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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Which street tree for outside my house?

32 replies

dottypencilcase · 11/11/2022 09:45

We've just moved to a pretty tree-lined street, except the tree outside our property was removed by the former owners as a preventative measure against subsidence- I'm still sad about that. It wasn't the cause but they wanted it removed anyway. I've just requested that a new tree be planted but am unsure what kind of tree it should be. I've been told I can choose the tree myself provided that it's a tree that doesn't have 'invasive roots'. Can anyone help me with this please? I like trees that have full canopies and have 'presence' 🙈 I'm not green-fingered at all and don't have a clue about the type of tree that would be acceptable to be on a residential street. Lime trees are out, as are weeping Willows and blossom trees which I love. New tree will be planted between December-March so in need to make a decision soon or the council will give me a tree that it deems suitable.

OP posts:
Priminister · 11/11/2022 11:39

Japanese maple? They look lovely and I don’t think they have invasive roots.

Jaffacakeorisitabiscuit · 11/11/2022 11:40

Apple tree? Useful and beautiful.

Priminister · 11/11/2022 11:58

Jaffacakeorisitabiscuit · 11/11/2022 11:40

Apple tree? Useful and beautiful.

The trouble with fruit trees on the street is that when the fruit is ripe, it falls on the ground and creates a dirty, slippery mess as well as attracting flies and wasps.

Jaffacakeorisitabiscuit · 11/11/2022 11:59

Or you can pick the fruit and eat it......... And invite your neighbours to do the same.

Angelofthenortheast · 11/11/2022 12:02

I would go maple too, then it looks beautiful in autumn.

Or cherry blossom (if they count as street trees?)

Bideshi · 11/11/2022 12:10

One of the various rowans. The native one sorbus aucuparia is good, but there are even better ones like 'Joseph Rock' with bright yellow berries, or the Himalayan ones like sorbus hupehensis or sorbus vilmorinii. Small trees, non invasive roots, pretty habit of growth, white flowers in spring then red, yellow or white-turning-pink clusters of berries in autumn. Good autumn colour. The berries dropping aren't a problem as the birds love them and strip the tree over the course of a winter.

MereDintofPandiculation · 11/11/2022 12:40

Bideshi · 11/11/2022 12:10

One of the various rowans. The native one sorbus aucuparia is good, but there are even better ones like 'Joseph Rock' with bright yellow berries, or the Himalayan ones like sorbus hupehensis or sorbus vilmorinii. Small trees, non invasive roots, pretty habit of growth, white flowers in spring then red, yellow or white-turning-pink clusters of berries in autumn. Good autumn colour. The berries dropping aren't a problem as the birds love them and strip the tree over the course of a winter.

Birds are much keener on the orange and red berries, they don’t strip the white berries

Dahliasrule · 11/11/2022 12:43

When we moved in nearly forty years ago, the council had a booklet with examples of tress showing root depth, canopy and eventual height. We chose a silver birch but unfortunately DH gets hay fever from the pollen now!

brambleberries · 11/11/2022 12:52

If it's a tree for outside your garden in the street, I am assuming something medium/tall in size? I think it will depend on how wide the pavement/verge is. Not sure exactly what you mean by 'no blossom trees' as many trees bear flowers (cherry perhaps?)
A few suggestions...

Silver birch - Betula Pendula - beautiful bark, tall and majestic when fully grown, or one of the smaller himalayan varieties

Paper birch - fluttery leaves full of movement, turning bright yellow in autumn, catkins in spring. It has a very neat conical impressive crown, as well as interesting bark colours.

Common Rowan - Sorbus aucuparia - white flowers in spring, striking red berries in autumn, good shape crown, and feathery leaves.

The June berry - Amelanchier arborea 'Robin Hill'. Great for year round interest.

Chanticleer Pear - ornamental pear tree, so no actual pears, (but flowers beautifully in spring so not sure if this would be permissible) and has a distinctive crown shape.

Gleditsia triacanthos 'Sunburst - golden honey locust tree - wonderful golden foliage in the spring. The leaves are very fine and delicate.

Acer Campestre - field maple slightly smaller variety than the native. Grown for mainly for its leaf colour. Elegant variety is smaller than the native with new growth has subtle coral pink hues, deepening to dark green, turning rich yellow in autumn.

Golden rain tree - Koelreuteria Panticulata - Coral sun is a particularly stunning variety.

Crab apple - the staple of many council plantings, it has many varieties. It does bear blossom in spring though, and berries (small apples) in autumn. Many varieties have striking leaf colour in autumn. It is known for year round interest. Make sure to specify a variety as they are all quite different -eg: Malus Red Sentinel holds it's striking red apples all winter; Malus Evereste nice shaped crown, flowers and berries, Malus Hupehensis - blooms prolifically and has wide spreading vase shaped canopy.

Bideshi · 11/11/2022 14:27

Good suggestions there, Bramble. I forgot about things like gleditsia as DH is landscape architect and therefore arsey a purist about yellow leaved trees.
The birches drop twigs all over the place. Crab apples lovely but can sucker from the base. I find amelanchier a bit thin and weedy but I know everyone else loves them.

Era · 11/11/2022 14:30

Have a horse chestnut. Save the species and bring joy to generations of children

DeanStockwooooo · 11/11/2022 14:36

I 2aa coming on to say Rowan but beaten to it ( several times)

There are lots planted on the fairly narrow pavements near me and look very nice all year round.

mathanxiety · 11/11/2022 15:06

My mum has a lovely rowan/ mountain ash tree outside her front garden. It's full of birds in the autumn - she even saw a flock of waxwings in it a few times.

It flowers in the spring. Rowans are hermaphrodite so you won't need another rowan (male or female) in the area to get berries.

superdupernova · 11/11/2022 15:18

We have a bird cherry tree in our front garden. It's quite low maintenance. We just get someone to prune it into a tidier standard ball shape once a year. It's as tall as the first floor and hasn't gotten any taller in the 6 years we've been here.

Pinkywoo · 11/11/2022 18:38

I'd have a copper beech, or if they're too big a magnolia of some description.

EndlessMagpies · 11/11/2022 18:44

Are there any other trees in the street? Maybe you could pick something that goes with what already grows well and will blend in once it reaches its full height.

Avoid lime, they drip sap everywhere which is a nightmare to get off cars, and don't pick sycamore either, otherwise you will be pulling up its many hundreds of offspring every year.

SpentDandelion · 11/11/2022 18:52

Paul's Scarlet is a lovely Hawthorne tree, hardy and not too big. Beautiful crimson flowers in May and red berries in Autumn.

carefulcalculator · 11/11/2022 18:54

Rowan. I love them.

SpentDandelion · 11/11/2022 18:56

Sorry, Paul's Scarlet is a cratagus, not Hawthorne tree. It's really pretty.

brambleberries · 11/11/2022 21:02

@SpentDandelion - You're correct - Crataegus is a hawthorn. I was just coming on to add hawthorn to my list of suggestions.... beautiful tree when grown as a single trunk rather than a hedging shrub, and so beneficial for wildlife. White and pink flowered varieties, with winter berries that the birds love, as well as providing protection for them.

Horse chestnut (mentioned earlier) would not be suitable - invasive roots and it grows too huge for a street tree. Also it's under threat from leaf miner and bleeding canker.

@superdupernova -Bird cherry is a great idea!

minipie · 11/11/2022 21:34

Rowan again - we have one outside our house (strangely as the rest of the street has Limes). Lovely tree, lots of interest. There are berries but they don’t seem to make mess on the pavement- perhaps as the birds eat them?

Sorbus is also a lovely option with silvery green leaves.

Ornamental pears or cherries (no fruit, only pretty blossom) are a popular street tree options. “Chanticleer” pear variety is especially common as it grows quite upright. Or you could choose a winter flowering cherry if you wanted something to cheer up the winter months?

All of these will stay small/medium sized rather than enormous.

dottypencilcase · 11/11/2022 23:19

Thank you all. Lots of beautiful trees mentioned here. For those asking, this is a tree for the pavement directly outside our house. I will be making a list of the trees I like most and forwarding them onto the person at the council who'll hopefully say it's possible to have one of them!

OP posts:
Ariela · 12/11/2022 01:46

My neighbour has a mimosa which is glorious in spring

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/11/2022 10:02

SpentDandelion · 11/11/2022 18:56

Sorry, Paul's Scarlet is a cratagus, not Hawthorne tree. It's really pretty.

Yes, wind blown pollen is more problematic for hay fever sufferers, probably because it’s being blown around rather than being carried neatly stashed away on bees.

Not sure exactly what you mean by 'no blossom trees' as many trees bear flowers - all except conifers, and even they bear flower like structures in the form of male and female cones

I'd have a copper beech, or if they're too big a magnolia of some description. Copper beeches get big! Neighbour has one 8ft from our house, trunk diameter about
two feet, and we have to ask them periodically to prune so it doesn’t sweep the slates from our roof.

Sorbus is also a lovely option with silvery green leaves. Rowan is Sorbus! Sorbus acauparia. The silvery green leaved ones are Sorbus aria, whitebeam, and relatives.

BobbyBobbyBobby · 13/11/2022 09:59

Plane tree (Platanus x hispanica)