Is that one of the "blow apart" invasive bradford clones? Please do not plant one :( The one I got with the house just blew apart.

Where are you Ironwoman? (black sabbath joke lol) what part of the country? If zone six or warmer and it gets some shade I like the Japanese maples for tight spots.

hi

no tree really stops growing... at some magical height ....

i dont understand how you have a 3 foot footprint.. and a 12 foot canopy area ...

whatever you plant ... you will need to be proactive with pruning in the future.. which isnt really all that big a deal .... but you will be hard pressed with a 'plant and forget' system

the trunk of a tree .. must be thick enough to hold up the canopy ... so i am a bit confused with your questions in that regard ...

you will get your best info.. if you can post us a pic of the site ... and please do tell.. what are the hours of sun exposure ...

ken