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Small Spaces / Urban Gardening

looking for small tree or tree-like shrub

9 years ago

I live in an urban townhown with a decent sized patio. I'm looking for a tree to fill that circular bed on the left. I can move the bed to the center, but I'd rather not tackle that. Since it's a rock garden, I really need something that's not going to drop berries or small leaves/flowers.

Right now I'm down to:
- Mexican Fan Palm
- Banana
- Tulip Magnolia
- Peegee hydrangea (least likely because it's deciduous)

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Comments (4)

apprenticegardener
9 years ago
How about a Japanese Maple ? That would seem to fit your requirements perfectly.

Best Wishes--Carl
Atlanta, GA
GailWright
9 years ago
How about a Red Leaf Banana? They are so tropical looking. What are you doing with the six slabs in the picture?
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elixir75
Original Author
9 years ago
I'd love to put a Jap Maple, but I'm in TX and this spot is west-facing. The afternoon sun scorches this particular spot. I think a banana may be my best bet.
alison
9 years ago
I'm too far north to imagine what the banana might look like, but I bet it would be nice. And the fan palm would be lovely.

Chaste tree, Vitex angus-castus, is a pretty southern substitute for lilac, with grey-green leaves and beautiful blue flowers. Desert willow seems like it would be nice, too -- not sure how tall they get.

Fothergilla is beautiful in bloom; you could prune it to a single stem I think. Sterile Rose of Sharon, trimmed to tree-form would be an unusual, tropical looking plant. (I did this with regular ROS and while I loved the look, the seedlings were killer!)

Hope you find something that works for you -- looks like a lovely space!

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