my loquat has been a fast-growing tree that is about 10' tall from seed 5-6 years ago. i have a pittosporum tobira that has been pruned into an open, multi-stemmed shrub, standing almost 8' tall now. it is the variegated form and the soft green might combine well with the wall color. there is also 'wheeler's dwarf' if you want to try something smaller. i also think an oakleaf hydrangea could be something to consider. not growing too fast, it could be pruned for height and they grow naturally in the form you are looking for. japanese maples are a good idea. one with yellow fall color would look nice against that wall.

Contrary to what another poster wrote here, I have nothing but praise for Advanced Tree Technology. I ordered an Autumn Blaze Maple and an Exclamation London Planetree. Both were carefully packaged, and quite large for the price paid (well over 4'). Both trees leafed out beautifully this Spring and are doing great. There's no way I could have found trees this nice and of this variety at any of the local big box stores (HD, Wally World, Lowe's) and as far as Pike's in Georgia is concerned, they're basically a has-been joke which went into bankruptcy. So I for one am thankful for internet nursery options. "Second of all, that site doctors their photos." This is an empty argument. How many web sites DON'T doctor their photos?? At least enough to enhance color and contrast. It's standard practice for most. Shabby image, shabby sales. Sharp, colorful image, better sales. That's common sense, not suggestive of anything criminal. "Third of all, they sell junk trees. Paulownia, Pear trees, silver maples. These are junk trees that you don't want." Either this poster is deliberately going out of their way to smear this company, or they have Advanced Tree Technology confused with someone else. No where in ATT's current catalog or web site will you find either silver maples OR paulownia trees. Check for yourself (see link). Yes, they do sell a hybrid Cleveland Select pear, which is supposed to be an improvement over the old Bradfords. Just because this poster sees it as a 'junk tree' doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way. "Forth of all, after shipping, a 3-4' tree is $71.90 THAT IS A RIP-OFF." Again, I have no clue where this poster is getting their facts and figures, unless they live in Timbuktu. I live in GA, and still have my receipt. Only $64.50, including S+H, for 2 trees shipped in soft fabric rootbags. I thought it was a pretty good deal, even more so since I'm happy with both trees and they're doing fine. And no, they don't anything like 'junk trees' : )) Here is a link that might be useful: Advance Tree Technology

It is amazing. Speaking with the farmer behind us he believes his corn is about 2 weeks behind because the rainfall has come down in very short periods and mostly run off. On top of that most of the large rain producing systems have gone either north or south of us so far. It all evens out in the end so of course last night and today we got pounded with rain. On the bright side I will not have to water it for a while. The mulch now does look kind of weird compared to the way everyone else piles up mulch to the trunk. Hopefully as it grows I can expand the mulch ring and keep it not as deep so that it is more flat and does not draw attention to the flare as if it disappears into a hole of mulch. Thanks for all the advice and I will keep an eye on the tree the rest of the summer and provide updates. My hope is that the tree is putting a lot of energy into creating new roots so that way it can take up nutrients and plant itself firmly in the ground since it is in a very windy location. Then in the next couple of years it can start adding height. Kimberly, keep me updated if your tree retains its leaves. Mine have been red for a few weeks and none have dropped. My hope is that they will stay on for some time and then those branches will leaf out again next year. Do you have pictures of the tree? I would be interested to see if it looks the same as mine posted. I hope I can ask one more question: When a tree is stressed and drops leaves early, does that branch also die? For example, on the couple of branches that all the leaves are red, do the leaves just die off or does the branch usually die off and need to be cut out the following year? My thoughts on the landscapers/nurseries that sell the trees are they are much more short sighted that what we believe. I think it is not much about selling you another tree down the road when the one they put in dies. I think it is about the process of putting it in. They came with a 2 Â 2.5" caliber tree with a large root ball and a bag of mulch. They left with nothing. I would think that once they dig this big of a hole, plant the tree and use some to backfill, they would be left over with quite a bit of clay from deep in the hole. Instead of taking it away they just pile it on top of the root ball, cover it with mulch and leave empty handed. If you think about it, and they had to take away just a few buckets of soil from each tree they planted, this would create a problem for them with what to do with it. It is much easier on their part to plant wrong that do what is right. It is too bad because if they would have just left a pile of the soil that was not needed, I could have found a use for it.

Well I'm late to this party, but here's my $0.02. I like AB. I have one, and a Autumn Fantasy. Both grew 3+ feet for me this year. Several people on my street have Red Sunset Maples on well fertilized lawns, and they grew 12-20". There is an October Glory where I work that grew 12-15" without fertilizer. So my my Zone 6B, Autumn Blaze and Autumn Fantasy in no way shape or form grow slower than red maples cultivars as some have claimed. Simply is not true. Also there is a large AB where I work that has a large trunk and is at least 40' tall. Very mature. It lost a very few limbs about 1-2" inches in size to the worst ice storm on record for where I live this past winter. Quarter mile down the road October Glories about 35' were HEAVILY damaged, though the one in front of my work had mild damage (smaller tree). Also in the case of AF, the parent tree originates in Illinois if i remember correctly, and survived many many ice storms without major damage. Lastly, the these red maple cultivars in my location color very late, and absolutely do not last as long. Fall color is reliably great here. Also the color of my AF is a darker more dark brick red, and is a more open tree. So personally, here where I live, all are good selections, but you won't beat the growth rate of AB/AF with a red maple. But I suggest that you consider Autumn Fantasy. Harder to find, but certainly worth it. Lastly, for climate reference sake, Sugar Maples are very common and long lived here. They are native and common in the hills if you know where to look even though they often are not shown to be present on many distribution maps. Arktrees