Looking for advice on trees

fricatus

Hi all,

We're moving house around the middle of March. It was built in the early '70s and we're having it renovated now, so the garden is a mess. We're going to get topsoil though and have the lawn resowed once the building work is done, and I'm looking for advice on putting in a few nice trees.

It's a suburban garden in east Waterford. The front is about 10m x 13m, east facing, and the back garden is about 14m x 15m and west facing.

My wife has a magnolia and a couple of hydrangeas sitting in pots, so they'll be going in. First of all, any ideas on where these should be placed for best effect?

Also, I'm thinking along the lines of the following:

- nice flowering cherry: e.g. prunus kanzan in the front garden. I think I'd like a few of them, so as we eventually have a nice carpet of petals in spring. I've also seen a white variety that puts out lovely glossy red leaves after the flowers disappear. How many would you put in a front garden of that size?

- gingko/maidenhair: one of these somewhere

- a few nice gum trees (e.g. snow gum) down at the back boundary. I hear these can lose limbs, but the back of the garden is well away from any buildings, so that's not too much of a concern. I'd like a line of them - how far apart should they be spaced?

Last of all, can anybody recommend places selling these trees in the Waterford area? All other comments gratefully received!

jezko

fricatus wrote: »

It's a suburban garden in east Waterford. The front is about 10m x 13m, east facing, and the back garden is about 14m x 15m and west facing.

My wife has a magnolia and a couple of hydrangeas sitting in pots, so they'll be going in. First of all, any ideas on where these should be placed for best effect?

Also, I'm thinking along the lines of the following:

- nice flowering cherry: e.g. prunus kanzan in the front garden. I think I'd like a few of them, so as we eventually have a nice carpet of petals in spring. I've also seen a white variety that puts out lovely glossy red leaves after the flowers disappear. How many would you put in a front garden of that size?

- gingko/maidenhair: one of these somewhere

- a few nice gum trees (e.g. snow gum) down at the back boundary. I hear these can lose limbs, but the back of the garden is well away from any buildings, so that's not too much of a concern. I'd like a line of them - how far apart should they be spaced?

Last of all, can anybody recommend places selling these trees in the Waterford area? All other comments gratefully received!

Hi,

What Kind of Magnolia does she have? How much space with will it take up in your new Garden? Plus Her Hydrangeas

The front is about 10m x 13m, east facing, and the back garden is about 14m x 15m and west facing.

You are looking for quite a Trees for a this Area...

I Like Prunus 'Shirotae' find Kanzan to be very BIG.

looksee

That sounds like an awful lot of trees for a garden that size! A carpet of flowers is all very well in spring, but the leaves of ornamental cherries are pretty dense and shading (ie boring:D) for the rest of the summer.

The front part of my front garden - ie to one side of the drive - is 8m x about 9m. It has one tree - an acer rubrum and some shrubs, and that is just enough. At that I have had to take lower branches off the tree a couple of times to keep the garden lighter.

Remember trees in a smaller garden can cut a lot of light from the house.

bijapos

You might want to consider fruit trees too, they're well worth it when the fruit ripens!

Try a fig tree up against a south facing wall, they grow quite well in Ireland, especially in the sunny south east and can be easily trained as espaliers up against a wall so they don't get out of hand. Plant them in pots as the roots can get out of hand.

Apple, plum and pear are good too. Apple trees don't have to be big, they can be pruned low like a bush and will still be highly productive. After a couple of years most fruit trees need relatively little maintenance and will keep going for years.

paddy147

Multi stem birch trees are a lovely tree and wont get too tall or too out of shape either.

Bixy

Tree choice is a very personal matter, but you have asked for our opinions!

I agree you can not go wrong with Birch, but I find that Betula Jaquemontii can be a bit overrated. While the bark is beautiful, the form of the tree can be a bit stiff compared to the native or the river birch. Or at least that is what I find with the ones I have.

I find Prunus Kanzan one of my least favorite trees - Ugly shape IMO and the pink flowers clash with the colour of the new leaves. THe petals on the lawn may be nice (I have never held on to one long enough to have lots of petals!) Definitely agree with post above that Prunus Shirotae is a much better choice, or if you want another suggestion Amelanchier lamarckii, the "Snowy Mespilus".

Good luck!

paddy147

You pick a tree that will suit your site and the size of your site.....(pay attention to the roots system aswell,as people forget that roots spread a long way out from a tree,in certain situations with regards tree type)

You can also train the tree to grow to a certain height and shape......as in prune it and keep it at a certain height and width by specific pruning and target pruning if you have more than 1 leader or competeing leaders.

fricatus

jezko wrote: »

What Kind of Magnolia does she have? How much space with will it take up in your new Garden? Plus Her Hydrangeas

I don't know to be honest - she got it as a gift, and I don't think any of us know all that much about trees, other than that you plant them and they're nice to look at...

jezko wrote: »

I Like Prunus 'Shirotae' find Kanzan to be very BIG.

Thanks everyone anyway for the ideas - this, the fig tree (I fcuking LOVE fresh figs!!! ), and the Amelanchier lamarckii, the "Snowy Mespilus" sound interesting - I'll check them out!

Hadn't even considered the roots... d'oh! Very important...

Just one last thing: can anyone recommend a tree supplier in the Waterford area? I can go around to garden centres of course, but if someone knows a particularly good place, I'd be grateful to hear about it!

Oldtree

cork do ok???
http://www.futureforests.net/

pwurple

Jaysus, paddy147 will have the whole country carpetted in multistemmed birches at this rate!

Take a look at laburnums, and maybe consider some of the larger japanese acers. Beautiful movement in them for a front garden.

You might think about Cercidiphyllum japonicum. Might be too big... but fantastic smell of candy floss off the fallen leaves in autumn. Beautiful heart shaped leaf.

Liquidamber is another lovely small tree, amazing colour.
Cercis are very colourful.

Oldtree's suggestion of Future Forests is a good one. Great place, and they do mail order.

fricatus

Oldtree wrote: »

cork do ok???
http://www.futureforests.net/

pwurple wrote: »

Oldtree's suggestion of Future Forests is a good one. Great place, and they do mail order.

Looks like a very good suggestion in fairness! Cork (particularly west Cork) is quite a distance, but mail order certainly fits the bill!

I note that they only do bareroot trees up until March and I've read that they basically need to be planted by early Spring. Since we mightn't be able to get them in there this year, would it make sense to buy a few and put them in pots for now, and then transfer them into the ground this time next year?

Sorry if that's a really stupid idea, but like I said, I'm clueless about this whole gardening thing!

secman

Liquidamber is another lovely small tree, amazing colour.
Cercis are very colourful.

[/QUOTE]

Are they really a small tree ? When you google these, the height guide is usually much higher than what I would consider a "small " tree. Is it a case that our damp temperate climate stunts the growth whereas in USA it would reach full height with the hot summers ? A stunning tree for Autumn colours.

On a seperate note I pose the same question about a Tulip tree ? What height would it attain in our climate ?

Secman

looksee

OP, I reckon you could be a neighbour, given I am in East waterford with the same size suburban garden and the same orientation!

I would say that any of the gums would be too big. A neighbour behind us and with a house a good 8 feet lower (down a steep slope) than ours had one that recently blew over in high wind, conveniently falling in the only clear space available. We were all delighted as it was way too big even though it was only in a few years. The Lirodendron - tulip tree is fairly big too and prefers acid soil, unless you are up the mountains most of us are not on acid soil around here. You might be ok with one, planted in the farthest corner of the site.

The common camellias do well, as do the Japanese and other acers - but not a sycamore, stick with the smaller ones. Prunus kanzan would not be my choice, but again, one is enough. As I said before, a carpet of flowers is all very well for about two weeks of the year, the rest of the time it is a bit uninspiring. Amanagowa is much daintier and looks good the rest of the year, and fastigiata has a more columnar style.

Go over to McGuires nursery off the Dunmore East road, they are not the cheapest but they have good stock and will advise you.

looksee

If you are prepared to go a bit further this crowd http://www.kinbark.ie/ have lovely mature and semi mature trees that they deliver and pop into the ground for instant garden!

Oldtree

fricatus wrote: »

I note that they only do bareroot trees up until March and I've read that they basically need to be planted by early Spring. Since we mightn't be able to get them in there this year, would it make sense to buy a few and put them in pots for now, and then transfer them into the ground this time next year?

not a good idea to pot them, fresh stock will be available next year.

i try to get mine in by the end of feb as roots are beginning to grow from then on, but in this mild weather that process may have started already, nonetheless I will have to continue planting until the first week of march this year

looksee

Agreed, buy them when you need them, rather than disturbing them twice. Plant next November rather than waiting till spring.

blackbox

pwurple wrote: »

...

Take a look at laburnums, and maybe consider some of the larger japanese acers.

I'd stay away from laburnums if there are kids around. Their seeds in attractive pods are poisonous.

fricatus

looksee wrote: »

OP, I reckon you could be a neighbour, given I am in East waterford with the same size suburban garden and the same orientation!

Sent you a PM there.

looksee wrote: »

I would say that any of the gums would be too big. A neighbour behind us and with a house a good 8 feet lower (down a steep slope) than ours had one that recently blew over in high wind, conveniently falling in the only clear space available. We were all delighted as it was way too big even though it was only in a few years. The Lirodendron - tulip tree is fairly big too and prefers acid soil, unless you are up the mountains most of us are not on acid soil around here. You might be ok with one, planted in the farthest corner of the site.

I was up there yesterday and the site is actually a (surprisingly) decent size. Any tree at the back boundary would need to be a good size before it would threaten any houses. One corner is further from the house than the other, and there's about 14m of grass, then about 3m of patio before the extension, and then the main house is a bit back from that again.

looksee wrote: »

Go over to McGuires nursery off the Dunmore East road, they are not the cheapest but they have good stock and will advise you.

Went there on your recommendation - definitely worth another visit when the time comes!

joseph brand

What about a Hazelnut tree? They're native to Ireland and they produce delicious nuts. I'm not sure if two are needed to produce nuts.

Would anyone know if they're suitable for the garden of a semi-d house?

I have a Birch tree (brown bark) and the birds love it.