10m tree with good foliage

jay0109

Hi

I have a beautiful mature back garden which thanks to the bushes/trees in place, means I don't really see any other house around me and during the summer when the foliage is really think, I can't even see the lights of the neighbours houses.
But a few medium/low level branches came down recently off a beech and there's now a gap in 1 corner that I'm looking to fill by planting a new tree/bush.

This new tree/bush will go in close to the beech tree and so planting it may be an issue. Thats why I'd like a tree that doesn't have a huge root (and so a thin enough trunk) and grows to about 15/20 feet with good foliage.

I'd like to buy a tree thats already well established. Any recommendations?

thanks

macraignil

Reading your description of what you are looking for made me think of Rhus typhina(stag's horn sumach) which you can see planted in my own garden near the start of this linked video clip. The RHS page on the variety is linked here. The one in the video clip I bought not that expensively at about 2metres height and it has really come on in size fairly quickly. I think the autumn leaf colours are spectacular and if it is sheltered the leavers stay on for longer. More exposed ones do get a more intense colour earlier in the Autumn but the leaves will mostly have fallen from the ones I pass on the road by now. Only learned recently that there is a male and a female so if you have a choice the female will give greater interest over the winter with the colourful fruit structures. I think the one I have is male but I still think the interesting leaf colour and shape is enough to make it a good addition to the garden.

jay0109

Thanks for getting back to me. Just googling that. looks very good, plenty of colour.
Where did you get it at that height? Any nursery I'm looking at online has much smaller version.

Plus I would be putting it in a partially shaded area so not ur it would suit

macraignil

jay0109 wrote: »

Thanks for getting back to me. Just googling that. looks very good, plenty of colour.
Where did you get it at that height? Any nursery I'm looking at online has much smaller version.

Plus I would be putting it in a partially shaded area so not ur it would suit

It was in Fota garden centre in Midleton, Co. Cork I got it.

It was just about 15euro in a pot so I don't think I would have got it any cheaper from a nursery.

That was about a year or two back and I'm not sure what they would have in stock now. I also have found Hillside nurseries in Glaunthaune in Co. Cork good for their selection of plants but you would need to email them or phone to see if they might have it, as they don't list all their stock on their website.

I realise it says on the RHS website it should be planted in full sun but I have planted it in partial shade and it seems fine. Only difference to me seems to be the Autumn colour is more pronounced in the ones I see in more open locations, but then the leaves do get blown off faster.

smacl

We had a Sumac a few years back in our front garden which ended up getting blown over in a storm. The wood is quite soft and the roots shallow so I'd be a bit wary of having it in an exposed area. It also threw suckers up in the lawn very regularly, though soft enough not to be an issue for the mower. Those quibbles aside, very attractive. The spot where it was now contains a fig and an olive tree, both of which I find attractive. For dry ground, the olive is lovely, evergreen, and seems as tough as old boot. The fig, like the sumac, is quite a soft wood and prone to storm damage but worth a punt if the conditions are right.

macraignil

testing photo posting

Just read instructions on how to post a photo and remembered I was going to suggest Liquidamabar as another option. There is one on the left side of the photo in my own garden with its Autumn leaf colour.