Which tree should I plant in a small garden?

The single most common mistake in domestic planting is choosing a tree by how it looks now. Almost every problem people later have with a garden tree — shade, roots, gutters, disputes, the cost of reduction every four years — comes from planting something whose adult dimensions were never really considered. Getting this one decision right removes decades of maintenance.

Step by step

1. Measure the space honestly.Distance to the house, to the boundary, to the drains, to the neighbour's windows, and to whatever sun you actually want to keep. Then think about a canopy of that width at maturity, not the 1.5m whip in the pot.
2. Look up the mature height and spread, not the ten-year size.Nursery labels often quote size at ten years, which for many trees is a third of what they eventually become. Look for 'ultimate height' and treat the larger figure as the real one.
3. Decide what you actually want from it.Blossom, autumn colour, berries for birds, screening a particular window, shade over a seat, winter structure, or a focal point. Different answers point to different trees, and 'a tree' as a general aspiration is how people end up with the wrong one.
4. Consider the crown shape as well as the height.A fastigiate or columnar form takes a fraction of the ground space of a spreading one at the same height. In a narrow garden, shape matters more than height.
5. Use rootstocks to control size on fruit trees.Apples and pears are sold on rootstocks that dictate the eventual size, from very dwarfing to vigorous. The same variety can be a 2m bush or a 6m tree depending on the rootstock, so this is the single most useful thing to ask the nursery.
6. Check the soil and aspect before falling in love with something.Japanese maples scorch in wind and full afternoon sun; birch dislikes heavy waterlogged clay; magnolias want shelter from early morning sun after frost. Match the tree to the site rather than the other way round.
7. Think about the mess it makes and where it lands.Fruit dropping on a patio, sticky honeydew over a parking space, dense leaf fall into a gutter. A tree that is charming over a lawn is a nuisance over a seating area.
8. Think about the neighbours before you plant.Where the shade falls at four in the afternoon, whose gutters the leaves reach, and how far it will overhang. Siting the tree well is far easier than the conversation in fifteen years.
9. Value multi-season interest in a small garden.With room for only one or two trees, choose those that do several things — amelanchier gives spring blossom, summer berries and outstanding autumn colour; crab apple gives blossom, fruit for birds and often good autumn tint.
10. Plant it properly and water it for two summers.A small tree well planted and watered outperforms a large expensive one that was put in badly. Plant no deeper than it grew, stake low and short, mulch clear of the stem, and water for two full summers.

Tips

• Avoid the forest species entirely — oak, ash, sycamore, horse chestnut, lime, beech, willow and poplar all belong in parks and fields, not in a garden of a few hundred square metres.
• Buy a smaller tree than you think you want. Younger trees establish faster, cost less and overtake larger planted specimens within a few years.
• Bare-root planting between November and March is cheaper and establishes better than a container-grown tree planted in summer.

Common mistakes

• Planting a weeping willow in a suburban garden — It is fast, enormous, thirsty, and associated with clay subsidence and drain damage. It is the single most regretted planting decision in Britain.
• Buying by the ten-year size on the label — Many trees reach only a third of their eventual size in ten years. Ask for the ultimate height and spread.
• Planting close to a boundary because there is space there — Half the canopy ends up over someone else's garden, along with the leaves, the shade and the eventual argument.
• Buying a large specimen for instant effect — Large transplants establish slowly, need years of watering, and are frequently overtaken by a smaller cheaper tree planted the same day.

Alternatives

• Amelanchier lamarckii: Perhaps the best small garden tree in Britain. White spring blossom, edible berries birds love, outstanding orange-red autumn colour, light open canopy that does not cast heavy shade. Around 6 to 8m eventually, and easily kept smaller.
• Crab apple: Spring blossom, small fruit that feeds birds through winter and makes jelly, tolerant of most soils, and a good pollination partner for eating apples. Typically 4 to 7m depending on variety.
• Rowan: Native, feathery foliage, heavy berry crops for birds, good autumn colour, tolerant of exposure and poor soil, and rarely more than 8m. One of the best trees for wildlife in a small space.
• Hawthorn: Native, tough, tolerant of almost anything including wind and clay, blossom in May and haws for birds. Supports an enormous number of insect species. Thorny, which suits a boundary.
• Japanese maple: Slow, small, and unbeatable for autumn colour and leaf shape. Needs shelter from wind and scorching afternoon sun, and dislikes dry soil. Often best in a large pot or a sheltered corner.
• Fruit tree on a dwarfing rootstock: Blossom, fruit and modest size, with the mature dimensions genuinely controllable by the rootstock choice. Needs more pruning attention than an ornamental but earns its space twice over.
• Ornamental cherry on a small rootstock: Spectacular blossom for two weeks and often good autumn colour. Choose a genuinely small variety, be aware of surface rooting, and remember it must only be pruned in summer.
• Fastigiate hornbeam or a columnar form: Where the garden is narrow, an upright form gives height and screening in a fraction of the width. Good for framing or for screening a specific window.

Questions people ask