How to choose trees for the garden?

You have to know how to choose trees for the garden

Trees, due to their characteristics, are one of the types of plants that should be planted first in a garden; not in vain, they are the ones that will provide shade, thus allowing us to have species that could not live in sunny places, such as ferns for example.

I like to say that they are the pillars of a garden on which everything else rests, but for those pillars to be robust, it is important to make good decisions. So let’s see how to choose the trees for the garden.

Evergreen or deciduous tree?

Before even thinking about whether to plant a small, medium or large tree, we have to decide if we want an evergreen or deciduous one; namely, we have to choose between one that looks evergreen and another that loses all its leaves (or part of them, if it is semi-deciduous) at some point in the year.

Keep in mind that all trees, absolutely all, lose leaves. And it is that these have a limited life expectancy, which can be a few months in the case of those that are deciduous, or from a few weeks to several years in the case of evergreens.

Generally, those that keep their leaves longer are conifers from temperate/cold climatessuch as the Picea, the Abies (fir trees) or some Pinus, such as the Long-lived pine. This is due to the fact that they have a slow metabolism, since the climate only allows them to grow for a very short period of time, and they need to maintain their leaves as long as possible in order to delay as much as possible the energy expenditure involved in growing. production of new

That is, there is no tree that “does not litter.” Or rather, there is no tree that does not shed its leaves. Only some do it little by little throughout the year, and others run out of them in a matter of several weeks.

Here are some examples:

Small or big tree?

This is an easy question, but it really isn’t. What is a tree? For a plant to be considered a tree, it must be at least 5 meters tall and branch away from the ground.. An average adult person measures approximately 1,70-1,80 meters. Five meters is more than enough for any of us to have to stay away from the tree and look up if we want to see it in all its splendor.

Then, more than talking about the size of the trees, we have to talk about how big your garden isbecause if it is small, you will have to choose species that take up little space; On the contrary, if it is large, you can opt for species that develop wide crowns and thick trunks. Let’s look at some examples:

Be careful with the roots

There are many trees that have very, very long roots, such as Ficus, Ulmus and Zelkovas (European and Asian elms), Fraxinus (ash trees), Pinus (pines), and a long etcetera. If you want to plant one of these in the garden, It must be taken into account that they are large plants, and that they need a lot of space.

The melia is a tree with invasive roots

Related article:

List of trees with aggressive roots

They should not be kept in small gardens, as they could cause problems as they grew. In fact, for this not to happen, they should be planted at a minimum distance of ten meters from where there are pipesas well as soils with soft pavements.

With or without flowers?

All trees flower, but not all produce showy flowers. For example, those of conifers go completely unnoticed, since they lack petals. However, the vast majority of species do have pretty flowers. Thus, it is interesting to plant them in areas where they can stand out and be enjoyedas in the relaxation areas of the garden.

Some of them are:

  • Acacia of Constantinople (Albizia julibrissin)
  • Japanese cherry (Prunus serrulata)
  • Gold rain (Laburnum anagyroides)

All of these bloom throughout the spring.

Green or colored leaves?

Plant leaves are usually green. However, who else who least knows that there are some trees that change color in autumn, as is the case with maples, horse chestnut, ash or melia. Therefore, it is interesting to keep them in mind, since they can help us to break the chromatic monotonyat least a few weeks a year.

Be careful: in addition to the color of the leaf, we must be well informed about the size that the tree we like will reach, as well as its needs for light, water and nutrients. And it is that I can say from experience that those that are beautiful in autumn are, if not the vast majority, plants that grow in acidic or slightly acidic soils and in temperate climates. I mean: it is very difficult to find one that grows in clay or alkaline soil and in places where the weather is warm that it turns red or yellow as soon as it gets cold.

But if your garden has the ideal conditions, then you only have to choose those trees that you want to put. Here is a list of some of the prettiest:

  • sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua): turns red in autumn. See file.
  • Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba): turns yellow in autumn. See file.
  • Is (Fagus sylvatica): ditto. See file.

Don’t forget to choose suitable trees for your climate

Choose rustic trees for your garden with frost

Related article:

13 frost resistant trees

I’ve left it for last, but it’s actually the most important thing. It is not possible to grow tropical trees in a place where there are frosts, nor trees typical of cold climates in an area where there are no seasons.. You can’t, because it’s not easy. For example, I have been growing several Japanese maples in the Mediterranean region for years, and during the summer they usually have a hard time.

Therefore, in addition to knowing how tall the tree in question will be and how much space its crown will need to grow normally, we must inform ourselves about its rusticity, otherwise we will end up spending money on a plant that is going to become very dependent of us.

We hope these tips are useful to you.

How to choose trees for the garden?

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