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| Beside our deck there's a I guess largish space between the house/deck and a large American Holly and I think a silver maple. I built a garden bed of Virginia-sweetspire and a few other things alongside the length of the deck. Most of that area between the holly and the garden bed was where we kept a trampoline, between the space and the rectangular foundation planting against the deck. The trampoline was old, so it's now gone, and left behind was a circular ring on the ground. The ring is not centered but I'm basically turning the space between the ring and the garden bed I already have into a raised stone/gravel patio to give our home additional seating since our house/porch is small and add value. I'm looking for a really ornamental (or multipurpose) tree for the circle. Looking for something that gets from 8-15 feet tall or so. It's part shade. A mockorage in the vicinity of that area blooms rather okay , but roses aren't terribly productive there if that's any indication of sun. The goal is multi-seasonal interest. We already have a lot of spring and early summer bloomers; a two story tall, a 75 year old weeping cherry tree, mockorange as stated, lilac, and dogwoods so I scratched those possibilities out. We also have evergreen azaleas, and nikko-blue hydrangea. I just planted camellia 'Shibori Egao' on the other side of the steps of the porch so it's loosely part of the same design. That blooms in fall/winter. Being said I am not wanting a Japanese maple, they're so common here, nor dogwood or a silverbell. I need something that is interesting or blooms not the same time as everything else, and also be a showpiece. It's too shady for crepe myrtle. I don't know really what to try, was thinking an evergreen, I was thinking camellia oleifera or a species or cross that's hard enough for here but camellias are such slow growers, though that area might get some of the cold hardy or old fashioned types, I'm just not sure anything other than oleifera would make a strong enough "showpiece" in terms of trunk. I was considering a Stewartia but they eventually get quite big right? I was also considering a Rosseyanka or 'Nikita's Gift' persimmon perhaps? Or would that need too much sun, I know American persimmons don't need AS much sun as regular kaki. Anything off the top of your head I should look into maybe? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Heptacodium miconiodes for fall flowers and fruit as well as pretty bark. Not evergreen and may need more sun for best flowering, John |
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| Perhaps a couple of dwarf Ginkgo's. Variegated and/or Beijing Gold. Also a spring bloomer but females have very attractive blue fall fruit American Fringe Tree Chionanthus virginicus. Another smallish shrub that would love the partial shade Little Honey Oakleaf Hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' PP 15477. Colorful all growing season. Don't forget Blue Shadow Fothergilla, and the larger Fothergilla's. Arktrees Arktrees |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 13:22
| who needs stinkin flowers ... lol .. how about all season long variegation ... plus red on the back.. esk sunset.. aka eskimo sunset ... see link or the proverbial tricolor beech??? below is mine.. i miss the dwarf.. he is 10 now.. but otherwise.. ignore him.. both will benefit from the shade ... and they key was your comment that the mock orange blooms.. that is a great indicator fact that it really is a lot of brightness ... ken
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Here is a link that might be useful: link
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| a pretty tree that you rarely see in home gardens is the parsley hawthorn (crataegus marshallii). they report heights of 15-25 feet as common. the foliage is shaped somewhat like garden parsley, the spring flowers are white with red stamens, the bark exfoliates with maturity and the red fruits are persistent, said to be desirable to only a few types of birds. also said to have colorful fall foliage. the thorns may or may not be present, according to the link below. i have never seen one in-ground and bought one but never planted it. the summer foliage became covered in rust from the fungus carried by the many eastern redcedar trees around my home so i gave it to a friend with none of those on her property. |
Here is a link that might be useful: parsley hawthorn
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| Thank you all for the suggestions, I'm writing them down as the design/work in the area is still in the works so it won't be purchased for quite a bit, but its good to start compiling options. I really like the sound of the hawthorn, hawthorn is such an ancient type of plant, but we do have three eastern red cedars on our property, about an acre away from where this is planted but they've produced lots of problems with old apple trees that used to be all over the property. Do you think those would be an issue with this? |
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| Not really what you asked but, I would plant a shade tolerant (in youth) oak to replace the Silver maple in the future. |
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| Perhaps a redbud tree. They are good for either full sun or partial shade. Pinkish flowers in the spring. There is a variety from Oklahoma that has reddish beans and flowers that are darker than standard pink. |
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| You asked for a plant that gets 8-15' tall right? Although it will exceed 15' in many many years I like the Seven Son Flower suggestion. Vibrunum prunifolium or Serviceberry are plants that would offer blooms, berries and fall color. Likely many evergreen Viburnums that would work as well. |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 8:37
| maples come in many flavors. of interest may be a. griseum or a. pseudosieboldianum. actually, a dogwood may be exactually what you need. specifically, c. alternifolia or c. controversa, variegated in both. or the once uncommon now ubiquitous Wolf Eyes. any possibilities that includes heptacodium is a good list. this may be a place where selection of yet another showstopper plant may not be as effective as creative, non-traditional use of a more common plant, be it viburnum, rhododendron, or a choice not yet named. Some of the plantings that stick in my mind the most do not linger because of the remarkable plants that were used, but rather the remarkable use to which plants were put, which caused you to step back and say, wow, I had forgotten that (_____) could look like that. |
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| I like the variegated Dogwood suggestion but Wolf Eyes is an inferior selection that is extremely susceptible to Anthracnose. Select superior selections like 'Samzam' and 'Summer Fun', which also do better in full sun applications (a side note for others tuning in). |
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| Thank you so much for the responses, I have a lot to think about. I wrote a huge response to this, but it seems that tab closed, so I will have to come back with my thanks for all the suggestions. I'm very much inclined to find something that is fantastic, whether it is unusual, or more conventional things made special by it's application. Native things are particularly not as loved. My one concern with regular florida and kousa dogwood is that we already have quite a few of those near the area. Nevertheless I have to be clever. In that same area already I have a spicebush that is used in that "new" effect, the way it's grown, it has a fantastic architecture, |
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