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Tall garden trees are not only natural shade providers, but can also be very decorative. Since these large trees need a lot of space, you should find out about their height and width before you buy them.
In a nutshell
- Garden trees with a maximum growth height of at least 20 meters are often called large trees
- decorative deciduous and coniferous trees for courtyards, gardens or parks
- are best used as a solitaire
large trees
The term "large trees" comes from the specialist trade and usually refers to garden trees whose maximum growth height is at least 20 meters. In view of their size, they are often used to provide shade and are used on spacious grounds, in courtyards or in gardens. Since many of these garden trees can not only grow large but also very old, their location should be carefully considered. Transplanting is extremely time-consuming and can lead to the death of the tree if not handled properly.
deciduous trees
Types from A - G
London Plane (Platanus x acerifolia; Syn.: Platanus x hispanica)
Source: Taken by Fanghong, PlantanusAcerifoliaLeaf2, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Other names: hybrid plane, common plane, hybrid plane, London plane
- Growth height: 25 to 35 meters
- Growth width: 15 to 25 meters
- Growth rate per year: 45 to 60 centimeters
- Flower: yellowish green, inconspicuous
- Flowering time: April to May
- leaves: similar to Norway maple
American (Northern) Oak (Red Oak, scientific name Quercus rubra)
The red oak is one of the hardy oak species.
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 15 meters
- Growth rate per year: 30 to 60 centimeters
- Flower: inconspicuous
- Flowering time: May
- Leaves: up to 23 centimeters long, obovate to oblong, lobed in sinuses, pointed
- gorgeous autumn colors
Copper beech (purple beech, scientific name Fagus sylvatica purpurea)
- Growth height: 25 to 40 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 25 meters
- Flower: inconspicuous
- Flowering time: April to May
- True leaves: reddish leaves, ovate, wavy
- Autumn color: yellow-orange
Gray poplar (Populus x canescens)
Source: Richardkw, Populus Canescens - Grauwe Abeel, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Growth height: 20 to 25 meters
- Growth width: 15 to 20 meters
- Flower: male catkins two to three centimeters long, females up to 10 centimetres
- Flowering time: March to April
- true leaves: triangular to ovate, six to twelve centimeters in size
Types of H - R
Wood poplar (Canada poplar, scientific name Populus x canadensis)
- Growth height: 30 to 35 meters
- Growth width: 12 to 15 meters
- Flowers: red male catkins, yellow-green females
- Flowering time: March to April
- foliage leaves: approximately triangular, long acuminate, six to ten centimeters long
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 12 to 20 meters
- Flowers: Pyramidal, white panicles, up to 30 centimeters high
- Flowering time: April to May
- Leaves: pinnate, up to 25 centimeters long, up to 10 centimeters wide
- Autumn colour: beautiful golden yellow to brown yellow
European beech (common bay, scientific name Fagus sylvatica)
Source: Joanna Boisse, Atlas roslin pl Buk zwyczajny 4547 6990, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Growth height: 25 to 40 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 25 meters
- Growth rate per year: 20 to 50 centimeters
- Flowers: green-pink, inconspicuous
- Flowering time: April to June
- true leaves: broadly elliptic, five to ten centimeters long
- Autumn colour: bright orange-yellow
Species with S
Columnar poplar (Populus nigra "Italica")
- other names: pyramidal poplar, pointed poplar, Italian poplar, Lombardy poplar
- Growth height: 25 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 3 to 8 meters
- Flower: male, hanging catkins
- Flowering time: March to April
- true leaves: rhombic, six to eight centimeters long
Notice: Populus nigra "Italica" is a natural mutation of the black poplar. It only exists in the male form.
Black walnut (Black walnut, scientific name Juglans nigra)
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 20 to 30 meters
- Flowers: yellow-green male catkins, spherical female flowers
- Flowering time: June
- foliage leaves: pinnate, 30 to 50 centimeters long
- Autumn colour: brilliant yellow
Notice: The fruits of these large trees are edible.
Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 15 to 20 meters
- Flower: yellow-green to reddish
- Flowering time: February to March (before the leaves sprout)
- Leaves: 5-lobed, deeply incised, finely silvery-white hairy underneath, 10 to 15 centimeters long
- spectacular fall colors
Silver linden (Tilia tomentosa)
Source: AnRo0002, 20130830Tilia tomentosa1, Edited from Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
- Growth height: 25 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 15 to 20 meters
- Flowers: hanging, tufted inflorescences
- Flowering period: July to August
- Leaves: obliquely heart-shaped, 7 to 13 cm long, silvery underneath
- Autumn colour: beautiful golden yellow, remains for a long time
Small-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos)
- Growth height: 30 to 40 meters
- Growth width: 15 to 25 meters
- Flower: hanging panicles
- Flowering time: June
- Leaves: Asymmetrically heart-shaped, 10 to 15 centimeters long, slender tip
- Autumn colour: beautiful golden yellow
Notice: Coral-red summer limes (Tilia platyphyllos "Rubra") are somewhat narrower large trees.
Norway maple "Cucullatum" (spherical maple, scientific name Acer platanoides "Cucullatum")
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 15 meters
- Growth rate per year: 60 to 150 centimeters
- Flowers: yellowish-green, umbel-shaped
- Flowering time: April to May (before leaves sprout)
- Leaves: 5 to 7 lobed, 10 to 18 centimeters wide
- Autumn colour: striking yellow-orange
Notice: With large Norway maple trees, you should pay close attention to the growth height, as there are also many small varieties such as "Globosum" or "Almira".
Types of T - Z
Sessile oak (winter oak, scientific name Quercus petraea)
- Growth height: 20 to 40 meters
- Growth width: 15 to 20 meters
- Flowers: inconspicuous, male flowers as limply hanging catkins
- Flowering time: April to May
- leaves: five to seven rounded lobes on both sides, eight to twelve centimeters long
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Growth height: 25 to 35 meters
- Growth width: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth rate per year:
- Flower: Tulip-like, greenish-white with yellow and orange spots, four to five centimeters in size
- Flowering period: May to June
- true leaves: one or two lobes, truncated tip
- Autumn colour: bright golden yellow
Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto)
The blossoms of the oaks, here the Hungarian ones, remain quite inconspicuous.
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 15 meters
- Flower: inconspicuous
- Flowering period: May to June
- Leaves: 8 to 25 centimeters long, obovate, rounded, almost symmetrical lobes on both sides
- Autumn colour: attractive amber colour
Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata)
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 10 to 20 meters
- Growth rate per year: 25 to 50 centimeters
- Flower: yellowish-white
- Flowering period: June to July
- Leaves: rounded to broadly heart-shaped, up to six centimeters long
- Autumn colour: bright yellow
conifers
Types from A - T
Colorado fir (grey fir, scientific name Abies concolor)
- Growth height: 20 to 25 meters
- Growth width: 4 to 8 meters
- Flowers: showy male flowers (cylindrical, red, three to four centimeters long)
- Flowering time: May
- Cones: at the top of the tree, 8 to 14 centimeters long, blue-green to dull purple, remain on the tree
- Needles: Dull grey-green to grey-blue, thick, four to eight centimeters long
Caucasus spruce (Sapindus spruce, scientific name Picea orientalis)
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- Growth width: 4 to 8 meters
- Flower: about two centimeters long, yellow male flowers, green female flowers
- Flowering time: May
- Cones: five to nine centimeters long, hanging, crimson to brown, very resinous
- Needles: blunt, just under an inch long, rounded at the tip, thick and stiff
Nordmann fir (Caucasus fir, scientific name Abies nordmanniana)
- Growth height: 25 to 40 meters
- Growth width: 5 to 8 meters
- Growth rate per year: 15 to 40 centimeters
- Flowers: female cone flowers (reddish or yellow-green), male flowers inconspicuous
- Flowering time: May
- Cones: greenish, later dark brown, erect, about 15 centimeters long
- Needles: Shiny, brush-like arranged upwards, 2 to 3.5 centimeters long, not prickly
Types from S - Z
Bald cypress (Swallow yew, scientific name Taxodium distichum)
Taxodium distichum, Bald Cypress
- Growth height: 20 to 35 meters
- Growth width: 4 to 10 meters
- Growth rate per year: 25 to 35 centimeters
- Flowers: male flowers on double racemes five to twelve centimeters long, female flowers inconspicuous
- Flowering time: March to April
- Cones: sessile, two to three centimeters in size, decaying when ripe
- Needles: 0.5 to 2 centimeters long, soft, almost feathery
- Autumn colour: rusty brown
Notice: These large trees are also suitable for wet and swampy soils.
Red spruce (Picea abies)
- Other names: Norway spruce, red fir
- Growth height: 25 to 45 meters
- Growth width: 6 to 10 meters
- Flowers: female cone flowers in the upper regions (light red to yellow-green), male flowers initially crimson, later yellow
- Flowering period: May to June
- Cones: brownish, hanging, 10 to 15 centimeters long
- Needles: up to 2.5 centimeters long, stiff, prickly
Primeval redwood (Chinese redwood, scientific name Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
Primeval redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides
- Growth height: 25 to 45 meters
- Growth width: 6 to 10 meters
- Flowers: male panicle flowers (up to ten centimeters long), especially in the upper crown area, inconspicuous female flowers
- Flowering time: March to April
- Cones: hanging, two centimeters long, spherical to ovate, shed when leaves shoot in the following year
- Needles: soft, one to three centimeters long
- Autumn colour: reddish to copper-colored
frequently asked Questions
Are there also large ash trees for the garden?Yes, the varieties "Altena" (20 to 30 meters high) or "Westhof's Glorie" (street ash, 20 to 40 meters high) are suitable as large garden trees.
How big does the German oak get?The German oak (bot. Quercus robur) is between 30 and 40 meters high and 15 to 25 meters wide. However, their garden value is now classified as rather moderate.
Are there also poisonous garden trees?Yes, there are large garden trees that are poisonous, such as the horse chestnut or the beech, both of which are considered mildly poisonous.