Redbud?

Yes, if I can find one that stays small. I have a weeping redbud about 10' from the location of this new tree, so I want to stay away from the weeping variety. Thanks for your comment.

How about considering a large shrub trained into tree form?

Try a Star Magnolia; I’m in zone 6A and it does fine. They are bushes that you can prune to look more like a small tree with a trunk. Blooms are white and delicate and they appear in early spring before the tree leafs out. Highly recommend!

Thank you socalgal and echviola. I like both of your suggestions.

Serviceberry?

I've heard this is a nice small tree, but the cultivars I've looked at get 12'-25' tall, which would be too tall, unless there is a particular cultivar that is 6-8' tall. Thanks for your comment, just the same.

Rule of thumb: If you're going to move it under cover for the winter, say to an unheated, attached garage, you can choose a plant listed as hardy to your zone or lower. If it won't have protection, it should be listed as hardy to at least one zone lower and preferably 2. A handy set of secateurs will go much further to determine the tree at a suitable size than it's genetics or Latin binomial.

The weeping dissectum maples aren't going to work in a pot in full sun, and even the species Japanese (mountain) maple probably won't tolerate it. American hornbeam (Carpinis caroliniana), oriental hornbeam (Carpinis orientalis) would be good choices. Amur maple (Acer ginnala) is great in containers in spite of its reputation as a weedy tree. Zelcova serrata (Japanese graybark elm) would be good. There are tons of trees that will work, but when you plant a tree in a pot, you must be committed to keeping up with rootwork that includes bare-rooting, root pruning, and a complete change of soil every few years, or, be willing to accept the slow decline that comes with root congestion. Even if the tree is potted up regularly, root congestion will perpetually rob the tree of potential, and that remains true even if the tree was later transplanted into the landscape. The congested mass of roots at the center of the root mass needs a set of human hands to regularly nullify the tax levied by root congestion.

Al

Thank you, tapla. I realized later that I accidentally checked the box "container gardening" as a category for where to post this. It should have been posted under "trees" and "landscape design" only. I do not intend to put this into a container.

I don't think a star magnolia will do well heavily pruned to your specs. They don't really like pruning and they get quite large. Mine is some 15 ft tall and about as wide.

Thank you, laceyvail. I appreciate that info.

z6 is rather large and diverse.. favor us with a location.. big city name ....

perhaps a pic of the spot would help stimulate the little grey cells ...

ken

Unless you select something known to be a dwarf cultivar......and with a growing history that substantiates that.......there are very few trees that will stop growing at 6-8 feet. Japanese maples are one of the few that come to mind and very few of those will stop at that height requirement either. And pruning trees to maintain a short, specific height when they want to grow much taller is not recommended both for aesthetics as well as the health of the tree.

Instead, you should be looking at a shrub that can be trained as a tree.....a panicle hydrangea, ninebark, rose of Sharon, dappled willows, dwarf Korean lilac, Prunus incisa, etc. are all possibilities that can be purchased already in a tree form or are relatively easily trained in that manner.

Couple of dwarf Kousa Dogwoods come to mind, Akatsuki and Ohkan. Both have variegated leaves and provide good fall color and late spring flowering. Multi season interest.

Akatsuki is extremely hard to find - a collector plant - and will not stay at the specified height. And like magnolias, will not appreciate heavy pruning to keep size in check. Ohkan is easier to find and will stay smaller but that very heavy variegation will not tolerate all day sun.

Ken-adrian, I live near Cincinnati Ohio, and the location where the tree is going is in full sun about 7’ from the house into soil that has lots of clay below the 8” of topsoil. Of course we will dig out as far down as we can before putting the tree in.

Thank you gardengal48. It does indeed seem that there are very few trees besides the Japanese maple that stay short. I already have a weeping redbud near that location and a hydrangea on a standard also near that location, so aesthetically, I was looking for something a little taller with a habit similar to a dogwood but shorter. Rose of Sharons drop too many seedlings for my preference, but I agree that going with a shrub that can be trained as a tree may be my best bet. I have a Korean lilac on a standard in the backyard, and I think that may also be a good choice. If weeping Japanese maples didn’t have such an issue with fungus in this particular area, that would be another very good choice.

A number of Ninebarks may suit your needs. My ‘Summer Wine’ is about 8 x 8.

tj

the simple equation.. is that trees never stop growing .. most height estimates are at 10 years.. and you can presume at 20.. they will be twice as big ...

but.. shrubs are much more limited.. but also take to pruning much better.. or even rejuvenation pruning ...

and that is why many here are suggesting shrubs ...

there are dwarf and mini trees [conifer especially].. but with the reduced annual growth rates .. it will take forever to get to your size limit ...

anyway ... at 7 x 8 feet ... you are really pushing it with either a shrub or a tree ... what about thinking outside your box .. and looking for a large perennial???

a pic of the spot.. might help us suggest things ...

ken

Doublefile viburnum, might possibly eventually get too large but they are so pretty, and so easily formed like a small tree. Korean spice viburnum -- would stay within bounds, but not quite as "tree" like as the doublefiles.

8' x 7' = shrub.

Dig planting hole no deeper than plant reaches at time of planting. Fill hole with same soil that came out of hole. If plant chosen cannot grow very well in clay soil then plant instead a kind that can in that spot.

I used wax leaf ligustrum, Ligustrum japonicum, and trained into a small tree. It was easy to do and was beautiful. It is not hardy in your zone, however. It will give you an idea of how a shrub can be a small tree.

Also, there are now sterile culitvars of Rose of Sharon. You might check into those.

Our Japanese maple is small in comparison to the pines and oaks and such, but it is not a small tree. It's about 20' tall with proportionate spread; it's around 35-40 years old. So staying short is a matter of comparison and time. It did start as a cute little 2' tall plant in a pot for $25, in the '80s ... it grew and it certainly doesn't seem to be stopping.

The serviceberry is nice and airy, but it is 15'-20'. It's grown very little in the last few years, though nothing truly stops growing, I suppose.

We have a spirea that's staying around 5' tall ... not really a tree, though.

We have a number of lilacs that are pruned to about 8'-10' tall, they're not particularly airy, but I suppose one could prune them to be less dense. We used to have one pruned into a tree form, it was white and around 15' tall. We have offshoots of it that plant, they're about 8' tall.

Perhaps a mountain laurel? Ours are pretty mature and about 7'-8' tall ...

Great suggestions everyone. This has given me lots of food for thought. Viburnum, ninebark, and prunus incisa all sound like possibilities. A mountain laurel cherry was mentioned, which would also work, but I have that in the back yard, and it's been prone to dieback in cold winters. Since this location gets a good bit of wind, I don't think it would be the best choice. Below is a photo. I will be removing the leafless tree to the left of the pink azalea and putting the new tree/bush in the exact spot as the tree I'm removing. It is a healthy sweetbay magnolia that is too difficult to keep small. Before I severely chopped it, it came to the bottom of the roof, which was just too tall for my preference. This photo was taken a couple weeks ago, so many leaves were not out yet. There is a weeping redbud to the left of the row of lime green spireas and a hydrangea on a standard between the windows on the far right. Ideally, I'd like something taller than those two trees, but not taller than the bottom of the second story windows at max, and preferrably not taller than the top of the first story windows. Again, something fairly feathery and see-through would be great.

Our Ohkan Kousa has thrived in full sun, western exposure,. That is until a critter stripped the bark from the leader this year. Akatsuki and Summer fun are similar. You should be able to find them online. I either case imho, they will do better than most Japanese Maples in full sun.

Both kousa dogwoods and Japanese maples are by nature woodland understory trees and not well adapted to full sun locations anywhere. Some red leaved JM's are more sun tolerant than other cultivars but I would never recommend a variegated dogwood for full sun. Even in my very northerly, mild summer climate, green leaf kousas react poorly in all day summer sun and variegated ones just scorch and burn up.

Let's not make this any harder for the OP by suggesting trees that are A) hard to access or B) not inclined to thrive under their planting conditions.

forgive me if I don’t have the pedigree that some of the professionals posting here do. I can only speak from personal experience. Zone 6 like the op, and yes I know not all Zone 6’s are created equal. Both the trees were readily available for me from Rarefind nursery and I have also seen them online. A quick google search brought me to Broken Arrow. Nursery.

I also have two robust Scarlet Fires similarly located.

Last Fall I bought this beauty. It's a bit smaller than your desired size, but it's so adorable that i had to mention it. It's a Tina Sargent Crabapple. It bloomed these lovely white flowers in April. Mine is about 5' tall.

very pretty, popmama! I'll check it out.

I had another thought on a shrub that might fit the bill. How about a blueberry? They're relatively airy, and the larger ones mature to around 7-8'.

This is my Jersey:

The fence is 3' tall.

Sargent crabapple is rather malodorous in bloom, be sure to see one in flower before choosing it for your situation. Also it grows A LOT bigger in time than the one shown in the above picture.

Thank you all. I ended up choosing an April Showers Weeping Crabapple, which hopefully will serve the purpose. It is different from other trees and shrubs in that part of the yard, it does well in clay soil, and the white flowers don't compete with the pink Karens Azalea blossoms below it. Ninebark on a standard was a close second due to its contrasting leaves, but the head guy at my garden store said they've been having problems with ninebarks recently. Thanks again for all your input, as it was very helpful.