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Short tree with abundance of leaves

9 years ago

I live in Brampton, Ontario, Canada; I believe my hardiness zone is "5B" (please correct me if I'm wrong).

I'm looking for a relatively small tree (possibly a shrub....I'm not sure), that will produce an abundance of leaves. What constitutes a "small tree"? To be honest, the smaller the better. I don't have a certain height in mind, but it should be small enough that I don't need a ladder or anything to prune it.

The most important thing though is the amount of leaves it'll create/shed. I use the leaves as part of my composting regimen.

Can somebody please make a recommendation?

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Comments (7)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
9 years ago
The most available of small true trees has to be the Japanese maples. There are varieties that get 25 or so feet tall. There are varieties that grow like a low mound.

The biggest challenge is going to be verifying cold hardiness. I will defer to whaas.

As a plus they are a generally attractive bunch.
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
9 years ago
Japanese Maple will be fine in Brampton but won't be the prodigious producer of leaves that you want.

As much as I hate recommending Norway Maples for anything, the Globe Norway Maple (Acer platanoides 'Globosum') will do the trick for you.
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Thanks for all the suggestions! I will look all these up. I realize I forgot to list height range in my original post. I was mentally thinking, "heuchera height" but forgot to mention that. Depending on what I can find, I could place things from around 6" (foreground) to a foot or 18". I have Ajuga Mahogany as a groundcover nearby. I forgot about Caitlin's Giant being a larger version. I just googled it, and it's hard to find a shot of it in context. Mostly closeups of the leaves or flowers. If it spreads as fast as Mahogany, though, I'd be a bit concerned about letting it into the main bed.
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Huggorm
9 years ago
An elderberry bush might do the trick. Fast growing and lots of easily composted leaves.
corkball
9 years ago
Maybe some sort of vine like creeper or grape? Lots of leaf, very little woody stem. You would need some sort of support like a fence or bushes. If you just want biomass, maybe some sort of annual or even annual weed?
yms_1975
Original Author
9 years ago
@smivies - I have to ask : What's wrong with Globe Norway Maples?
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
9 years ago
Various reasons...Norway Maple in general is a prolific self-seeder in both the garden and where it has escaped into forested areas. It casts a dense shade which grass has difficulty persisting in. That same dense shade makes it an invasive climax forest species...aka monoculture. Nursery trees frequently have circling roots leading to decline and death just as it reaches a nice size in your landscape. There are more interesting and attractive trees for the urban landscape.
Huggorm
9 years ago
I like norway maple even if it casts dense shade but the globular cultivar is looking "artificial"

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