This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Choosing trees
Cambridgerose12
Posts: 1,134
Hello all, I am in the exciting position of having a largish new garden to design and plant. I am taking things slowly as I expect the house attached will have to be let for some years until I retire, but there's a big empty area (1800m2) and I would like to plant a few trees now, so that when I move there they have grown a bit.
I've never had a garden big enough to do much tree planting and I wondered what people would recommend--I quite fancy some unusual things. The end shape is obviously going to be the most important thing. Also, it's fairly warm and dry in the area, though the soil is heavy and slightly acid.
I've never had a garden big enough to do much tree planting and I wondered what people would recommend--I quite fancy some unusual things. The end shape is obviously going to be the most important thing. Also, it's fairly warm and dry in the area, though the soil is heavy and slightly acid.
0
Posts
1) Make sure you really understand how big it will get. We planted a darling little Walnut sapling a few years ago, and now it is a monster, and not even fully grown
2) Avoid planting near any structures (house, garage, shed)
3) Think carefully before planting near a boundary, as it may shade your neighbours garden, and its roots may interfere with your neighbours fence/plants, etc
4) Try as much as possible to plant the tree in a location which suits it's preferred habit (sunny, dry, etc)
When it comes to choosing varieties, think about the bigger picture of how your garden will look when they are all planted, at different times of year. Consider going for very contrasting foliage colour/texture/shape. Look for multiple interest in any tree (blossom, fruit, autumn colour)
If we had the space to to plant more trees (sadly we don't), I'd go for Liquidamber, Amelanchier, and Black Cherry Plum.
A group of white stemmed birch look lovely.
What's going to be underneath them, grass? If so keep a circle clear around each tree. If you are going to let the house who is going to take care of the garden as for the first few years they will all need lots of water several times a week all year round, unless the winter is very wet.
If you fancy a trip, it's located in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, and they have a magnificent show garden over several acres.
Think about the overall picture of what you want to achieve, not just the trees but what you plant around them. E.g. at Harlow Carr they have white birches contrasting with red cornus and evergreens, which looks amazing in winter.