My first suggestion is to not plant beanpole trees or shrubs at corners of houses. My next suggestion it to study other, older plantings in the area and see what looks good.

any chance you want to post a pic.. and let us make suggestions .. rather than stabbing in the dark completely???

ken

No trees of any kind getting planted near my house. I personally plant only perennials and dwarf shrubbery and religiously prune back any shrubs I've spared. Vegetation near a structure holds moisture against the house, provides avenues for pests and rodents to access the house, can damage the structure during a wind (i.e. scraping branches), etc.

I am a small time landlord and property manager and have ongoing hassles dealing with the trees and shrubs that previous owners have planted near structures, and then they get too big. At my rental house the previous owner planted Canada Hemlock, one of the largest trees in the eastern North American forest, as a foundation shrub!

Trees just don't normally grow to a skinny 20' and then stop.

Honey Locust is a large tree and Brandon is 100% correct trees dont stop growing. But some tree grow faster than others and therefore if you wanted a tree for your front yard you may select a slowing growing tree for your spot - or maybe a tall nice shrub.

Not knowing your exposure, or your soil type I will just suggest one tree - a good example might be a japanese maple - It will take many years to reach 20 ft. vs the Honey Locust. The key is finding the right cultivar
One maple - Acer palamtum "Shaina" it is Slow grower to 6 to 8 ft. tall, 8 to 10 ft. wide. Not exactly narrow, but a much better tree for your front yard.
I would suggest that you go to a local nursery garden center in your area, and ask for a suggestion that does best in your soil and sun conditions. Plus you casn see what the tree actually looks like.
I have a photo of one on my blog -- It is from my yard. Have 3 growing in my garden and they are doing great in PA.

Good luck and happy planting

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Yes true brandon, even "dwarf" shrubbery and trees get big given enough time. Little dwarf Golden Arborvitae I planted around a deck 25 years ago are now 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide - well they were until I sheared them way back.

You guys are starting to sound like that Dan guy with those generic responses!lol!

Trees stop growing after their useful lifespans and can decline considerably in growth rate after maturity.

There are certain cultivars that will "likely" die or decline before they get 20' wide so there are options. With that said these types of fastigiate trees usually look awkward next to a house.

Jay, would you consider a tree like that? A picture like Ken mentioned would be helpful.

I framed my house with an Oval shaped maple with a columnar evergreen in the backdrop. Then a dwarf crabapple with horitonzal branching to break-up the vertical lines in front of those two. Plus the red fruit pops with the evergreen in the back.

Whaas,

First, I really miss "that Dan guy". Sometimes his responses were a little cryptic, but, for the most part, they sure were right on target. Sometimes his style may have been slightly curt, but his input was frequently very helpful.

It's true that the growth rate of trees (particularly their vertical growth) can slow on maturity, but it's also true that there are few, if any, trees that reach a "skinny" 20' height in a reasonable time and then stop growing. Can you think of any?

Hmm...

Pond Cypress?

First, I really miss "that Dan guy". Sometimes his responses were a little cryptic, but, for the most part, they sure were right on target. Sometimes his style may have been slightly curt, but his input was frequently very helpful.

Hah! You caught on. Yes he was very sharp when he wanted to be but when he wasn't, the whole "Dan's default #1" without any explanation for folks without experience was what most people would call arrogant. Some have varying levels of technical experience and when those with a higher level show boredom with laziness its something I despise. Showing patience and sharing knowledge is the only thing I can respect.

Honestly I have no idea why I even care about this right now!lol!

Now don't be impatient.

European Hornbeam Fastigiata.

They are close to what you are looking for. Google some pics. I have 15 of them, planted them in early March, and adore the living daylights out of them.

They grow fast too, even though they're hardwood. Mine grew 3ft from March to Sept this past year. The leaves are so pretty and they stand up to wind like total pros.

I miss Dan, too! I last exchanged emails with him about a year ago and he indicated he'd be back on GW soon. Well, he's not! His advice was particularly valuable to me since he lives (or lived) here and understands gardening at altitude with 13 inches of annual precip. in clay soil. Since we're up to a whopping 9 inches so far this year, I could have used his insights! He knows what he's talking about, helped me tremendously and kept me from making a few mistakes. But, yes, he was snippy sometimes!

ilovemytrees, I planted a Carpinus betulus 'Fastiagata' 6 weeks ago, so I'm glad to hear you adore it. I love it's form and now that the leaves have dropped, it's just loaded with buds, so I have high hopes for it's survival. From what I've been able to gather it's ultimate size at maturity is 40' X 30', so not super skinny!

Barb

Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' will grow narrowly to about 20' and stop. Also, there are certain cultivars of Taxus x media (eg. 'Beanpole'), Rhamnus 'Fine Line', Juniperus communia 'Suecica', Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire' and 'Malonyana' (bigger over many years), Taxodium distichum 'Peve Minaret' and 'Lindsey's Skyward'....

Never heard of a 'Sky Pencil' taller than around 10'. The National Arboretum lists its mature height at 10', so there's just no way I could buy the 'grows to 20' and stops' claim.

The conifers (the ones that will reach 20') will continue and will grow taller than that once they reach that height. Dwarf conifers grow slower than their full-sized counterparts, but don't necessarily grow smaller. When you visit an old dwarf-conifer collection, the massive size of the specimens can be amazing.

...but, as plantman56 pointed out, slower growing plants may remain at an acceptable height for a longer time. The thing about that though is that, since they are slower growing, you either have to fork over the dough and start out with an older (larger) plant to start with, or, accept a small plant in the landscape for years.

The bottom line, IMO, is that maintaining a 20' beanpole tree will be a fight against nature. It can be done, just as an area of dirt can be kept weed free, but not without intervention of some type or other.

it' s been interesting to see this one develop.

to answer the quesrion, several varieties of crabapple are the closest match in height and width. then, in no particular order and varying degrees of size irregularities, columnar varieties of maple, beech, oak, the aforementioned hornbeam, parrotia, ironwood, pine, spruce, arbs, juniper, and chamaecyparis.

funny how people have such strongly held ideas...about how someone else's property should look. for the number of people who say never to plant under the potentulial canopy of a tree, this is the perfect question. name a tree or a variety that can be planted close, but won't grow too big...cuz we all the the impotant thing is to make small things appear bigger. honest, size isn't every thing.

�Slender Silhouette� American sweetgum. Anybody mentioned this one?

Here is a link that might be useful: �Slender Silhouette� American sweetgum

Is the OP still with us? If so, I think conon gave you the most helpful answer.
Here's another suggestion depending on the construction of your house. This is one of many conifers that might espalier well:
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I missed that the OP wanted to top out at 20' tall and took it as width.

That Sweetgum gets quite tall, perhaps 50' or more...but yes very skinny in nature!