How close to the house can I plant a tree?

For a small garden tree, plant it at least its ultimate spread away from the wall, and further on clay or wet ground. Willow, poplar and eucalyptus want much more room because their roots travel for water, while rowan, crab apple and field maple are comfortable closer in. Keep any tree off a drain run.

Will a tree make my garden dark?

A tree casts shade, so choose for the light you have and the light you want to keep. A tree on the south or west side takes afternoon sun from a border. An airy crown such as amelanchier or rowan throws dappled shade rather than a solid shadow, and a deciduous tree lets winter light through once the leaves fall.

What is the smallest tree I can buy?

Looking for trees for small gardens near me usually starts at a nursery, and the label is the trap: the height on it is the size now, not the size it becomes. Judge a tree by its ultimate height and spread instead. Amelanchier, crab apple, Tibetan cherry, katsura, hazel and Japanese maple all stay within reach of a small garden given reasonable soil and light.

Which trees are safe to plant near drains?

Feeders rather than hunters. Rowan, field maple, crab apple and amelanchier are not thirsty enough to trouble a sound drain. Willow, poplar, eucalyptus and birch are the ones to keep well back, and no tree should be planted over a drain run, a soakaway or a septic tank.

How long does a new tree take to settle?

Most small trees settle within two or three years, and the first two summers decide it. Water when the soil dries, keep grass and weeds off a ring around the trunk, and check the stakes and ties each year so nothing rubs the bark or strangles the stem.

Do you supply and plant the tree?

Yes. People who come to us through trees for small gardens near me usually arrive with a choice and no spade, so our service covers species advice, sourcing, ground preparation, planting, staking and aftercare through the first three years. Reduction or removal of a tree that has outgrown the space goes to Ross Webster Tree Services, linked in the panel on this page.

What maintenance will a small tree need once it is grown?

A slow growing tree needs little: dead and crossing wood out every few years, the lowest limbs lifted clear of a path, and fruit cleared from paving in autumn. Fast growing trees need far more, which is the reason they are worth avoiding in a small garden.

Garden service

Trees for small gardens in North Yorkshire and County Durham

How to choose trees for small gardens by final height and spread, root action near drains and paving, soil, aspect, light and the upkeep each tree needs.

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Trees for small gardens: start with the space

Most small gardens can take a tree, and the mistake is choosing one before the space has been measured. Three figures decide everything: the tree's ultimate height, its ultimate spread, and how far the trunk will stand from the house, the boundary and any drain run. The label on the pot gives the size now, which is the least useful number in the garden centre. Plan at twenty years instead.

What the roots do

Roots spread wider than the crown, and most of the feeding roots sit in the top 600mm of soil, which is why species matters as much as distance. Willow, poplar and eucalyptus hunt water and lift paving. Rowan, crab apple, field maple and amelanchier are easier neighbours to a drain, a patio or a foundation. No tree belongs on top of a drain run or a soakaway, and heavy clay makes every root problem worse. Our tree roots page covers drains, paving and foundations in detail.

Light and aspect

A tree casts shade on the garden you already have, so watch where the sun lands before you plant. A tree on the south or west side takes afternoon light from a border or a seat, and a dense evergreen does it all year. An airy crown throws dappled shade that most plants can live with. Our light in the garden page deals with the same question from the other direction.

Soil and shelter

Soil and shelter finish the decision. A tree that wants acid ground sulks in lime, and one planted in an exposed corner loses branches before it loses its looks. Amelanchier, crab apple and field maple take most soils. Japanese maple wants shelter and light shade. Dig the pit three times the spread of the roots, and know what you are planting into: the RHS guide to soil types explains texture and drainage.

Best trees for small gardens

The best trees for small gardens are slow growing and generous in one thing: flower, bark, fruit or autumn colour. Amelanchier reaches about 6m with an airy crown, white spring blossom, small edible fruit and good autumn colour. Crab apple stays between 4m and 6m and holds its fruit into winter for birds. Tibetan cherry is grown for peeling mahogany bark. Katsura brings butter yellow autumn leaves and a scent of candy floss on still days. Cornus kousa flowers later than common dogwood. Japanese maple earns its place on leaf colour alone.

The upkeep each one creates at maturity

A small tree is not a no-work tree. Expect to take out dead and crossing wood every few years, to lift the lowest limbs clear of a path once the crown spreads, and to clear fallen fruit from a lawn or a patio in autumn. Fruit trees want a prune each winter or summer depending on the species. Amelanchier and birch want almost nothing beyond a tidy. That is the honest trade: the slower the tree grows, the less there is to do.

Some choices are a mistake in a small garden. Eucalyptus and willow race away and are brittle in wind. Poplar is far too large and thirsty. Large conifers cast deep shade all year and will not reshoot from old wood, so they cannot be cut back to size. Where a tree has already outgrown its space, reducing or removing it is Ross Webster Tree Services work, and the panel below this page links to their site.

Ornamental trees

Ornamental trees earn their place through one strong season, whether that is blossom, bark, leaf colour or fruit, and the choice should follow the season you actually use the garden. Prunus for spring blossom, katsura and liquidambar for autumn, birch for winter bark. Pick the moment that matters and let the rest of the year look after itself. A tree asked to flower well, stay small, take any soil and cast no shade does none of it properly, so decide which one you want and plant for that. Most ornamentals need little beyond deadwooding and a shape kept in check, which is work for our garden tree pruning round.

Native trees

Native trees feed far more insects and birds than most garden ornamentals, and several stay small. Rowan reaches around 8m with white blossom, scarlet berries and fine leaves that do not shade a border out. Hawthorn makes a dense, thorny tree of 5m to 8m. Hazel works as a multi stem tree and can be cut back hard when it outgrows a corner. Field maple is compact, tolerant of most soils and turns gold in autumn. The Woodland Trust guide to British trees covers more species, and our wildlife garden article covers planting that feeds bees, birds and moths.

Espalier fruit trees

An espalier fruit tree is trained flat against a wall or a fence on pairs of horizontal arms, which gives fruit from a tree that takes up almost no ground. It crops better than a free standing tree in a cool garden because the wall holds the warmth. Cordons, fans and stepovers use the same idea on a smaller scale. All of them need a summer prune to hold their shape, which sits with our fruit tree pruning work, and planting starts with our tree planting service.

Kitchen garden trees

Kitchen garden trees are trained to stay small enough to pick from. A cordon is a single stem grown at an angle. A stepover is a cordon bent along the front of a bed at knee height. An espalier carries pairs of horizontal arms up a wall. All three suit a tight plot, and a cooking apple such as 'Arthur Turner' on a dwarfing rootstock crops well in a border. Cordons and espaliers want sun, shelter and soil that drains, with grass kept clear of the trunk, and the pruning that keeps them fruiting is part of the fruit tree pruning round.

Tree surgery, handled locally

Tree surgery is handled by Ross Webster Tree Services

This page covers the garden side of tree work: planting, pruning and aftercare. Tree removal, crown reductions, stump grinding, emergency and storm work, tree surveys, ash dieback and commercial contracts are carried out by Ross Webster Tree Services.

Tree removal
Crown reductions
Stump grinding
Emergency and storm work
Tree surveys
Ash dieback
Commercial contracts

They work across the same ground as this practice, and their contact details are on their site.

Ross Webster Tree Services

Questions about trees for small gardens

How close to the house can I plant a tree?: For a small garden tree, plant it at least its ultimate spread away from the wall, and further on clay or wet ground. Willow, poplar and eucalyptus want much more room because their roots travel for water, while rowan, crab apple and field maple are comfortable closer in. Keep any tree off a drain run.
Will a tree make my garden dark?: A tree casts shade, so choose for the light you have and the light you want to keep. A tree on the south or west side takes afternoon sun from a border. An airy crown such as amelanchier or rowan throws dappled shade rather than a solid shadow, and a deciduous tree lets winter light through once the leaves fall.
What is the smallest tree I can buy?: Looking for trees for small gardens near me usually starts at a nursery, and the label is the trap: the height on it is the size now, not the size it becomes. Judge a tree by its ultimate height and spread instead. Amelanchier, crab apple, Tibetan cherry, katsura, hazel and Japanese maple all stay within reach of a small garden given reasonable soil and light.
Which trees are safe to plant near drains?: Feeders rather than hunters. Rowan, field maple, crab apple and amelanchier are not thirsty enough to trouble a sound drain. Willow, poplar, eucalyptus and birch are the ones to keep well back, and no tree should be planted over a drain run, a soakaway or a septic tank.
How long does a new tree take to settle?: Most small trees settle within two or three years, and the first two summers decide it. Water when the soil dries, keep grass and weeds off a ring around the trunk, and check the stakes and ties each year so nothing rubs the bark or strangles the stem.
Do you supply and plant the tree?: Yes. People who come to us through trees for small gardens near me usually arrive with a choice and no spade, so our service covers species advice, sourcing, ground preparation, planting, staking and aftercare through the first three years. Reduction or removal of a tree that has outgrown the space goes to Ross Webster Tree Services, linked in the panel on this page.
What maintenance will a small tree need once it is grown?: A slow growing tree needs little: dead and crossing wood out every few years, the lowest limbs lifted clear of a path, and fruit cleared from paving in autumn. Fast growing trees need far more, which is the reason they are worth avoiding in a small garden.

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