One of the smaller Southern Magnolias selecetions: Kay Parris, Little Gem or Teddy Bear. Kay Parris is views as the nicest by several expert I have talked with little Gen having the longest bloom period. Bracken Brown Beauty is also a nice plant. David

For recommendations, more information needs to be given. You should probably add your location to your member profile (where you have only your zone listed now) so will know where you're at. That can make a big difference. Also, things like soil type, sun/shade exposure, etc would help.

Your request for a "fast growing" tree that "doesn't get above 20 ft. tall and 15 ft. wide" may be difficult. Most things that grow quickly get large over time.

Also, consider that "fast growing" trees planted "6 ft. from (your) foundation" may be likely to damage your house. They are at least likely to quickly become a nuisance and overgrow their allotted space.

Finally, the problems with Bradfords just begin at short life. Invasiveness is one of the biggest concerns many people have with it. Foul smelling blooms, unsightly and frequent branch failure, and lack of originality also add to the list.

Let us know more about your location, conditions, and needs and I'm sure you'll get many recommendations.

I live in Connecticut. Thank you for your responses. The odor isn't that bad here (that is if we're talking about the "odor" around bloom time...like in a few weeks). If you guys want I can take pics of my neighbors in a few weeks...or if you really hate them, I won't then, lol.

Have a nice day!

I'd never suggest that you plant anything that large so close to your home. Any that you mentioned would be crunching against the walls in a very few years.

You get much more sun relief by planting a good shade tree 20 feet away from the house.

I agree, way too close. That's asking for trouble, but, if you are going to do it anyway I suppose your best bets are:

Redbud
Japanese maple
Paperbark maple (would be my first choice)
etc-

You need to go a minimum (rule of thumb) 12 feet.

Dax

We have a Japanese Maple (does the name 'bloodgood' sound familiar or did I just make it up?) Anyway, Japanese Maples are slow growers (we planted ours over 11 years ago at about less than a foot and now it is only 7 feet tall with a 5 foot spread. I have seen some houses with the Magnolia's in front of the house and some with Weeping Cherry's. I never considered White Birch (I love those in the winter) Do White Birch trees grow relatively quick? What is the difference between a white birch and a paper birch?

I am not committed to the plan with the tree against the house, but I see many large McMansions with a tree or two against the house and thought it would look nice. As of the shade issue, I think the Bradford we have will provide enough shade by the location of it to the sun.

Thanks.

Along the positive lines of the bradford (flowers, shade), but much more uncommon, controllable and sturdy with a great shape, consider the Halesias--quick, but not excessive growers, pretty white blooms that hang downwardly and don't stink. I'm not sure of the lifespan of them, but there are some beautiful specimens in Crystal City VA which are about 20,25 years old.

Weeping Birch is gorgeous and relativley quick growing. The 'weeping' part keeps it from getting out of control large.

If you NEED a tree up close to the house, a beautiful one is the Acer shirasawanum--never gets too large, but it is rather slow growing. Great autumn color too. Or, fringe tree doesn't get overly large.

Instead of a tree, camellias can grow into quite shapely shrubs which take to some pruning. Older houses in Arlington VA have great specimens and a couple of my own camellias are at the 20-25 foot mark grown in a protected niche by the house. NP growing them close to the house since they don't have an enormous tap root and the rest of their roots are pretty shallow and fibrous--just need to get in behind them each year to clip any branches actually touching the house. Beware of cherries up against your house--their roots are something!

Anyway, hope those are helpful suggestions.

The title says "Need Recommendations for Great Landscaping Specimens" so I've got just one unanswered question. Are you only looking at home improvement store garden centers or are you looking for something that hard core tree geeks consider to be a great specimen?
Not to be a tree snob but garden variety redbuds, blue spruces, pears, weeping cherries and willows that's all pretty common stuff but not stuff folks around here go ga ga over.
Small trees are not my forte so I'm not going to be a lot of help but autumn brilliance serviceberry is commonly recommended here. You're probably not going to find it at garden centers like Lowes or depot but shouldn't be that hard to locate at nurseries or tree farms.
You might also look at some of the available junipers. There are some that don't exceed your height or even come close to it and stay very narrow yet grow quickly. I'm thinking something like skyrocket juniper or moonglow juniper or spartan juniper which would make a nice backdrop for some flowering shrubs (more appropriate for 6' from foundation) or as a specimen. The latter is used commonly for topiaries. That might have just the right amount of pizazz for you.
Then again if you want blueish foliage and weeping habit, there are some varieties of rocky mountain juniper such as Tolleson's (sp) weeping blue. Another nice thing about junipers is I believe they are safer for the proximity to your foundation than larger trees.

My impression is the same as iforgot's as well.

IMO much more research away from the pedestrian bigbox needs to be done.

Surely the state Extension Service has a decent list....hmmm...quick Google...yes. Yes they do. And much better variety than HD.

Dan

"I never considered White Birch (I love those in the winter) Do White Birch trees grow relatively quick? What is the difference between a white birch and a paper birch?"

When I was looking at birch trees, I found that unless you're in the cold north, birch borers can ruin your day with these trees; the river birch is the least problematic with birch borers, and they are a popular fixture in the trade from what I see. We planted a Dura-Heat River Birch in the backyard last year; the 'Heritage' River Birch cultivar seems to be very popular.

Richard.

Letsgarden,

Bloodgood is the name of a very popular and successful variety of Japanese Maple. As you have observed, ... the
Japanese Maples are slow-growing, but they are, mostly, for ornamental value, and are not particularly useful for making shade.

Those above who have suggested that you place a tree further from your foundation are guiding you in the right direction.
A tree planted that close to a house will ultimately be a problem (both the tree and the house will suffer).

Paper Birch is one of the varieties of white-barked Birch Trees you can plant. However, in your area, Paper Birch will be devastated by
Bronze Birch Borer, which will kill the tree in short order. The problem will be the same for any European White Birch you would plant.

The recommendation for white-barked Birches for American landscapes are Heritage River Birch ... or, maybe, Whitespire Birch
(which is a variety of American Gray Birch). Both of these trees are supposed to be resistant to Bronze Birch Borer.

Heritage River Birch features a peeling bark which exposes a cream-white bark underneath, while Whitespire Birch is more a typical
white-barked tree. IÂve successfully grown both varieties for a number of years now and I like both trees. Because both trees still
maintain some vunerability to Bronze Birch Borer, I treat each with Bayer Tree and
Shrub Systemic each year.

Take a look at the link provided below for some good general information about growing Birch Trees in the US.

Here is a link that might be useful: Selecting, Growing and Maintaining Healthy Birch Trees

If you're counting on the Bradford pear for shade, be ready when in 5-8 years half of it falls off in a windstorm. This is not an exaggeration. I hope IT isn't 6 feet away from your house!

O goodness, no...i wasn't planning on planting one of those that close to the house...plus we already have a gorgeous bradford pear about 16ft. away from the house...and lets be realistic here, i'm a new gardener and I know they last longer than 8 years! And they're not invasive like the South...I actually just bought another pear tree the other day...something called Cleveland Select...that seems to be the closest I could get to the 'Bradford.' No one seems to carry them anymore...too bad because I don't want a tree that's gonna last be until I die! (15-25 years is plenty long for me)

No one seems to carry them anymore...

Of course. That's because they are a s---- tree and no one wants to put up with what they do. I can't believe there is someone still selling them (unless they put it in the corner of the yard in a big pot because no one would take it and were hoping for a miracle). 'Chanticleer' is less bad than the older Bradfords that are all split in half, if that is a plus.

This is absolutely not a 'great landscaping specimen'. Please, if there is someone reading this after a forum search, do your homework.

I don't want a tree that's gonna last be until I die!

How sad. Nonetheless, then trees are not what you want. You may want to think about what it is that you do want instead.

Dan

"I thought of getting a Laceleaf Maple, but the price for a small one astounded me ($89!)"

I suspect that might've been one of the 'dissectum' Japanese maples, in which case it was likely a cultivar produced to grafting a branch to the root of another plant, and these can be more labor and time intensive to produce than some people realize, although it provides a plant with reliable characteristics (such as color and form) when grown under good conditions.

From what I've seen quite a few Bradfords have branches break off, but survive. Take a close look at some big ones and you may see old damage. That may or may not bother you.

You mentioned Colorado Spruce; if you want one that grows slowly & doesn't get nearly as large (or at least would take a very long time to get huge), I believe the 'Baby Blue Eyes' cultivar might be worth looking into.

Not all Japanese maples grow at the same rate; if you've got a Bloodgood, I'm surprised it only grew from under a foot to 7' tall & 5' wide in 11 years! Wow. I don't know their growth rate, but I was thinking it's not usually that slow. Gotta wonder how your soil is, whether you mulch & how much sunlight & water it gets.

There are a number of different kinds of upright Japanese maple, and some might eventually meet your needs.

Are you familiar with Shantung Maple? It's supposed to be hardy. Might look quite nice. Would it work in your area?

Richard.

If you are a new gardener and are looking to create a nice space then you should try a nursery. You will get something which is more resistant and they can guide you. You get what you pay for in those big box stores. Annuals is about the only thing I would consider buying there.

I would vote for an Oriental Persimmon or perhaps All-In-One Almond.

As far as pears, the best-tasting and disease-resistant ones are "sand" pears. They are very crisp & crunchy, yet watery and sweet. And you can't buy the fruit in stores. You have to grow them yourself!

Where can you get sand pear seedlings, though?

American Holly. Four season interest, and prunable if you want to keep it small.
Washington Hawthorn. Also has four season interest. Crabapple...there are dwarf varieties.

Not a specific answer to thread's main query, but an aside: Talking white-barked birches, our native paper birch-Betual papyrifera-constantly gets a bad rap as "prone to infestation by borers". This is only half true at most. Actually, as truly white-barked birch go, our native version is much superior to European and even many Asian imports in terms of resistance to this insect's attack. Not at all to say it doesn't happen, just that a well-sited paper birch, it's head in the sun, it's roots cool and moist, will far outperform say, B. pendula in N. America. Much, much better tree for us. And provided one is sufficiently far north, and therefore in an area of reasonably cool summers, paper birch can last for many decades. None of which is to say this poster need restrict his/her search to only this tree. But Connecticut should work for B. papyrifera, everything else being equal.

+oM

Winterberry holly, decidioius but keeps red berries in the winter for color.

This thread is 5 years old. Since there hasn't been a new question posed recently (the resurrecting comment was only about where to purchase suggested plants), I am confuse at the point of making additional suggestions. The OP is long gone..........

Ha! I often manage to not notice that detail! Oh well, lots of fun talking to ourselves.

+oM

Try red buckeye. I also like serviceberry and dogwoods, but I think you will like the buckeye flowers better. There are also large shrubs that might fit your bill like lilac, rhododendrons, viburnum

Get the Redbud if you don't care about future generations enjoying the tree. It is beautiful but short lived.