Beth's Favorite Small Trees

Trees are large. Sometimes very, very large.
Small trees are those which reach about thirty feet in height – maybe less. This statement does not come with a guarantee. Were you to live long enough, your 30’ expectations might reach 50’. Nevertheless, everyone needs small trees. The South would be barren indeed with dogwoods and crepe myrtle. But the list of quality small trees which thrive in Nashville is much longer than those two jewels.

Acer griseum – Paperbark Maple
Michael Dirr refers to its “nobility of character, great seasonal deportment, and unrivaled aesthetic qualities.” There is little I can add to that. I once spoke with a woman, perhaps a very nice woman, who, when I cited the wonders of a Paperbark Maple’s glorious, shaggy, peeling bark, looked at me as though I were trying to sell her pork as veal. “Who” she asked repressively, “looks at bark?” If you see a Paperbark Maple, you’ll look at bark.
It also boasts great leaves – dark on the top, lighter beneath – and wonderful fall color. The shape is frequently oval-rounded. It may develop multiple trunks.
Within the time you have to fret about it, Paperbark Maple will probably get 20 to 30 feet high. It grows slowly.

Acer japonicum – Full Moon Maple
I know the Latin name says Japanese Maple, bit this isn’t. We horticulture types do this to confuse you. Full Moon maple is maybe a large shrub with one or more trunks and a gnarly, spreading habit. At your house it probably won’t get more than 15 feet high – maybe not that. “Aconitifolium” has spectacular red fall color. Let me say that again. It has Spectacular Red Fall Color.
To further confuse you and me, there is an incredible Full Moon Maple with light greenish yellow summer leaves – a glowing spot of sunlight against a dark background. Sometimes it is listed as Acer japonicum “Aureum”, sometimes as Acer shirasawanum “Aureum”. But like the rose by any other name… this is a beautiful small tree no matter what we call it.

Acer palmatum – Japanese Maple
I don’t know much about Japanese Maples. J.D. Vertrees, in Japanese Maples, describes more than 400 cultivars, van Gelderen and van Gelderen in Maples for Gardens claim over a thousand cultivars exist. So. Really. I don’t know much. But here’s what I do know.
Japanese Maples appreciate dappled sunlight in the afternoon. The very finely cut leaves of some cultivars fry in the hot Tennessee sun. That said, this is a forgiving plant. I’ve seen “Bloodgood”s out in full sun, and loving it. But most kinds appreciate a little shade and mulch to keep the soil cool. Japanese Maples are GREAT little trees – few bugs or diseases, long lived and better every year.
The following are useful (and obtainable) cultivars:

• “Bloodgood” – dark red leaves in summer. This cultivar resists fading in the intense heat better than any other. For the Southeast it is the standard against which other reds are judged. Spring and fall leaf color is screaming scarlet. It gets maybe 20’ tall, and is usually taller than wide. Why anyone would plant a Purple Leaf Plum when this tree is available I cannot conceive.
• “Sango Kaku” – green leaf with reddish margins in spring, green in summer, upright, to maybe 20’. In fall it looks like it’s plugged into an electrical outlet – gold & orange. In winter the younger stems are bright red, amazing against a white or light background.
• “Crimson Queen” – a weeping, purple/red form with very finely cut, spidery leaves. It gets abut 8’ high, maybe 12’ wide- slowly. Fall color is scarlet.
  ”Tamuke yama” is very close to “Crimson Queen”, cascading with finely cut leaves and even darker purple color. Both cultivars are heat tolerant. This plant has been listed in cultivation since 1710. Knowledgeable growers call it the best for this area.
• “Waterfall” Because I am weird, this is my favorite Japanese Maple. The foliage is bright green, very finely cut, and cascading. It will grow six to ten feet high and twelve feet wide in a flowing, draping, dripping tumble. Fall color is a bright and shiny gold, sometimes with red and orange additions. Like all good Japanese Maples, it will make you stop your car and stare on a clear fall day.

Cercis canadensis – Eastern Redbud
This is a lovely native tree. In early spring before the woods are filled with leaves the rosy pink flowers glow through the dark, gray-barked stems of the forest.
In full sun it becomes short, fat and round. In more shade it stretches and spreads. In both places it blooms beautifully.
All redbuds are good, but the cultivar “Forest Pansy” is exceptional. This is a purple leaf tree with showy pink flowers. Andrews Cadillac used to have some great ones, but they paved over them. Cheekwood had a perfect specimen, but they paved over it, too. Oh, well.

Chionanthus virginicus – Grancy Grey-beard or Fringetree
Ok. It leafs out late. It doesn’t have great fall color. Some years the bloom is pretty much a miss. It is one of “the finest American plants” according to Michael Dirr in Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. “I would like” he goes on to say, “to make a case for this as the national shrub for even dogwood does not carry itself with such refinement, dignity and class…” He is absolutely right.
My neighbor Ben has one in his side yard – a big one. Some years other neighbors call me at home, they call me at work, they stop me at the grocery store……”What IS IT?” It is an American Fringetree, and it looks like a fluffy white thunderhead in the spring. I saw one in full bloom one year at the Philadelphia Flower Show and thought I would have to take heart medication to continue.
Full sun or some shade. Decent dirt. Slow growing. Plant one and prosper.

Cornus florida – Dogwood
This is THE flowering native tree. It is one of the most beautiful flowering trees in the world. They are everywhere. Wide spreading, open, 30’ giants covered with shining flowers in Green Hills and East Nashville; sad, scraggly, diseased sticks in Brentwood front yards. Why? Why are some so good and some just doomed to die? Dogwoods hate stress. Stress is what horticultural types call any constant sorrow a plant might have. For dogwoods, this would include;

1. too much sun
2. not enough water
3. poor drainage
4. yucky dirt

Sounds like Brentwood to me!
Place dogwoods carefully. If you aren’t sure, talk to me. But plant a dogwood. It is your duty to the future, and to yourself. Great cultivars include:
“Cherokee Chief “ – we call it red but it’s really hot pink shaded to ruby. Do not, Not, NOT plant any red or pink dogwood within sight line of a redbud. I personally can’t stand it.
“Cherokee Princess” – large flowers, lots of flowers, shiny white flowers. This is the best of the best. It’s even disease resistant.

Cornus kousa – Kousa Dogwood, Chinese dogwood
A tougher plant than the beleaguered native dogwood, Kousa is quite similar in looks. It does bloom a little later, “extending the dogwood season” as every plant book ever written has noted.
There are some highly touted crosses of Cornus f. and Cornus k. available today. They probably aren’t as gorgeous as true Cornus florida cultivars, but they are more resistant to the ills of dogwoods. The Stellar series is notable. They are pricey, but their reputation is great. Cultivars include; “Ruth Ellen”, “Constellation”, and “Aurora”.

Crataegus – Hawthorn
From many let’s select two. Crataegus phaenoyrum or Washington Hawthorn and, even better, Crataegus viridis “Winter King”. These are upright, white flowering, thorny trees with lustrous green leaves and showy fall color. That’s three good seasons. Add glossy, bright red winter fruit and you’ve about covered it.
Hawthorn is another tree people ask about. No one seems to know what it is, but everyone loves it once they see it. Just don’t plant it beside the front walk where you’ll stab yourself with its wicked thorns. But remember what my Dear Mother used to say. If you have children, never plant anything without thorns.
She was right, too.

Lagerstroemia – Crepe Myrtle
So what is a tree and what is a shrub? How would I know? I majored in Chinese history. But this plant will cause you to think. Some cultivars grow three feet high. Others can reach thirty feet or more. But let’s call it a small tree and speak only of taller, tree-like cultivars.
First – be careful about crepe myrtles. We live at the top of their winter hardiness range. Probably 90% of the cultivars available in commerce will not survive a severe Nashville winter. Never buy a crepe myrtle labeled “Red” or “Pink” or “White”. You have no idea what you are getting. It could be a 6 foot bushy shrub, a 20 foot tree, or a plant that will die at 10 degrees. In Nashville weather, -15º is not unheard of.
If you don’t know the cultivar name, don’t buy the plant. That’s the rule. If you break this rule your plant will die. And I will laugh.
Crepe Myrtles like very hot, sunny spots. Don’t plant them in the shade. Remove suckers and sprouts and lower branches for the first few years until the bark firms up, the trunks form, and such minor pruning becomes unnecessary.
Nothing blooms like a Crepe Myrtle. Nothing. They bloom extravagantly, profligately, in miserably hot weather when everything else is thinking of just dropping its leaves and closing down for the heat. Showy doesn’t come close. It’s almost like being 24 and stripping in the middle of Rivergate Mall. Everybody gapes. People can’t look away.
Good Cultivars include:

• “Centennial Spirit” – Dark red, upright, long blooming.
• “Natchez” – White, upright, great peeling cinnamon to dark red bark, good orangey fall color – sometimes. This is THE Nashville crepe myrtle. Duncan Callicott has been recommending it for years – and rightfully so. I have one beside by house that pleases me beyond words.
• “Sioux” – upright, dark pink flowers, reddish fall color, good peeling bark.
  Any crepe myrtle with a Native American name (Hopi, Seminole, Zuni, etc.) is going to be a good, winter tough selection. They come in most sizes and colors.

Magnolia grandiflora – “Little Gem”
See Beth’s Favorite Evergreen Trees.

Malus – Crabapple
Most Crabapples are truly awful trees. The flowers are fleeting, the shape is wretched, and the following problems attack: fireblight, cedar apple rust, scab, canker, borers and Japanese beetles. Most crabapples look like they are dead by July. Unfortunately, they aren’t. They live to look ugly again.
There are hundreds of types of crabapples. Since you probably don’t want one that’s nasty, careful choice is vital. With careful choice your tree will have a lovely, distinctive shape, showy flowers, and heavy fruit set for winter beauty. The following are some excellent, cultivars:

• “Prairifire” – dark red flowers, purple/red fruit, 20’H x 20’W, dark green leaves, good bark.
• “Donald Wyman”- pink buds, white flowers, 20’H x 25’W, good foliage, lots of red fruit.
• “Red Jewel” – white flowers, bright red fruit 15’H x 12’W, good dark foliage.
• “Sugar Tyme” – pink buds, white, fragrant flowers, heavy red fruit set, dark green leaves, 20’H x 15’W
• “Sargent” – red buds, white fragrant flowers, bright red fruit, mounding, spreading growth 10’H x 15’ or 20’W.

Parrotia persica – Persian Witchhazel
I have one of these. I originally planted it in the driveway. No drainage, heavily compacted clay, and gravel. Then I moved it twice. This is no way to treat a tree. But it grew in the driveway and has thrived in its latest home. I’m about to decide a Persian Witchhazel can stand anything.
Parrotia has a medium growth rate, fairly upright shape when young, very nice bark which peels at it gets older, and absolutely great leaves. The leaves are wrinkled, a lustrous green is summer, gold, orange and red in fall. They gradually become golden tan and hang on – sometime most of the winter. It will probably get 20-30’ tall here. I’ve seen one 50’ tall in Paris, but it’s older than Nashville.

Prunus serrulata “Kwanzan” – Kwanzan Cherry
In spring the double pink flowers, which look like Kleenex flowers, are lovely. In youth the tree is oval-rounded, spreading as it matures. An old Kwanzan in full spring glory is sight to behold.

Prunus subhirtella var. pendula – Weeping Higan Cherry
Usually grafted onto a 6’ trunk, this weeping cherry is wide spreading and flowing. It grows fast, and can become 15-25’ wide. The flowers are single pale pink. In bloom it is spectacular, like a soft pink cloud.

Prunus X yedoensis – Yoshino Cherry
Pink buds opening to puffy clouds of single white flowers in spring. This is my favorite flowering cherry. It is tough, fast growing, longer lived than most cherries, and truly, achingly beautiful. It will get 20-30’ high or taller, and in youth has a nice, fat, rounded shape. Fall color can be gold and orange, soft, as the entire effect of the tree is soft.
This tree is a great single specimen and is even better in a flowing mass. Plant seven in a slow curve down a hillside or nine across the back of your lot to screen out your neighbors. You’ll be glad you did.