leaves, it's the tree that's always green, not the individual leaf. It's just that they shed leaves throughout the year rather than all in one go.

Spindle is a bush rather than a tree, ie it has several uprights from ground level, not a single trunk.

Any tree you plant will need watering during its first year while it gets established.

Something like this might suit your requirements: www.bloomingartificial.co.uk/artificial-bay-laurel-tree

Thanks for the explanation of evergreen - I didn't know that :)

I was looking for a real tree for my garden not a fake tree but thank you. Real bay trees also grow pretty high. We currently have a bay tree in the garden which needs cutting several times a year to stop it becoming a beast.

I've been looking for a small tree recently.
most small trees on the list grow up to 8m tall.

To get one which really only grows to 3 m, you need to look at dwarf trees.
many dwarf trees are fruit trees, which would probably drop too much for you.

To get an evergreen, or one that is low maintenance, you could always try a conifer, you can get different colours and shapes.

Rowan trees can be small.
Dogwood can be small too, and while not evergreen, they have pretty coloured stems in the winter.

Does it have to be single stem? Technically a tree is single stem, but many shrubs have multiple stems and woudl grow about that height.

have a look at teh ornamental tree company site, they have dwarf trees

Thanks steppemum, that's really helpful. Looking for dwarf trees sounds like the right approach :)

Conifers drop needles (all the year round) - you won't be able completely to avoid sweeping up.

Holly is slow growing (and will drop leaves all the year round).

You haven't said anything about what you want the tree for. Do you want it to look nice? To screen something? For the birds? To have blossom? berries? good autumn colour? nice bark in the winter?

Trees grow; that's what they do.

Trees that are grafted onto dwarf rootstock are unlikely to be evergreen.

We currently have a bay tree in the garden which needs cutting several times a year to stop it becoming a beast. If you have tree which has outgrown its position, it can be preferable to do a more serious cutting back once. We've just taken our 10m bay tree to just over a metre - it's now shooting out beautifully around the base and is a green ovoid about 3m high. In about 10 years time we'll take out the taller shoots while they're still of a diameter to be easily managed by hand saw.

If you're pruning several times a year you're effectively doing topiary. You end up with a dense mass of tiny twigs round the outside and no real shape to the tree - cf a beech hedge and a beech tree.

If your bay tree is getting to be a pain, I'd suggest starting a few cuttings for insurance (they're one of the easier things to do by cuttings), then once they're going, take yours down to base level and start again.

What about a pittosporum? They aren’t the hardiest shrub but should be fine in London. Don’t get too big, evergreen, not too thirsty.

Thank you MereDintofPandiculation & PigeonofDoom - that is great advice about both the bay tree and the pittosporum. I'll do some research. I think I need to get one in place within the next few weeks to allow it to settle before winter.

most trees move best when planted when they are dormant. In fatc if you try and order on many websites they will send them out in November.
Trees are usually sold bare rooted.

But if you buy a container grown one and buy it in a pot then you can plant it at any time of year.

I think for a pittosporum I would want to put it in in spring when the soil is warm, then it’s got time to begin before it’s first winter.

How about an Amelanchier

I need a similar tree! It can get a bit higher than 3m but ideally I want a single trunk not a shrub. I’ve been looking at olive trees or Albizia trees. Strawberry tree or dwarf eucalyptus might work too.

Amelanchier would be lovely but is deciduous.
I like pittosporum but can it be made to grow tree shaped rather than shrubby?

if not too worried about a small amount of leaves, have you thought about a crab apple? Lovely blossom and attractive fruit - and crab apple jelly is one of the easiest preserves to make (and the ultimate secret ingredient in gravy/stews etc)

minipie Bay tree?

Like the OP I had a bay tree previously but it grew shrub shaped and enormous - I’m really looking for something that grows more naturally tree shaped (eg lollipop or umbrella) if you see what I mean - single trunk and branches only at the top!

Have a look at Barcham Trees Website. They only sell verY expensive mature trees but the information on there is excellent. You can also email questions to them. Their customer service is great.

I

You can buy holly trees from nursery that are shaped into a lollop.

I’m really looking for something that grows more naturally tree shaped (eg lollipop or umbrella) if you see what I mean - single trunk and branches only at the top! You can train a bay tree to have a single trunk. Probably easier to have 2-3 trunks, then cut off low branches so you see bare trunks below the mass of leaves.

Photinia (red robin) in lollipop/tree form? Probably requires regular clipping to prevent it from becoming too shrubby.