What tree shall i buy?

soulconspiracy

I wonder if someone would like to give us some advice please.

We'd like to plant a tree in our garden but we're not sure what to go for.

The garden is about 14m long by 7.5m wide and the tree would be about 10m from the house. Light is pretty good with a couple of existing tall trees a further 15m away. There is about a metre of clayey topsoil on sandy chalky clay. the soil is slightly alkaline (or might be more alkaline since I made the area my cementy wheelbarrow wash zone).

We want something quite treey with a single stem and not bushy. Coloured (not green) foliage would be nice but not essential. Maybe something that has a crop but I find apple trees quite boring/ugly. Want the tree to end up with a wide canopy so it dominates the garden but with small leaves so that light penetrates enough to have planting nearby/underneath.

Also, we're prepared to pay a few hundred pounds to get a specimen with a head start on growth so that we can have something that completes the garden sooner.

Any ideas on what we could check out and any ideas where we can order it, we live in Suffolk.

Many thanks

Wayne, Heather and Rafe

K67

I always use mailordertrees.co.uk. they have a good filter system for narrowing down your choice.

soulconspiracy

K67 said:

I always use mailordertrees.co.uk. they have a good filter system for narrowing down your choice.

thanks, I'll give them  a try.

Obelixx

Just beware of buying a big specimen.  They can be difficult to ransport, difficult to manoeuvre, difficult to prepare an adequate planting hole and difficult to establish.   They need regular watering and care for longer than smaller specimens and, even with loads of TLC, can sit for a couple of years doing not-a-lot.

A younger and smaller plant will get established far more quickly and catch up and overtake the growth you would get on a bigger specimen.   

philippasmith2

May be worth considering that purchasing a large specimen is not always the best way to go.  They will require far more TLC to become established than would a smaller one

Silver surfer

I agree with others . Start with a young tree.

Have you considered Sorbus...common name rowan.
Many named  species and cultivars
A tree on a single trunk.
Don't get enormous.
Deciduous.
Flowers in spring.
Berries in autumn...white, pink, yellow, red or orange.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sorbus+berries&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwirsYei7JjtAhVG3hoKHc5XCB0Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=sorbus+berries&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgIIADIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjoECAAQQ1CtCVilG2CKKGgAcAB4AIABkgGIAaEGkgEDNS4zmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=AMO7X6uxLMa8a86voegB&bih=579&biw=1280&client=firefox-b-d

Autumn colour of leaves super.
This is a special...Sorbus sargentiana.