Recommend me a tree or bush please

Marty McFly

Hi

So I am complete newbie to gardening. We recently moved into our house and it has a small patch of grass in the front garden that I would like to put a tree or bush into, but am a bit worried given it's right beside a manhole so would need something with small roots I'm assuming? Can anyone help?

I've attached a pic for reference.

Reckless Abandonment

I'd go for a Japanese maple. Loads of different types. Dose it get much sun there? Some maples are more tolerant than others.

looksee

I would differ on the Japanese Maple suggestion, they do not really like being solitary and exposed, they are happier in a woodland or sheltered setting. Some of them can get pretty big. You don't really have space for a tree or very vigorous shrub there OP, and it might be inclined to be a dry spot with the walls and paving all around it. Its also quite likely that there is relatively poor soil in that area, in spite of the healthy looking grass. I think I would be inclined to take out the grass completely and put in a herbaceous plant that will fill the space without invasive roots. One of the standard-grown Cotoneasters might be suitable if you want a tree, with maybe a geranium (perrenial geranium) under for ground cover.

There is a very good article here https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=921 which gives lots of options. You need to take into account the direction of the sun.

Reckless Abandonment

I'd agree with taking out the grass looksee , but I've seen many mapels grow happily next to walls and roots wouldn't be a huge issue if the tree is keep to10 odd feet Osakazuki can handle full sun very well. Wind is the bigger issue but again I've seen types handling it better than others (bloodgood is very good for me). A solitary maple can be stunning. Anyway I'm singing the praises of maples. The OP might hate them

looksee

Yes I love maples but my own experience was that wind was the big issue. Its probably worth a try, possibly with a young one so it can get well established.

Bixy

I'd go for amelanchier lamarkii (aka snowy mespilus)
does not get too big and does not need a huge root run.
As other posters have said the japanese maples are tricky and the american ones get too big
see image from Future Forests web site

https://futureforests.ie/products/amelanchier-lamarckii[/url]

looksee

Ah yes, now that's a good idea!

macraignil

I think amelanchier lamarkii is a very nice small tree but there is some difference between different sources as to how big it grows. This RHS page claims the full grown height is 8-12metres and full grown spread 4-8metres. This would make it get a bit too big for the spot in the photo above in my opinion. Lots of shrubs could fit in if you are willing to keep it trimmed to size and my suggestions would be a flowering currant, abelia or aronia melanocarpa or for a small tee maybe fuji cherry prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai which is very slow growing. Here is a clip of the aronia growing in my own garden and it has edible fruit the birds really like and very good autumn leaf colour. For something that might not need any trimming the pittosporum variety Tom Thumb might be worth considering as it is very slow growing and it holds its interesting coloured foliage all year round. This might even allow room for some other small shrubs like hebe, penstemon or diosma pink fountain.

I found Japanese maple to be a bit prone to wind damage as well but where my bloodgood variety is growing has got more sheltered with the shrubs growing up around it so is fine now after looking a bit rough for the first couple of years. It would depend how sheltered the site is and some varieties might be more tolerant than others.

The Princess Bride

I agree with macraignil on the pittosporum Tom Thumb.
It maintains a rich purple colour all winter with new green leaves in late spring.

I'm wondering whether you have enough space there for 3 flowering shrubs rather than 1 bush or tree. Then you could introduce some more colour perhaps?
I also like the cotinus royal purple smoke bush.
You could prune this in such a way to eventually hide the manhole cover.

A little is a lot in a small area, you don't need to plant too many shrubs though.
And as looksee says, lose the grass.

JustAThought

Congrats on your new home! V exciting!!!

pittisporums grow 30-40 foot and very wide and deep -not great for a drive gate area thou I have one snd love it.

there might also be pipes blocking the growth area into and out of the manhole so dig the hole and explore before you buy any tree!

something tall snd shrubby and evergreen and perhaps scented and good for the wildlife -I love laburnum which grows big (5/6 foot) and can be pruned.

Orange blossom -blooms late summer & divine scent -you probably wont be able to buy it til summer.

Or budillia -butterfly bush -grows big & comes in different shades & attracts and feeds butterflies!

Lilac tree -with daffidols and snowdrop or hyacinth bulbs under it - you could light it at Christmas with outdoor lights too! ( or be creative with any of them!)

Red Robbin are poular at the moment thou no flowers -comes in shrub or tree form!

Or a little self pollinating apple tree with bulbs beneath etc.All georgous!

I put a cherry tree in my front snd love it and light it up at Christmas -its old fashioned but I love it -I also planted a skinny standard cherry and in the back but despite south facing the variety only blooms for 2-3 weeks every year.My joe bloggs cherry tree in the front blooms for about 2 months!

macraignil

JustAThought wrote: »

Congrats on your new home! V exciting!!!

pittisporums grow 30-40 foot and very wide and deep -not great for a drive gate area thou I have one snd love it.

The pittosporum I mentioned above is a particular small variety which is why I suggested the Tom Thumb one. I also have other types of pittosporum that would not fit in the position in the photo above but was not referring to these as being good options.


The Mexican orange variety white dazzler might also be a good option with the nice fragrance and this one is more compact than some of the other varieties of choisya.

Have a look at Flowering Crabapples too; there are an enormous variety of plants to suit the space, that would be my pick.
Malus Red Sentinel is popular
https://johnstowngardencentre.ie/malus-red-sentinel.html

Irish_peppa

Would a single nice Cordyline give it a nice exotic touch without much maintenance?

GreeBo

looksee wrote: »

Yes I love maples but my own experience was that wind was the big issue. Its probably worth a try, possibly with a young one so it can get well established.

Yeah wind can knacker them alright.

I'd consider a Cornus Variegata or Wedding Cake Tree.
They are very slow growing with nice flat layers of branches so the tree stays quite open.

Your space might be a bit small long term, but youd get 10 years out of one I reckon.

Alternatively, how much sun does that area get?

You could make a little cove of tree ferns (Dicksonia Antarctica). They have no roots so thats not an issue, however they dont like to dry out so if that spot gets full sun they are not suitable unless you are going to be very handy with watering. They are also very slow growing.

Marty McFly

Thanks so much for all the replies, it's really appreciated.

I've been looking at that area today it's has sun since about 12:30 and it does get wind.

I do agree I want to take up all the grass and possible even a flower pot over the man hole give it as much colour as possible.

I don't see the pint in keeping the grass there it's to small a patch.

looksee

If you put a plantpot over the manhole you could possibly fill in the rest of the area with a tall grass to just act as a foil for seasonal planting in the pot.

GreeBo

Alternatively you could build a little alpine rock garden.
Zero maintenance and keeps itself well

GreeBo

Obviously don't bury the manhole though!

Marty McFly

Thanks very much for all the tips, we still haven't made any movement on that part the garden

But have got a bit done in the back here's hoping they all don't die 😓. I'm starting to see why people get into gardening.

It mightnt be much but it's a start. Any tips are more than welcome or criticism.

That's a lovely size of a back garden; you'll be amazed at how much you can plant and grow there.
The block walls are lovely and all, but maybe a climber or two, with or without trellis, eg Evergreen Clematis or Jasmine.
Definitely space for a medium sized tree or a couple of Apple trees as well.
Best of luck with everything anyway.

Marty McFly

Hi

So we bought a tree for the area that we were told would be okay for the area by the garden centre. But when I looked it up there are very mixed opinions about the roots in a confined area.

We got a prunus amanagowa.

Do people think it will be okay or is there a danger the roots could cause damage?

It's currently in a pot in the back garden.