Want a tree for the garden? Ask yourself these questions first
Part of gardening’s beauty is the ephemerality of it: taking care of a plot can encourage a rich ecosystem, but a garden only ever exists in the moment you’re bearing witness to it.
No wonder that planting trees can be alluring and terrifying in equal measure. Such permanence! Such impossibility! A good tree, planted well, will long outlast us – or at least the time we spend in the garden. It’s a timestamp and a responsibility. And now is a good time to do it: the soil is damp and accommodating, and while the tree is nudging towards dormancy its roots are still growing. The leaves will drop soon, so a new tree will put energy into bedding in, before returning to vibrancy in the spring.
Once you’ve made the decision to plant a tree (or if you’re feeling fancy, several, perhaps in a line or even a small orchard) you have to decide which kind. At this point, a series of questions comes in handy.
A good tree, planted well, will long outlast us – or at least the time we spend in the garden
Do you want to grow it in a pot? If so, look for container-friendly varieties; acers and dwarf cherries (Prunus) are a good start.
If it’s going in the ground, what is your soil like? How much light will it get? Is it in a damp or dry area? Acacias, pines and gingkos are drought-tolerant, while willows and poplars will survive the opposite. If your tree of choice is still here in 30 years’ time, will the people living alongside it find its roots breaking through their wall? If so, check out dwarf varieties. And then, decide whether you want it to bear edible fruit.
If you have a planting plan – by which I mean you’ve curated the flow of colours and textures arriving in your garden through the year – you can choose a tree to fit in with that. When is everything else in your garden at its peak? Perhaps you’ll want a tree to join in the party, or perhaps you want it to bring some energy when everything else is having a rest.
If you’re just planting one, chances are it’ll be a focal point, so choose something that offers interest in as many seasons as possible. Amelanchier lamarckii is a garden designer favourite because it can be easily trained into being multi-stemmed (meaning it branches from many places lower down on the trunk, rather than shooting up and then branching in a couple of places – this offers more interest in a small space). And it is good-looking for most of the year; offering elegant white flowers in the spring, berries in the summer and flaming red foliage at this time of year.
There are dozens of tree specialists online – don’t be afraid to call them up with specific questions before you buy. Or pick your tree out in person at a tree nursery: Castle Howard in Yorkshire and Deepdale Trees in Bedfordshire are among the best.
