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Small trees mostly in the shade

15 years ago

I am a complete novice when it comes to gardening and I was hoping that some of the more seasoned gardeners on this forum could give me some advice please.

I have a small front garden that is mostly in the shade but gets partial sun. I would like to plant a tree that grows no higher than 6Â and requires little or no maintenance. I am located in Zone 6. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Comments (8)

mmd4
15 years ago
Some kind of Japanese maple would be a good choice. You can also check out Hydrangea trees (unique, pee gee, etc.)
corapegia
15 years ago
Japanese maples are beautiful (and expensive), they are also deer candy. So if you have any kind of deer problem, you might want to try something else. The tree hydrangeas don't seem to be as attractive to the deer. A redbud might work, though they do like a bit of sun and might get too big (reaching for light) in total shade.
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Japanese maple drainage sensitive - heavy soil can be a problem. Also not as good with reflected heat as in a less intense location, whereas vine maple plantings seem to hold up pretty well just about anywhere here. Japanese maple would also have to be an upright cultivar, otherwise normal mode is wide-spreading rounded umbrella.
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your best suggestions might come.. if you provide a pic of the spot ... not many things.. that grow to 10 to 15 feet .. are magically going to stop at that height ... so it will become a matter of learning to tame it thru pruning ... or better.. opt for something with less potential ... slower annual growth ... so that it is much longer before you have to start pruning ... also.. many things that get to 10 feet. need a good amount of foot space ... how much space do you have at ground level ... these are some of the variables... i have no CA experience.. so i will leave suggestions to others ... if the goal is hiding the siding... a trellis would also do such.. and would open a world of vines and such .... ken
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I do have one Dogwood Kousa in the far right corner, but it's not shown. My yard is much bigger than one is shown, but this is the area in question. Where two oaks are, is the North side of the yard. It gets some early morning sun for two or three hours. I actually had a company out for inspection in hopes of pruned the three oaks (one isn't shown). They didn't recommend it, saying the trees were extremely healthy. Part of the pruning that I wanted would have been taking just few lower limbs off. Do these pics help? The first is to the left and other is just to the right of the 2nd oak. It doesn't necessarily have to be maples, but if I had maples it would be well away from the house! I did do the shade tolerant search, but nothing really stands out as aesthetically pleasing to me. I'm trying to start from the back and work forward with 'layers' as I have read.
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noidea_2009
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you both for the tips!
jayco
14 years ago
This goes to show how local deer preferences are, because in my area, while Japanese maples are sometimes damaged by deer, they definitely not "deer candy." I do cage them in the winter and spray them in the summer, but I have to do that with all immature trees and shrubs, against gnawing critters as well.

Also, as to cost, I purchased several small Japanese maples on eBay for under $20 each, and have also gotten a few free seedlings at plant swaps. To me they are worth the effort since they are beautiful year round.
candyinpok
14 years ago
Yes, interesting what regional differences there are. The deer have never damaged my Bloodgood Japanese Maple. The Japanese beetles on the other hand, find it delectable.
jayco
14 years ago
Yeah, I have that problem too. Why can't deer like Japanese beetles? Then I'd be happy!
candyinpok
14 years ago
Jayco, what a great image that is. If only.
gusolie
14 years ago
You mention "small tree that's not larger than 6 feet", but I'd like to also encourage you to look for shrubs that can have their lowest branches removed to resemble a miniature tree.

Any of the larger rhododendrons can be grown that way (don't use azaleas though, otherwise they look so silly being "poodled"), as could a Florida anise-tree, VIrginia Sweetspire, etc., enkianthus is amazing.
\ I'm sure there are others there locally that are popular that could be trained that way.

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