Trees

[Kahriss]

I'm not sure if this is in the right place but I'm needing some advice :-) I live in a bungalow and have 2 small lawns at the front, each is 9ft wide and 17ft long. I am wanting to put a tree in the middle of each lawn but 12ft is the max height I would want and maybe 4-5ft spread. I love the look of the weeping silver birch but at £130 it's a bit out of my price range. Any suggestions will be very appreciated, oh and the soil is clay (I'm hopeless at gardening, my mum told me!) Thanks :-)

[veggiechicken]

I had a weeping silver birch in my garden: lovely when small but it grew and grew. It was a great shelter to sit inside, out of the sun but the lawn beneath it suffered because of the lack of light penetrating the branches. Silver birches seem to have a limited life span, ?30 years, it just gave up the ghost one year.
These days I don't plant any trees unless they produce something edible or practical - but that's just me!! What about a crab apple? Attractive flowers, autumn colours and fruit for jellies or wine?

[Kahriss]

That was my worry about the weeping birch (including the price) they say suitable for smaller gardens but I can imagine it going wild! I'll have a look at the crab apple, I did consider a weeping cherry as I wanted to attract birds and insects. My friend suggested a big obelisk with a couple of climbers but I've set my heart on trees.

[WendyC]

I was going to say crab apple too or although not strictly a tree amelanchier . Lovely blossom berries for birds and fantastic Autumn colour. Def grows on clay as my neighbour has a lovely one and our village had a brick works most of which went to build the London sewers!

[Kahriss]

I just googled them and there's a few which are too big. The Amelanchier ovalis 'Edelweiss' looks a real possibility though! Thanks :-)

[YFS]

I bought 10 oak trees from a seller on ebay for £15, or you could buy seeds for a silver birch.

Silver Birch Tree Sapling | eBay

[chris]

What about one of those flowering cherries? My neighbour had one before I removed it - despite the blossom not liking wind (it literally drops off if you breath near it) it looks stunning.

[VirginVegGrower]

Judas tree every time.

[Kahriss]

Thanks for the replies! The Judas tree looks stunning but it grows too big, same with the oak tree unfortunately. I'm definitely going to have one of the Amelanchiers and I think it will probably be one of the cherry trees the other side :-)

[VirginVegGrower]

Thanks for the replies! The Judas tree looks stunning but it grows too big, same with the oak tree unfortunately. I'm definitely going to have one of the Amelanchiers and I think it will probably be one of the cherry trees the other side :-)

Very slow to grow...the judas tree. Cherry blossom although pretty is a menace on your lawns in wet weather.

[Kahriss]

Eesh I am in a terrace bungalow, not sure if the neighbours would appreciate the blossom if it causes problems on grass. Back to the drawing board then.

[Two_Sheds]

I have a camellia* in my front garden (it's a shrub, but you can prune it as a tree like I've done), and a potted spindle and a potted twisted willow (1) too. The last two are in pots sunk in the soil to contain their roots, otherwise they'd get ENORMOUS


* 2nd photo. It's the "tree" on the RHS of the photo

I inherited the camellia (I wouldn't buy it, it's pink. My white one was about a fiver on eBay, but is only 18" tall at the moment. The twisted willow was also from eBay, a fiver, and the spindle was bought with a gift voucher for £7)

[Kahriss]

Oh I do like the twisted willow! I can see me having more than 2 trees.. I saw one of these on Ebay which I also like the look of, WEEPING SALIX CAPREA KILMARNOCK TREE. I'm definitely having an amelanchier, just need to find somewhere with a decent sized one at a reasonable price.

Will a camellia grow in a large tub? I'm thinking of making the border about 3ft deep and having decorative stones with tubs on. I need a garden that's easy to maintain but looks good and hopefully the weeds (pretty though some are) won't find my place quite so interesting!

[Two_Sheds]

Will a camellia grow in a large tub?

Mine is.

It's a white one, and I'm pretty sure it needs ericaceous soil (which I don't have), so it will have to stay in its pot


(the pink one in my photo is very tolerant of all soils)

[veggiechicken]

I have a couple of very large camellias in a bed less than 3' wide,(up to first floor level) in the shadow of the house wall. so has little full sun in winter. But they flower from before Chr...mas to Spring. Evergreen too and the bees are on the flowers any warm day in winter.
I've also taken lots of cuttings and am growing a camellia hedge in a walled raised bed less than 18" deep. I lurrve Camellias