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There are many suitable garden trees for our gardens, which either captivate with beautiful flowers or offer delicious fruit straight from their own tree. The list provides information about suitable trees.

In a nutshell

  • wide range of suitable trees that do not grow too large, even for small gardens
  • Pruning to keep the actually large tree small is not a solution, as regular repetition is necessary
  • Standard trees, trees with a spherical crown, columnar trees, those with an overhanging crown or fruit trees are suitable for gardens
  • Ball trees remain small and form their ball crown all by themselves without pruning
  • small garden trees can be good shade providers next to a terrace or a seat on the lawn

Narrow columnar garden trees

The narrow columnar varieties of the trees are wonderfully suited for a small corner in the garden but also as a solitaire in a small bed in the front yard. Because they keep their narrow shape and do not have to be cut. Particularly optically attractive are:

Columnar rowan (Sorbus aucuparia 'Fastigiata')

  • Growth height: six to eight meters
  • Growth width: one to one and a half meters
  • has a high ecological benefit
  • bright autumn colors
  • Flower: white
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • pollen and nectar plant
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady

Column hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna 'Stricta')

Source: Tree mapper, 7000 oaks - Graustrasse 2022-07-31 d, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
  • Growth height: three to six meters
  • Growth width: two to three meters
  • very strong tree
  • attractive with autumn leaves
  • flower color white
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • very bee friendly
  • Solitary or group planting

Pillar Cherry (Prunus serrulata 'Amanogawa')

  • Growth height: four to seven meters
  • Growth width: one to two meters
  • also Japanese cherry
  • Flowers: pink and white
  • Flower color: April to May
  • Location: sunny
  • can be cultivated as a solitaire
  • also in a discounts
  • suitable for Japanese garden

Notice: The columnar trees create a good structure in the garden but cast little shade. In old age, however, they can also grow very tall.

ball trees

The spherical trees, which also usually grow very slowly, are often touted as suitable trees for small gardens. Nevertheless, it should be said that these trees can also reach an impressive width in old age. This should be considered before cultivation. The following list provides suggestions for a few attractive varieties that can be used as garden trees:

Amelanchier arborea

  • Growth height: two to six meters
  • spherical to umbrella-shaped, broad crown
  • copper-red coloring of the leaves in some varieties
  • bright orange-red fall color
  • star-shaped white flowers
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • Fruit enjoyable and edible
  • Location: sunny

Blood plum (Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra')

  • Growth height: five to seven meters
  • Growth width: three to six meters
  • Flower: pink
  • Flowering time: April
  • Flowers in clusters
  • very bee and bumblebee friendly
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady
  • suits every garden style

Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Globosum')

  • Growth height: four to six meters
  • Growth width: four to six meters
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady
  • yellow flowers
  • Flowering time: March to April
  • bird protection tree
  • shady
  • autumn coloring

Ball sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua 'Gumball‚)

  • Growth height: three to five meters
  • Growth width: three to four meters
  • upright, loose spherical growth
  • green flowers
  • Flowering time: May
  • bark jewelry
  • Location: sunny

Round Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbraculifera')

  • Growth height and width: 400 to 500 centimeters each
  • small growth
  • also suitable for front yard
  • as street greening
  • leaf ornament
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady

Ball swamp oak (Quercus palustris 'Green Dwarf')

  • Growth height: up to three meters
  • Growth width: two to three meters
  • spherical and bushy growth
  • yellow catkins
  • Flowering time: May
  • especially leaf ornaments
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady
  • also optically decorative when planted in a group

Ball Trumpet Tree (Catalpa bignoides 'Nana')

Source: Rasbak, Catalpa bignonioides 'Nana' (02), Edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Growth height and width: four to six meters each
  • grows spherical to umbrella-shaped
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady
  • ideal as a solitaire in a meadow
  • shady at the edge of the terrace
  • no beginning of flowers

Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet')

  • Growth height: four to eight meters
  • Growth width: four to six meters
  • is often cultivated as a shrub
  • Grows small and globular as a tree
  • beautiful pink to red flowers
  • hanging on umbel panicles
  • Flowering period: May to June
  • Location: sunny

Tip: Ball trees also look particularly beautiful and decorative in a courtyard as a solitaire in the middle and can also provide good shade for a bench or seating area.

Garden trees with an overhanging crown

Trees with an overhanging crown are particularly suitable for a romantic cottage garden. So there are the classic trees with a small stature. These are also varieties of the well-known willows:

Hanging catkin willow (Salix caprea 'Pendula')

Sources: Photo by David J. Stang, Salix caprea Pendula 1zz, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (left), Photo by David J. Stang, Salix caprea Pendula 2zz, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (right )
  • Growth height: 1.80 to 2.50 meters
  • Growth width: 80 centimeters to 1.20 meters
  • upright, overhanging growth
  • yellow flowers
  • Flower shape catkins
  • Flowering time: March to April
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady

Red hanging beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountain')

Source: Photo by David J. Stang, Fagus sylvatica Purple Fountain 1zz, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Growth height: between fifteen and thirty meters
  • Growth width: between twenty and 25 meters
  • is also called mourning beech
  • Variant of the red beech
  • very overhanging growth down to the ground
  • yellow flower clusters
  • Flowering time: May
  • especially foliage tree
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady

Willow-leaved Pear (Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula')

  • Growth height and width: four to six meters each
  • Asian hanging tree
  • sprawling and overhanging growth
  • white flowers on corymbs
  • Flowering: April to May
  • fruits edible
  • Location: sunny
  • also suitable for roof gardens

Tip: The willows with their overhanging crowns are particularly suitable as a solitary plant in a meadow or in a bed with suitable underplanting.

standard

Shrubs that have been cultivated to form a standard and look like small trees are also well suited for small gardens. These small garden trees also fit into the smallest front yard and offer a decorative eye-catcher here:

Harlequin Willow (Salix integra 'Hakuru Nishiki')

  • Growth height: two to six meters
  • Growth width: 80 cm to 1.5 meters
  • glamorous leaf jewelry
  • with bud colouring
  • bushy crown
  • yellow inconspicuous flowers
  • Flowering time: March to April
  • in kitten form
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady

Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk')

  • Growth height and width: up to four meters high and wide
  • creamy white flowers
  • with a strong intoxicating scent
  • dense, long flower spikes
  • Flowering period: May to July
  • Fruits are edible
  • Location: sunny

Notice: All tall stems from this list can also be cultivated in a large container if there is a lack of space or a garden, and can thus find space on a terrace or balcony.

Almond tree (Prunus triloba)

  • Growth height and width: up to two meters
  • upright and bushy growing
  • pink double flowers
  • Flowering time: March to April
  • Budding and autumn colors of the leaves
  • Location: sunny
  • Fruits are usually not set

fruit trees

Two birds with one stone can be killed with tasty fruit trees in the garden. Because in addition to the small size and often beautiful flowers in spring, the trees also offer tasty fruit:

Apple tree (Malus domestica)

White clear apple
  • Growth height: up to three meters
  • Growth width: up to two meters
  • most famous fruit tree
  • many different varieties
  • related to medlar, quince and pears
  • white or pink to red flowers
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • Harvest: between July and September for each variety
  • Location: sunny

Pear tree (Pyrus communis)

'Good Louise'
  • Height of growth: between one and twenty meters high, depending on the variety
  • today's varieties are the result of crossings
  • pure white flowers
  • Flowering time: March to April
  • slightly endangered by late frost
  • Fruit ripening depending on the variety
  • there are summer, autumn and winter pears
  • Location: sunny

Cherry tree (Prunus)

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium)
  • Height of growth: without pruning up to twenty meters high
  • Growth width: very sprawling up to four meters wide
  • there are sweet and sour cherries
  • both types of fruit are edible and enjoyable
  • white flowers
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • Cherry trees grow very sprawling in old age
  • very thick stem
  • Location: sunny

Plum tree (Prunus domestica)

Mirabelle plum (Prunus domestica var. syriacus)
  • Growth height: between three and fifteen meters
  • up to four meters wide crown
  • aromatic fruits in mid and late summer
  • Subspecies plum (Prunus domestica subsp. domestica)/mirabelle plum (Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca)/greengage (Prunus domestica subsp. italica)
  • all good garden trees
  • white flowers in May on tufts
  • Vigor decreases with age
  • Location: sunny

Tip: Most fruit trees can also be cultivated as trellis fruit or spindle trees and thus represent a natural boundary between the terrace and the garden, for example.

Small and medium-sized house trees

There are also varieties of garden trees that cannot be classified under the other categories. These trees fall under the category of small and medium-sized house trees because they can be pruned well and kept small. This list includes:

Bluebell tree (Paulowina tomentosa)

  • Growth height and width: eight to fifteen meters each
  • upright, loose growth
  • violet-blue flowers on panicles
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • lightly scented
  • suitable for Japanese garden
  • Location: sunny

Yew (taxus)

Yew (Taxus baccata)
  • Height of growth: ten to eighteen meters
  • Growth width: eight to fifteen meters
  • evergreen conifers
  • reach a very old age
  • often as an undergrowth under other trees
  • Location: shady to semi-shady
  • flowering in spring
  • red cones
  • usually from August
  • Attention, poisonous in all parts!

Lilac (Syringa)

  • Growth height: up to seven meters
  • Growth width: up to three meters
  • first flowering in early May
  • second bloom often in autumn
  • lilac or white flower spikes
  • strong distinctive scent
  • many different varieties
  • Location: sunny

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Hanging fan leaf tree (Ginkgo biloba 'Pendula')
  • Height of growth: fourteen to twenty meters
  • Growth width: up to one meter
  • also fan leaf tree
  • Crown particularly shady
  • green catkins
  • Flowering time: March to April
  • is also considered a medicinal plant
  • Location: sunny

Notice: The ginkgo is a so-called living fossil because it has been growing in European mixed forests for over 180 million years. However, only the variety known today in the China region has survived.

Whitebeam (Sorbus aria)

  • Growth height: up to 1.8 meters
  • Growth width: up to 1.2 meters
  • Red berries
  • important bird food
  • edible and enjoyable
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady
  • white flowers
  • Flowering period: May to June

Holly (Ilex)

European holly (Ilex aquifolium)
  • Height of growth: Depending on the variety, two to twenty-five meters high
  • evergreen tree
  • Be careful, thorns on leaves!
  • also known as winter berries
  • bright red berries in the drab conservatory
  • good rowan tree
  • white flowers
  • Flowering period: May and June
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady
  • Attention, slightly poisonous!

Handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriana)

  • up to fifteen meters high
  • Width between seven and twelve meters
  • white/brown flowers
  • reminiscent of handkerchiefs
  • Flowering time May to June
  • sunny to partially shaded location
  • bright golden yellow autumn colour

Trumpet tree (Catalpa bignonioides)

  • Height of growth: about ten to twelve meters high
  • Growth width: between eight and 12 meters
  • spreading umbrella-shaped crown
  • white flower spikes
  • Flowering period: June to July
  • Caution, slightly toxic parts!
  • Location: sunny to off-sun

ornamental apple (penalty)

Plum-leaved crabapple (Malus prunifolia 'Cheal's Crimson')
  • Growth height: four to six meters
  • Growth width: three to five meters
  • bright fruits in the autumn garden
  • remain on the tree until January
  • Fruits are edible and edible
  • white to pink flowers
  • Flowering time: April to May
  • Location: sunny

frequently asked Questions

Why is it not advisable to choose a large tree for the garden?

Many trees can grow up to thirty meters high. These are suitable for gardens, even if they should be slightly larger in area only to a limited extent. Because a large tree in the garden has to be cut back regularly so that it doesn't get too big. In general, however, this is also detrimental to the optics, since the beauty and natural growth of a tree are lost.

What shape of garden trees for which garden?

There are many different forms of garden trees. Spherical and columnar trees fit well into a well-structured, modern garden. The overhanging crowns come into their own in a colorful garden. Fruit trees should not be missing in any cottage garden and the tall stems are ideal for the front yard.

Do I have to cut a ball tree into the spherical shape?

No, the so-called spherical trees get their name from the fact that they naturally form a decorative spherical crown. Of course, this requires a small shape cut every now and then. Otherwise, you can watch these trees form the ball crown.

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Garden plants