Small to Medium size Deciduous Trees for Backyard

14 years ago

I'm looking to put two deciduous trees on my back fenceline, about 80 feet from the house, along a 4-foot high wire fence.

This area is directly South of my house.

I have about 40 feet of space to work with. I would like the trees to fill in nicely and block my view of the fence, so I'm thinking about trees that either have nice, full lower-branching, or possibly weeping trees.

The area in question will get about 8 to 10 hours of sun to dappled-sun from mid-morning to late afternoon.

I was thinking about:

1. Dwarf or smaller versions of Mountain Ash (not European Mountain Ash, which gets too big), but North American or Asian varieties of Mountain Ash

2. Crepe Myrtles. I used to like in the East (Mid-Atlantic) and loved these trees. Just wondering if they'll actually bloom in the Pacific NW (I get afternoon sun).

3. Weeping Trees that like sunlight and are pretty comfortable with what will be a dry, sunny location.

Thoughts & Suggestions are much appreciated.

Goofy

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Comments (13)

larry_gene
14 years ago
Dang, eucryphias are too evergreen for this application!
Embothrium
14 years ago
What part of PNW?
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tudorrose Arizona Ash (as well as Fantex, Shamel, Modesto) need lots and lots of water and grow naturally along waterways. Although they will grow in our urban landscapes they often struggle here. If you try to control growth by withholding water, you are likely to send the tree into stress which will affect its health and make it prone to attach by insects. You can't fight genetics. If a tree has the genes to become a 60 foot tall tree, you will never be able to keep it at a height of 20 feet without constant pruning. This can also be a source of stress for the tree. Each pruning cut is a wound that the tree spends its energy reserves on trying to heal. This can result in a weakened tree that is more vulnerable to pathogens. My suggestion would be to purchase a tree with a mature size that will be within the limits of the space you have.
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ebc3 is pointing you well into the right direction - you are not stuck with big deciduous trees that will become out of scale and intrude significantly on neighboring lots. And whatever evergreen conifers or other evergreen shrubs (or small trees) are available to you there should be used at key points to eliminate unwanted views throughout the year. Ideally you would also install solid fencing, for immediate production of a screen and backdrop. And to keep out any unwelcome persons (unless somebody climbs over sometime) or dogs that may be present. Otherwise a good general arrangement for a mixed border of sufficient size is a small number of deciduous trees spaced widely enough to not intrude upon one another physically or visually, with groupings of evergreen shrubs around the bases of the trees, for visual reinforcement ("underlayment"), and at ends of beds, to hold the planting together like bookends. Non-woody plants used should be the dominant feature occupying center stage, with deciduous shrubs functioning primarily as a transition between the visual heaviness of the evergreen kinds and the lightness of the non-woody plants. Climbing plants of suitable size and vigor can drape the fence or be used to provide summer interest to spring flowering deciduous shrubs such as lilacs. If you are not going to fence then evergreen shrubs should be planted to provide structure and a background the entire length of the planting. If there is not enough time or interest for drifts of perennials, bulbs and annuals to produce a fully realized appearance then dwarf shrubs and other ground-covering plants can be used instead.
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goofyisgreen
Original Author
14 years ago
Location: about 700 yards from Puget Sound, about 1/2way
between Tacoma & Seattle
Embothrium
14 years ago
Vine maple is good for screening.
plantknitter
14 years ago
"full lower branching" brings to mind Parrotia persica to me.
Embothrium
14 years ago
Parrotia could be quite nice but likes a moist soil.
gweirdo
14 years ago
I like the suggestion of Parrotia too. Some disagreement in the literature about it's relative drought tolerance - I have found it to be fairly tough in this regard. Gets up to about 40' tall, but there is a fairly hard to come by weeping form ('Pendula') that is reportedly much shorter.

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Pendula'
Embothrium
14 years ago
Native to a rainy mountainous area. Drought effects often visible on local specimens. One at Lakewold Gardens was 60' tall in 1990.
plantknitter
14 years ago
So is the old Parrotia at Emery's garden the weeping form?
beluga01
14 years ago
I second the Parrotia. I have had no luck with crepe myrtles after two tries, here on San Juan Island. Heronswood used to sell several Asian species of Sorbus, (the genus that includes Oregon Ash) which, if you can find them, are gorgeous and easy. How about pear trees? easy to grow in PNW, and you can't beat the fruit. I especially think Clapps is ornamental, with its bright red fruit. Figs? Grows fast, and the leaves are huge. Desert King is the best where i live. The most ornamental fruit tree i grow is a Persimmon. Easy to grow. I get fruit in November, but even if you don't at your location, the big yellow/green shiny leaves make it a winner. Last one from me is the golden chain tree. So easy to grow, i sometimes do it from seed. Grows fairly fast. Can't beat the yellow flowers in spring.
Embothrium
14 years ago
You need a hot spot for crepe myrtles. There is a nice display at the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle, where there is full sun and asphalt around the planting islands to heat things up.

Oregon ash is an ash (Fraxinus) and not a mountain ash (Sorbus).
Embothrium
14 years ago
You also need to choose crepe myrtle cultivars likely to flower in our climate, not just any will do - same as with orchard apple trees, flowering crabapples and roses.
goofyisgreen
Original Author
14 years ago
I went with 3 crepe myrtles from a local nursery.

They fit the bill as far as lower branching (check), nice glossy foliage (check), good fall color and nice bark. They were also relatively inexpensive.

The $64,000 question is will they bloom in this spot, with intermittent morning and afternoon sun. I think I'll be OK either way, although of course I'd prefer them to bloom.

I looked hard to dwarf or Asian forms of Mountain Ash but couldn't find any (I went to 3 pretty big nurseries south of Seattle) that met the bill (I really wanted to stay under 2o feet of height and the most common European and American mountain ashes get larger than this).

Ironically, it is evident that my crepe myrtles are somewhat water sensitive (I suspect they are potted in a potting mixture that is too dry). In the mid-Atlantic (where I used to live), they were legendary for their drought & heat tolerance. The ones I have, I suspect if they went 8 or 9 days without water, they'd be dead.

They'll be planted soon.

Goofy

Small to Medium size Deciduous Trees for Backyard

Comments (13)

larry_gene

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Small to Medium size Deciduous Trees for Backyard

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