Smallish Feature Tree - Suggestions pleeeease

Hi guys, im a newbie here and a newbie to gardening in general!

Am in the process of doing my entire garden at the moment, (currently its just one big mud pit lol)

im digging a plot for a lawn and also a shillings area, but will have room for a bed and small tree.

My original liking was an acer, love the colours and the fact they just look different!

The one i had seen in the flesh established in a garden was the ''palmatum seiryu''

I understand id need different soil for one of these though??

Anyways im looking for some suggestions for a smallish feature tree, price wise probably in the region of £200 to spend

Id like something different from the norm thats why i like the acers

Any help or suggestions is much appreciated and now doubt i will be bugging you all for more help/advice on my garden in due course! :gnthb:

Dan

 

If you want something a bit different, what about Kornus kousa chinensis? It's a lovely tree, the foliage changes colour in the autumn and it has wonderful flowers.

"A real showstopper of a tree, with two seasons of interest. Broadly conical in shape, it produces tiny green flowers in June, surrounded by showy creamy white, flower bracts, that fade to lovely shades of pink. In autumn the dark green leaves turn crimson-purple and mature trees produce strawberry-like fruits. It's an excellent specimen tree for a small garden or woodland edge, and the leaf colour is best in fertile, well-drained, neutral to acid soil."

Chris

 

As Boghopper has brought up Cornus, I would suggest something more spectaculer than C.kousa, lovely that it is. I would go for the Wedding Cake tree, Cornus controfusa.:gnthb:

 

cant find anything on Cornus controfusa? is that spelling rite?

Cheers for the suggestions guys

 

I think Dai means Cornus controversa variegata. C. controfusa must be the Welsh version!:hehe: Spectacular as it is,I still prefer Cornus kousa. (Sorry, spelled it wrong earlier).

Chris

 

My mistake on the spelling. I still think the cotroversa is the better shaped.:gnthb:

 

Come on man ... stick with the acers. You can't beat a Japanese maple
This is my own 'Seiryu'

 

Wow that does look beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you in the uk? did you plant it in special soil etc? whats the do's n don'ts with acers????

what size did you buy it at?

The one im looking at buying is 45litre , 200-250cm, How far and wide would i need to dig down into the soil and what soil is best to fill?

Thanks!

 

What is your soil like at the moment?
Where are you thinking of planting the tree?
Would it be sheltered? shaded? get sufficient moisture? properly drained?
The most important thing for acers is a well drained soil with constant moisture, in a sheltered position out of the wind, and somewhat shaded from a strong sun. In nature they are an under storey tree, but they can withstand quite a lot of sun, especially the sort we get here in the UK
The soil type is not all that specific, although they are said to prefer a soil tending towards acicity, they can in fact grow fine in a neutral or even slightly alkaline soil, so long as it is well drained and kept moist

 

That's a lovely colour that one goes whi4ey, is the photo recent?

My acers are still their usual colour, I expect them to go a more "firey red" before the leaves fall.

 

Planting the tree at the back of the garden, its next to a shed, fence behind the tree and a house behind so wind should be no problem, also would only get sun for half a day id say as the house behind blocks it during early morning

Moisture and drainage i have no idea, how would i tell? im in the process of digging the garden up at the moment, so i could get some different soil down etc and dig deep enough for a good base.

In the garden, deeper down there is quite alot of clay, would this cause problems??? How would i improve drainage? (complete newbie to gardening you see!) :skp:

Also when do the leaves fall off the tree, making it dormant (best time to plant rite?)

 

Tree can go anywhere at the back alongside the shed with the fence behind, like i said there is a side of a house immediately behind the back fence

 

Hi Doghouse ... pic is not from this year ... hopefully it will be a little time yet before the autumn colours appear
Hi Dan
It is very difficult to give you more information than I already have
Drainage??? does the area drain quickly ? after heavy rain? or does it lie in a puddle for a long time?
If the former you are fine planting as it is. If the latter you would have to plant in a raised bed to get above the water table
Plants bought in pots can be planted any time of the year ... no need to wait for dormancy
Personally I would try to avoid bringing in different soil
The tree should be allowed to establish in the soil in which it will be expected to spend its life
Dig it over well, possibly enrich with a little bone meal (which will help with root development .... a good root system is the answer to a healthy tree)
If drainage is suspect .. plant in a raised bed or on top of the ground and mound up the soil around the root base
Tease out the roots before planting to help them find their way into the surrounding soil
Generally ... if you ensure that the tree is not in boggy/soggy soil it will do fine. They do NOT like their roots to be in water (or even consistently too wet (as opposed to moist):(

 

Are you planing a Japanese theme through out you garden or just a lover of these particular trees?

I bought my 1st acer about 6 years ago for just £25 from a very expensive garden center (seen similar sized trees for around £12 today). It was less than a foot in height but had a good shape. It now stands about a meter tall and despite losing a branch last winter (bloody children) has a beautiful shape and thick full foliage.

We love it so much. It was the 1st plant we bought when we moved in to our 1st house and hopefully will stay with us until we move in to our old folks home. lol

 

Cornus kousa and Cornus controversa are lovely...as are Japanese maples! Or how about an Acer griseum, the paper bark maple. Then you have beautiful orange red peeling bark all year, a lovely shaped tree, foliage that is pretty all year, then good autumn colour too.
Whichever tree you choose, I would think carefully before paying so much for a tree. If you get a fairly mature specimen, it will take longer to settle and become established. Something a bit smaller won't suffer quite the same check and you should only need to water whilst it's in it's first growing season. It's a lot of money to loose if the tree dies!
Viburnum maressii, Euonymus alatus...ooh, it's so difficult!