Which tree should it be?

11 years ago

After doing lots of research and talking with two nurseries, I want to see what you all think...I am trying to make a decision about which decidious tree to plant in a bed that sits between the front sidewalk and my house. Here are the basics:

- Maxinum 20 foot spread preferred

- House faces southeast; tree will also get southwest sun in the afternoon!

- Hopefully will "soften" the corner of the house a bit

- No bright pink or purple blooms (pale pink ok)

- Dappled or filtered shade

- I want to be able to plant under it

- This is sort of what they call a "specimen" tree I guess; it is a tree that is by the driveway and the front of the house so it is walked by constantly so I want it to give good, happy feelings if that makes sense :)

Here are the trees that I'm considering (several were recommended to me by various and sundry folk)

* Serviceberry (I don't know the variety)

* Kousa Dogwood

* Paperbark Maple

* Crape Myrtle "Acoma"

* Japanese crape myrtle

* Stewartia malecodendron

* Stewartia ovata grandiflora

* Prunus mume

I love trees but don't have experience with any of these. I am open to any ideas or suggestions you have. Also, it would be great to know if you have had a terrific experience with one of these or a really bad experience with one of these.

Thank you so much!!

Comments (3)

teri2
11 years ago
I have not personally grown anything on your list but a good friend has a couple of Serviceberry trees. They are suseptible to a Rust disease if there is a Juniper or Cedar in the area. I don't know where you are in TN but in the Knoxville area it would be pretty much impossible to find an area that didn't have one of those! The Rust alternates each year between the Serviceberries and the conifers. She uses a spray labeled for Rust and has kept it under control. That's the bad news.

The good news is that it's a smallish, fast growing tree with lovely flowers in early spring.
RedBird_7a EastTN
Original Author
11 years ago
Teri2: Thank you for the feedback. This is quite helpful. I had heard about the rust hitting the Serviceberry, but didn't know how frequently it occured. It gives me something to think about, as I have a red "cedar" (juniper) in my backyard and as you said, they are all over the neighborhood.
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Tn_Tree_Man
11 years ago
It sounds like the planting site is begging for a white flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) underplanted with red kurume azaleas with some annuals and spring bulbs (daffodils) added for good measure.