Who doesn’t love a tree?
To encourage tree planting, Arbor Day was started by J. Sterling Morgon back in 1872. Nice to think he was concerned about it even back in the day. Arbor Day is celebrated nationally on the last Friday of April (April 30 in 2010). However, in southern climates trees are best planted earlier in the spring, so Local Arbor Day comes sooner (it’s the third Friday in February [Feb. 20] for Georgia). This cool interactive map http://www.arborday.org/arborday/arbordaydates.cfm lets you find your own local Arbor Day.
So what tree to plant?
Not everyone has enough room to plant a large shade tree (James Cameron’s “Home Tree” in Avitar comes to mind), but there are small-scale ornamental trees that are perfect for home landscapes.
• Small trees are ideal and will provide colorful foliage, flowers, bark and fruit for year-round interest, and choice selections or unusual forms add landscape value. Noticeable and distinct flower- and leaf-color variations are found throughout the growing range. These variants are starting points for the selection of cultivars and varieties that are useful for almost any landscaping situation (http://gardendebut.com/).
• Match the exposure and water conditions at the proposed site to the requirements of the tree variety.
• Coordinate with other plants and elements of the overall landscape design.
• Consider native tree varieties to connect to the natural environment and enjoy lower long-term maintenance costs due to improved plant hardiness and survival of natives.
• By choosing natives, reduce water use, decrease the need for pesticides and fertilizers, and enhance habitat for butterflies, birds and other native wildlife.
Recommended Trees
After considering available space, growth rate and soil and moisture adaptability, I came across two new varieties of small trees that are quite intriguing. These are both cultivars of the native Redbud or Cercis canadensis, and they fit the bill with four seasons of color and interest, and small size. They are offered by Garden Debut® and will be in garden centers this spring.
The first, Burgundy Hearts® Redbud, is a quick-growing native tree selection that is an attention magnet for the landscape. The attention-grabbing, outsized, heart-shaped leaves of Burgundy Hearts® Redbud are ornamental all season long. Extra large leaves resemble wine-red “hanging hearts” and retain their attractive deep coloration from the emergence of shimmering new growth in the spring, throughout the summer and through the end of the season.
Perfect wine-red hanging hearts won'e burn in the summer sun.
Appearing before the leaves in early spring (March-April), myriads of showy rosy-purple, pea-shaped flowers attract bees and humming birds. The redbud blooms up and down branches and mature trunks for two to three weeks. Cut branches make good cut flowers and may be forced indoors for earlier bloom.
With a vigorous growth rate and a practical mature height of 20 - 25 feet, this sweetie of a flowering tree matures quickly to the perfect size for suburban landscapes, lawns or streetscapes, and draws attention when planted as a specimen or grouped in commercial landscapes.
What makes it really special: the dark leaves of Burgundy Hearts® Redbud have proved much more resistant to summer leaf scorch than older maroon-leaved cultivars such as ‘Forest Pansy’ Redbud, and gardeners and the landscape industry will find this Garden Debut® introduction to be a sweet improvement. It will be available in Garden Centers this spring.
The second small tree, The Rising Sun™ Redbud, is an outstanding golden form, vigorous in growth and very heat tolerant. This peachy keen new introduction, The Rising Sun™ is destined to light up the landscape with appealing tangerine and peach-colored leaves, contributing brilliant, golden-orange, heart-shaped foliage all summer with no burning, even in full sun. With a mature height of only 12 feet, The Rising Sun™ is perfect for smaller gardens and in-town neighborhoods as well as for specimen and accent plantings.
Incredible color on small tree in the nursery.
The Rising Sun™Redbud is a vigorously growing small tree with a full, rounded shape, whose leaves hold their tangerine/gold color into autumn. Spring, a third season of interest, delivers sweet pea-type flowers, rosy-orchid in color. The flowers appear before the foliage very early and are attractive to bees and butterflies. New foliage is a brilliant rosy-apricot. Even the bark is a smooth tan with a yellowish cast, distinctive from other Redbuds.
So perhaps one of these two new native selections will be just tree you've been wanting to give your landscape a boost.
Quick List of Planting Tips
• When placing a new tree, allow adequate width to keep walkways, entryways, driveways or buildings clear of interfering branches. Many small trees, although short, can spread as much laterally as vertically. Most can be sited beneath power lines with little or no need for pruning to maintain clearance.
• Prepare the soil before planting. Loosen it several feet in all directions from the spot you wish to plant, creating a wide, saucer-shaped planting hole.
• Mulch with an organic mulch after planting to conserve moisture and to create a ring of protection around the young tree.
• Keep the tree watered during the first season while it is getting established, and enjoy a carefree bonus to the landscape in years to come.
Feedback
What are your choices for a favorite small ornamental tree? It would be great if you could let me know by commenting on this blog!
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