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Tree
lovegardening77
Posts: 332
I want to add some height to my garden and encourage more wildlife. I'm looking for a smallish tree that will tolerate clay soil on a south west facing garden. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
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Posts
Hawthorns are lovely trees.
Pretty leaves, masses of blossom in the spring for the bees, berries for the birds in the autumn and a blaze of colour from the leaves before they fall.
There are some lovely crab apple trees that don't grow too big too.
Last edited: 08 January 2017 20:46:42
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Rowan, white beam
Thank you to both of you. I have been considering the crab apple,I might look at the gelder rose too, Have a lot of ugly fence to hide.?. Are they suitable for clay soil?
All absolutely fine on clay - use some compost/rotted manure when planting and if it's a very damp area and some grit will all be of help to get it off to a good start whatever you choose
Last edited: 08 January 2017 21:36:20
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I'd go for hawthorn, too. Much as I love the native white crataegus (C. monogyna), there is a lovely cultivar of the other native, C. laevigata, one called 'Crimson Cloud', which is a vivid deep pink, but has single flowers and therefore has berries, too. It's a beauty.
H-C
Hi,
Amelanchiers are lovely trees .... and happy on clay.
They have lovely spring flowers ... berries in autumn for the birds ... and great autumn leaf colour too.
Bee
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
Crab Apple is gorgeous for it's blossom & cherry 'Kanzan' is my absolute favourite but wouldn't specifically suggest it for wildlife. Anything that flowers and forms berries would be suitable. I have a holly shaped 'tree' that the birds also love in winter.
Hawthorn will get huge very quickly. Some sorbus varieties are good and will help wildlife.
Have a read of this article in teh Daily Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/how-to-grow/the-best-trees-for-small-gardens/
I think the first thing I'd want to know is, what size is the garden? If my neighbour planted even a small tree like a Rowan, it would cast shade on the entire plot, whereas I could have several without any issue.
Having said that, Amelanchier will suit almost anywhere. A Rowan if you have a garden anything more than around 6 m by 6 m, as it won't remove every scrap of sun you get either. Any plot bigger than around that size - any of the other choices would probably be fine.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Wow thank you for all those suggestions and advice,I'm spoilt for choice?. I'm on a corner plot, quite a wide garden so a tree that doesnt grow massive wouldnt affect the neighbour on left side of us, the other side of the fence is grass verge and pavement. I'm not planting a tree right next to the fence but about 2/3 ft away from it. I suppose when I say good for wildlife I mean something that does everything through the seasons!