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Suggestions on tall, slightly narrow tree?

8 years ago

I have an area about 7 feet from my house where a tree needs to be replaced. It gets the sunset sun, as it is on the west side of the house. I would like for it to be taller than 15 feet, but as it is located next to the house, it can't have a very large width. I absolutely love flowering trees, but something that looks good all four seasons would be delightful as well.

Thanks so much for any suggestions!

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Comments (8)

coreygood
Original Author
8 years ago
Oh - I'm in zone 7, Knoxville, TN with clay soil, if that helps.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
no tree ever stops growing.. so good on not having a top height ...

but.. frankly .. ANYTHING that gets to 15 feet tall ... is going to.. EVENTUALLY .. be more than 7 feet wide ... or make that 14 feet wide eventually ...

no real tree should be planted 7 feet from the house ...

how about a pic of the spot... so we might better understand your premise.. at first reading.. i though you meant there was 7 feet between two house ...

clay soil is a planting issue ... we can deal with that latter ...

and we are in no hurry.. because august is never a good planting time for most of us... unless you are hiring a professional who will guarantee his work ... if so.. advise ...

i also suggest.. no bigger than 3 to 4 feet on the transplant ...

how about some site pix..

ken
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The one seen all over is Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' which bulges out into an egg shape as it develops. Like many other kinds of trees planted on streets in this region it actually doesn't appear to enjoy the often poor dry soils of streets with many examples not developing as vigorously as they would on better sites; sooty mold fungus from sucking pest infestations (perhaps aphids) are also prevalent in summer among columnar hornbeam street tree plantings I pass by here. Insects like these may be attracted to distressed specimens particularly. Alternative cultivar 'Frans Fontaine' is beginning to appear in plantings here and is supposed to remain narrow. However, even this one will grow far too large for the situation described. The parent species is a full-sized tree growing 60' high or more on suitable sites.
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I will be burning the stumps and removing the roots with an axe. The lower part you see there isn't mine, if it were I would have a metaseqoia, weeping willow, and monkey puzzle tree ;). I am now thinking 2 trees will be a little much, maybe the sycamore and the hornbeam. Save the magnolia for another spot. I am not sure if it is the cucumber mag or the sweetbay (deciduous). It is only 3 inches tall, a volunteer with no others in the area. Plant it and see what it turns out to be LOL.
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Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
8 years ago
Japanese maple or redbud come to mind. Depending on the cultivar you might have to do a little pruning but both take naturally to an irregular shape.

What are you replacing? Some dogwood that passed on or a giant silver maple? I ask because od concerns with planting RIGHT where the stump was ground out. For a dogwood, who cares, cut it flush with the soil amd plant a couple feet away. For a big giant tree you are having ground out ya need to move a few feet away from the muck.
parker25mv
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The spread of the root system in a very important factor to consider. Generally trees with deeper roots do not have roots that spread out as wide.
gardener365
8 years ago
Perfect spot for a 'Daybreak' Magnolia.

Dax
bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Is house single story or taller in that spot?

If single story, one of the cold hardy crape myrtle hybrids could work nicely with that spacing. Their long blooming season, fall color, and peeling bark could give the four seasons of interest you're after. We have ~20ft tall CMs dong well as close as 6ft from slab on clay. Integrity of plumbing and foundation are fine, so main engineering concern in our soil/climate combo is their effect on the moisture stability under the slab. We compensate with drip and sprinkler irrigation. There's almost no way to consistently prevent trees this close to a house from giving squirrels and other critters access to the roof. But figure you've already had to face this with the original tree.

If the house is more than one story in that area, something with a vertical/fastigiate shape would probably fit better.
laceyvail 6A, WV
8 years ago
There are Magnolias even narrower than 'Daybreak', for example 'Golden Spire'. Check these out and other deciduous magnolias.
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
8 years ago
Evergreen Magnolia 'Teddy Bear' would give you year-round interest. Can even be pruned to make even more narrow.

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