Which tree for garden?

[Cherryblossom200]

Hi!

I visited a garden centre today and they had some amazing, really tall trees for sale. I was surprised by how cheap they were and thought about putting one in the corner of my garden.

It would have plenty of sun/light. I would like it to provide screening for some houses opposite as well,

Just wondering which trees you would recommend? Ideally something which doesn't throw massive, and keeps the leaves the majority of the year. Would it be great if it was pretty too 😊

Many thanks 😊

How tall are we talking? You say not massive but providing some screening?

If you mean a small tree (I mean something with a single trunk, and probably not growing over 4 metres in the near-to-mid future), then:

• bay, possibly pleached. Gorgeous dark green, evergreen, and easy to clip to shape.
• ilex (holly). Evergreen. Nellie Stevens and x alterclerensis 'Golden King' are both very pretty with year-round interest.
• Standardised viburnum - lovely white/pink flowers in winter. Not so robust as the others as it's not naturally grown as a tree, but very pretty in a formal garden.

If you mean a shrub (ie., more bush shaped), then:

• viburnum tinus. Gorgeous. Winter flowers, and when mature, blue berries in late autumn.
• ceanothus. Beautiful flowers (usually blue; there are lots of varieties to choose from), and lovely dark green leaves. Likes full sun so would be happy where you suggest.

Do tell me if you meant something taller - happy to come back with more thoughts if it's useful.

Oh lovely! Thank you. I'll take a look, when I mean not too big I mean something like an like an Oak tree which is way too big. I only have a standard sized garden!

We have a silver weeping pear tree which is just right for our smaller garden, (sorry I can't remember the latin name), it looses its leaves but during the spring it has beautiful blossom, in summer the leaves are silver and green.

Pyrus salicifolia.

In that case, for my money, I'd go for an ilex. So pretty, very good for the ecosystem, and they will make you happy in winter when everything else feels so glum. All-year-round interest is great (and ilex are perfectly attractive in all seasons), but honestly, in winter you will be crying out for something pretty. If you underplant with cyclamen and spring bulbs, it'll make you feel so happy when everything else is grey and depressing.

If you have plenty of sun - Olive tree. Perfect for what you want, evergreen, doesn’t get huge and very drought tolerant too.

Or a winter flowering cherry - no leaves in winter but flowers instead. And the leaves come out quite early in spring.

Sorbus is gorgeous, again leaves come out early and are a beautiful silver green. Then berries for autumn interest.

If you have space and it’s well away from buildings/pipes you could look at eucalyptus. I love them (great smell) and they are evergreen and tall, so good for screening, but they can get huge and thirsty, choose the type carefully.

I have just acquired a Strawberry Tree (Arbutus Unedo) having been after one for ages and managed to pick up a nice 3ft specimen from a local nursery for a tenner.
It's evergreen but not too dense and just about to flower - the flowers look a bit like Lily of the valley. It has edible fruits (although probably best left to the birds) and flaky reddish brown bark.
I don't actually have anywhere suitable for it so it's in a pot for now, but I just couldn't resist.

I have a strawberry

Oops clicked post too soon!

I have a strawberry tree currently in the place I was thinking of putting a more mature in its place. The strawberry tree I have is just over a metre in height and is fairly slow growing, I was going to move it elsewhere.

I was thinking of maybe a maple tree? I just worry about roots 🥴 it's about 8 metres from my house.

How far from the house? Are you on clayey ground?

Need to think about the tree roots growing into your foundations (rule of thumb is that tree should be at least as far from the houses as the mature tree will be high).

On shrinkable (clay containing) soil, some species will take water from the soil and cause it to shrink, then heave when it wets up again.

Table here gives a summary of tree species water demand and mature height.

On shrinkable (clay containing) soil Apparently not all clay is shrinkable.

No, but the more clay, the more likely. It also depends on the non-cohesive fraction of the soil. I'm a geotechnical engineer, I used to do foundation designs for nearby trees, and tree schedules for new buildings for a living. I don't do houses anymore, but I still work with shrinkable soils.

I was just trying to alert the OP to not putting any old tree in the ground. Obviously i don't know the specific make up of the soil her garden is on.

Hello!

Thanks for your advice, I hadn't even thought of this! I have clay soil?

I definitely don't want to have a huge tree with massive roots, so thinking I stay patient and wait for my little strawberry tree to mature. I've attached a photo, just wish it was bigger 🤣

I've been told Maples are good trees? Just not sure if it sheds its leaves.

All trees shed leaves. Evergreens do it all the year round, so not very many at any one time, and they still have leaves in the winter. Strawberry tree is evergreen. Deciduous trees do it all at once in autumn. Maples are deciduous.

Bay, holly, Ceanothus are evergreen.
Weeping pear, winter flowering cherry Sorbus are deciduous
Most Viburnums are deciduous but a few (eg V. tinus) keep their leaves.

Thanks, that's a helpful explanation.