What tree for front yard facing North?

Hi All,
I hope you are well.
What specie of tree would you recommend for a North facing front yard?
I have about 40sqm of front yard and would like to plant a tree or two but not sure which ones will like a shaded area. The building that casts shade is about 8 tall (roof ridge).
Please advise.
Best regards

 

Hello JohnathanB, welcome to Gardener's Corner The first tree that springs to mind is Acer palmatum, but we'd need to know what sort of soil you've got, whereabouts in UK you are and whether there might be any issues with drains or foundations, before coming up with suggestions.

 

Hi again, thank you
I looked up this tree and it has cool looking leaves and it looks relatively lightweight. That would be great
I am based in Sherwood Forest, Nottingham area, Midlands.

Good question about the drain. I looked into my drainage & water report and I see a sewer pipe at the back and water mains (outside the property) under the public pavement but no signs of a drainage pipe going through the front yard however there is a square shaped manhole. I have to check what is this about.

I reckon not to interfere with the foundations I should plant them as far as possible from the building.
The area is 5m(long) by 9.6m (wide)
There is a 80cm wide concrete floor along the building. The rest is grass + that manhole I have to identify.

 

Something I've come to realise over the years is that the whole north facing, south facing thing is largely irrelevant. It matters on bank sides in rural areas. Less so in fairly flat, urban settings.

So the question is really, what is suitable for a specific microclimate. Is it exposed or sheltered (being a yard, I'd lean towards sheltered unless it's right on the coast), and how many hours per day does it get direct sun during the main growing season.

I would expect pretty much anything will do alright, if it's tolerant of the local climate. So with that in mind, I would say anything you like that doesn't grow too big for its position and that assuming we're talking about somewhere in the UK, anything that doesn't need lots of heat and sunshine.

With all that in mind, my favourite tree that works well in the local pub's beer yard is Himalayan birch.

 

This link might help...Trees near buildings / RHS Gardening
There's an interesting bit towards the end on which trees demand a lot of water. They're the most risky. I've never been able to find a list of which trees are tap-rooted...that would be useful! If the drains are in good condition and don't leak, there shouldn't be any problem as long as you choose a tree without known thuggy tendencies, like Eucalyptus.
Have a look at Arbutus unedo 'Rubra'. A beautiful evergreen with flowers or fruit for most of the year. Can also be pruned to keep it to required size, if necessary.

 

My Labunum is slowly dying now but has been a good flowering tree for the last 35yrs without getting massive.
Well smaller than the trees the council have in the street any way.

 

I'd go for an amelanchier. You can get them in a variety of shapes from real trees to bushy variants.
They bloom heavily in white and light pink, produce edible fruit for humans and birds alike and have beautifulred leaves in autumn.
Cold doesn't bother them down to -30C, draughts are a non-issue and there are no pests that like them.
Oh and they grow even in rocky, stony soil if that's relevant.

Edit: some fotos, but not from my garden. But I have one too and like it a lot

 

Maybe Prunus Otto Luytken would suit. We have a specimen started as a shrub ,we started lifting the crown and we now have a tree with intertwining trunks. The only downside which has happened over the last couple of years in that we have found some runners.

 

I had a look at all those little trees/shrubs I would like to go for all three:
1. Amelanchier
2. Labunum
3. Prunus Otto Luyken

However my question is regarding the boundary.
I allowed only for about half a meter from it.
Do you think these trees are a good idea or should I go for some cypress trees?
Thank you

 

If you go for laburnum please make sure it's the "vossii" type. Very long flowers and produces fewer seeds - which might be important as they are poisonous and look like peas. Some laburnums are unselected seed grown and produce dumpy little flowers. My vossii used to light up the garden when in flower!

 

Are you sure you want that Prunus? There are plenty of other shrubs/small trees that would be more interesting. It's mainly used as hedging because it's evergreen, and although it has flowers, they aren't terribly exciting.
Amelanchiers will grow almost anywhere, and in any soil, so they're good for spring and autumn, and Laburnums are good for their spring/early summer flowers.
If you want variety, and flowers, you could add something that flowers in summer, and many shrubs are good for that. If you want more autumn colour, the aforementioned Acers will do that.

Birches, as mentioned, can also be good because of the white trunks on some varieties, which give really good interest, especially in a bit of shade. It's important to pick the right ones though, as they can eventually become huge, and don't always look good if pruned, but the multi stem types are ideal.

 

Amelanchier always seems to get mentioned but my sister planted one about 4 yrs ago and its the thinnest most boring looking tree I have ever come across.

Just saying.

I wouldn't plant to close to the boundary and bear in mind eventual size, what I mean is are three trees going to be too many.

Not sure where cypress trees come into it, are these trees going to all be planted along the boundary in order to form a hedge?

 

There is a low fence in place. I plan to put them 2 meters apart in a square angle triangle (green lines).
I can only plant one of them further away from the boundary (red line) as there is a manhole in place and I either squeeze them between the fence and a manhole or go for something smaller.
The whole area is not big ~4m by 4m
Thank you

 

Personally I'd go for one tree in the middle.

You might want to consider roots getting into that manhole or the drains.

 

The manhole is abandoned but we left it there. It's proper double wall so I don't think roots can penetrate it.