Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Garden trees that grow to a maximum height of 20 meters not only fit very well in smaller gardens, but are also versatile compared to large trees with significantly larger growth heights.
In a nutshell
- Garden trees with a maximum height of between 10 and 20 meters are often referred to as medium-sized trees
- wide variety of deciduous trees
- in the case of conifers, certain varieties often have this growth height
Medium sized trees for the garden
The following list shows you 19 garden trees that reach a height of between 10 and 20 meters.
deciduous trees
From A to G
American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
- Growth height in Central Europe: 10 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 6 to 12 meters
- Growth: conical to cylindrical
- Flower: green, inconspicuous
- Flowering time: May
- Leaves: similar to maple, split palmately, 10 to 20 centimeters in size
- gorgeous autumn colors
Chinese bluebell tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
- Growth height: 15 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 8 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 40 to 50 centimeters
- Flowers (in Europe only after mild winters): blue-violet funnel-shaped flowers with yellow stripes inside
- Flowering time: April to May
- Leaves: broadly ovate, up to 25 centimeters long
Ash maple (Acer negundo)
- Growth height: 10 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 5 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 15 to 30 centimeters
- Flowers: red trugdolges (male flower), hanging, yellowish grapes (female flower)
- Flowering time: March to April
- Leaves: pinnate, up to 20 centimeters long, serrate leaf margin
Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
The common ash is known to many plant lovers as a tree with a height of up to 40 meters. But there is also a smaller edition, namely the golden ash "Jaspidea":
- Growth height: 12 to 17 meters
- Growth width: 7 to 10 meters
- Flower: yellow-red, inconspicuous
- Flowering time: April to May
- Leaves: pinnate, 5 to 12 centimeters in size, light yellow shoots, later light green
- Autumn colour: bright golden yellow
Antler Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)
- Growth height in Central Europe: 15 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 8 to 12 meters
- Growth speed: 25 to 30 centimeters
- Flowers: pyramidal panicles (up to 25 centimeters long), greenish-white
- Flowering time: June
- Leaves: pinnate in pairs, very large (up to 80 centimeters long, up to 50 centimeters wide)
- Autumn colour: bright golden yellow
Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)
Ginkgo biloba 'Princeton sentry'Source: David Bockman from Fairfax, USA, Ginkgo biloba 'Princeton Sentry', Adapted from Plantopedia, CC BY 2.0
Among the various cultivars, the following have a height of 15 to 20 meters and a spread of 10 to 15 meters:
- "Fairmont"
- "tit"
- "Autumn Gold"
- "Jade Butterflies"
- "country love"
- "Princeton Sentry" (narrower: 4 to 6 meters wide)
More information about these varieties:
- Growth rate per year: 30 to 40 centimeters
- Flowers: male catkins (three centimeters long, yellowish), female flowers inconspicuous
- Flowering time: April to May
- Leaves: leathery, fan-shaped, up to ten centimeters in size
- Autumn colour: bright golden yellow
Golden birch (Betula ermanii)
- Growth height: 15 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 6 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 35 to 45 centimeters
- Flower: yellow-green catkins
- Flowering time: April
- Leaves: ovate, serrate, green-yellow, five to eight centimeters long
- Autumn colour: bright golden yellow
Notice: The leaves of the golden birch stay on for a long time in autumn.
Large-leaved alder (Alnus speathii)
Source: Misolonax, AlnusXspaethii, Edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Growth height: 10 to 15 meters, rarely 20 meters
- Growth width: 7 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 40 to 50 centimeters
- Flowers: Conspicuous male catkins, about ten centimeters long, pendulous, yellow-reddish, in small clusters
- Flowering time: February to March
- Leaves: ovate, pointed, clearly serrated leaf margin, 6 to 16 centimeters large, violet-purple when shooting, dull green in summer
- Autumn colour: violet-red
Notice: Due to its attractive autumn colors, it is often also called "purple alder".
From J to W
Japanese cord tree (Styphnolobium japonicum)
- Growth height: 15 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 18 meters
- Growth rate per year: 20 to 45 centimeters
- Flowers: yellowish-white, filigree panicles (up to 25 centimeters long),
- Flowering period: July to August
- Leaves: pinnate, shiny, up to 25 centimeters long
- Autumn colour: bright yellow
Crimean Lime (Tilia x Euchlora)
- Growth height: 15 to 18 meters
- Growth width: 7 to 10 meters
- Flowers: yellow, hanging cymes, up to seven centimeters long
- Flowering period: June to July
- Leaves: heart-shaped, up to ten centimeters long, serrate leaf margin
Notice: Like all linden trees, the Crimean linden tree has a strong scent.
Nymph tree (Nyssa sylvatica)
Nymph tree with autumn leaves
- Growth height: 15 to 20 meters
- Growth width: 5 to 12 meters
- Growth rate per year: 20 to 40 centimeters
- Flowers: pale green to whitish, in clusters
- Flowering time: April to June
- Leaves: ovate, wavy leaf margin, five to twelve centimeters long
- Autumn colour: gorgeous orange-red to bright scarlet, often tinged with violet
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Robinia pseudoacacia 'Monophylla'Source: Baummapper, Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe - Baum 288 2022-04-11 c, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
Robinia usually reach a height of up to 25 meters. The "Monophylla" variety remains well below this height (10 to 15 meters):
- Growth width: 6 to 8 meters wide
- Growth rate per year: 60 to 150 centimeters
- Flowers: white, long racemes, strongly scented
- Flowering period: late May to early June
- Leaves: imparipinnate, up to 20 centimeters long, serrate leaf margin
- Autumn colour: bright yellow
Notice: The legumes of the robinia "Monophylla" remain on the tree even in winter.
Trumpet tree (Catalpa bignonioides)
- Growth height: 10 to 15 meters
- Growth width: 6 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 30 to 50 centimeters
- Flower: erect panicles (10 to 15 centimeters long); bell-shaped, white single flowers with two yellow stripes and purple spots (inside)
- Flowering period: June to July
- Leaves: heart-shaped, up to 20 centimeters long, short pointed, white hairy
White Mulberry (Morus alba)
The white mulberry tree reaches heights of growth between one and sixteen meters. The "Macrophylla" variety was bred to a height of between 10 and 15 meters. It is also known as the plane-leaved mulberry tree:
- Growth width: 6 to 7 meters
- Growth rate per year: 20 to 40 centimeters
- Flowers: green, spike-shaped
- Flowering period: May to early June
- Leaves: heart-shaped, dark green
- Autumn colour: bright yellow
Notice: The red berries are ripe from August and have a sweet taste.
Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata)
With a growth height of 30 meters, the small-leaved lime is actually one of the large trees. However, there are cultivated forms that do not grow higher than 20 meters and are therefore also suitable as medium-sized garden trees, such as the “Greenspire” variety:
- Growth height: 12 to 15 meters
- Growth width: 8 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 30 to 40 centimeters
- Flowers: light yellow cymes, sweetly scented
- Flowering time: July
- Leaves: heart-shaped, shiny, three to ten centimeters in size
- Autumn colour: bright golden yellow
conifers
Among the conifers that are planted as garden trees, there are far fewer medium-sized trees with a maximum height of 20 meters than among the deciduous trees. One of the reasons for this is that spruce, pine and fir usually grow as large trees. Therefore, individual varieties have to be used here.
Occidental tree of life (Thuja occidentalis)
The western tree of life is used in many gardens as a privacy hedge. The "Fastigiata" variety, for example, is suitable as a solitary plant with a growth height of between 15 and 20 meters:
- Growth width: 3 to 6 meters
- Growth rate per year: 25 to 30 centimeters
- Flower: small, inconspicuous
- Flowering time: April to May
- Cones: from October, erect, about a centimeter long, remain attached to the tree throughout the winter
- scale leaves: dark green, scale-like, evergreen; yellow discoloration possible in winter
Notice: If many female cones form, the tree may appear light brown.
Yew (Taxus baccata)
Taxus baccata 'Amersfoort'Source: Photo by David J. Stang, Taxus baccata Amersfoort 1zz, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
The yew can grow as a shrub or tree. The trees with a height of between 10 and 15 meters include, for example, the varieties "Amersfoot" and "Cheshuntensis":
- Growth width: 6 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 20 to 25 centimeters
- Cone flower: inconspicuous, only a few millimeters in size
- Flowering time: February to March, in colder regions from April to May
- Cones: small, red, berry-like, from September, young cones turn yellow
- Needles: dark green, evergreen
Giant Arborvitae (Thuja plicata)
Thuja plicata 'Excelsa'Source: JFKCom, Grünes Labor Coburg, Thuja plicata 'Excelsa', Edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Examples of varieties that grow to a height of between 10 and 20 meters are:
- "Atrovirens": 10 to 15 meters high, 2 to 3 meters wide
- "Excelsa": 12 to 15 meters high, 3 to 5 meters wide
Further information:
- Growth rate per year: 20 to 30 centimeters
- Flower: inconspicuous
- Flowering time: March to April
- Cones: oval, brown, small, from August
- Needles: dark green, shiny scale-like, evergreen
Norway spruce (Picea pungens)
Picea pungens 'Glauca'Source: Agnieszka Kwiecień (Nova), Picea pungens f glauca, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Varieties that are suitable as medium-sized garden trees with a growth height of between 10 and 20 meters are, for example:
- "Countryside Select" (10 to 20 meters high)
- "Edith's Blauspruce", "Glauca", "Blue Lagoon" and "Super Blue Seeding" (15 to 20 meters high)
- "Erich Frahm", "Hoopsii", "Koster" and "Omega" (10 to 15 meters high)
Further information:
- Growth width: 6 to 8 meters
- Growth rate per year: 15 to 30 centimeters
- Cones: light pink to light red (female, in upper part of the crown), yellow and slightly tinged with red (male, in entire part of the crown)
- Flowering time: May
- Cones: light brown to straw-colored, cylindrical, six to eleven centimeters long, from September
- Needles: blue-green, pungent, evergreen
Notice: In everyday life, the spruce is often called blue spruce.
frequently asked Questions
Are medium-sized garden trees suitable for the front yard?Small trees, i.e. garden trees with a growth height of less than ten meters, are recommended for the front yard.
Where can I buy medium-sized conifers?Varieties of conifers with a maximum height of 20 meters are available in well-stocked nurseries.
Do medium-sized trees need special care?Due to their size, these garden trees do not need any special care. Nevertheless, you should follow the recommended care measures.