WHATEVER YOUR PLOT, THERE’S A TREE FOR YOU

AS NATIONAL Tree Week (November 23 to December 1) approaches, it’s an ideal time to plant a tree in your garden.

But which tree in which space? TONY KIRKHAM, head of arboretum, gardens and horticultural services at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, selects five trees which will be suitable for different spaces.

BALCONY GARDEN:

Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) “ON A balcony garden you’ll be growing plants in containers and ginkgos adapt well to a restricted root system,” says Tony.

“They are more or less bonsai and I have three on my decking at home that have been there for 10 years.”

They need to be planted in a freedraining potting mix, preferably loam based, he advises. They don’t necessarily need to be placed in a big container.

“If you buy a small tree it will be happy with restricted growth, but you will need to pot it up regularly – in other words, change the potting mix.”

These slow-growing trees will “just stay small and grow within their means” but you will still get the “fantastic yellow autumn leaf colour”, Tony says.

“Depending on your space you might go for a columnar type, ‘Fastigiata’, or a weeping ‘Pendula’.”

COURTYARD GARDEN:

The upright tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Fastigiatum’) “IN A courtyard garden, there won’t be much space for spread, so go for the upright tulip tree. Its autumn leaf colour is fantastic, guaranteed to go butter yellow.

“The columnar form goes much better if you have a restricted space and won’t cast a lot of shadow on a relatively small area.

“The trees produce tulip-like flowers in May. They will need some sun and won’t tolerate shade, so make sure there’s enough light in your courtyard to grow.”

ORCHARD:

North American thorn (Crataegus persimilis ‘Prunifolia’) “IT’S not a hawthorn, but a type of thorn – there are so many species of crataegus,” Tony says. “Again, it gives brilliant autumn colour but lends itself to an orchard because it also fruits well. The fruits are bright red and pretty stunning against the autumn leaves.”

LARGE GARDEN:

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) “THE sweetgum is probably the most respected for its autumn colour. Most of the others I’ve talked about have yellow leaves in autumn but the leaves on this one turn red, purple, yellow or multicoloured depending on which form you get. It’s one of the best trees in the world for autumn colour. It’s wellbehaved and good in any large garden situation. Initially it grows fast and then it slows down. It can reach 20m but that’s an old tree. It generally grows to 12-15m.”

CONTEMPORARY GARDEN:

Japanese rowan (Sorbus ulleungensis ‘Dodong’ also known as ‘Olympic Flame’) “FOR the contemporary garden, this tree is quite architectural, with a very good form of quite stout branches and big buds, so it’s a good shape and you can get it multi-stemmed or on a single trunk. It’s got a lovely pinnate leaf and fantastic autumn colours, its leaves turning from tangerine to red, and isn’t really affected by pests and diseases apart from a bit of fire blight.”

The tree also produces white flowers followed by red fruits – so it’s an all-round star which remains quite small and is slow-growing. Plant it in the ground rather than a pot.