Small trees make a big impact
Updated 3:59 pm, Friday, October 5, 2012
Experts tell us diverse, native plantings create a healthier and more vibrant urban forest. If another bur oak or cypress is out of the question, consider a small native tree in your city garden.
Small native trees — typically 15 to 35 feet in height — can be used as centerpieces in small gardens or as understory accents in larger spaces. Use these ornamentals to accent a patio, to frame a view, to screen or beautify a fence line or to form the walls of a garden room.
Here are five options for your garden:
1. Anacahuita or Texas wild olive, Cordia boissieri: A year-round bloomer given adequate water, this short-trunked evergreen has a rounded crown and matures to 12 to 24 feet. The 2-inch yellow-throated, tubular white blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The yellowish-to-purple fruit also attracts wildlife. Humans likely won't find it that tasty and are advised to limit consumption. Plant in best sun or part sun and a well-draining soil.
2. Possum-haw, Ilex deciduous: A must in the bird garden, possum-haw has beautiful white spring flowers and red berries that are exceptionally striking on bare gray branches in winter. The form is loosely rounded with horizontal and ascending branches. Tolerant of most soils and seasonal poor drainage, this 8- to 20-foot Texas Superstar accepts shade, but fruits best with part-shade to sun and a male pollinator.
3. Rusty blackhaw viburnum, Viburnum rufidulum: This deciduous native is a beauty year-round: 3-inch white, butterfly-and-bee-attracting flower clusters in spring; ½-inch blue-black drupes loved by birds and small mammals; and glossy foliage that turns red in fall. A slow-grower, it varies from 10 to 30 feet, remaining a shrub for a long time before stretching into a single-trunk tree. It tolerates part shade to full sun and tolerates sand, loam or clay, provided it drains well. Once established, it's drought-tolerant.
4. Texas redbud, Cercis canadensis var. Texensis: The pealike blooms of this Southern staple hug the branches, creating an irregular, lilac-pink silhouette. Soon the round glossy foliage appears. It's drought tolerant once established and tolerates clay and alkaline soil. Can reach 30 to 40 feet tall.
5. Mexican plum, Prunus mexicana: This 15- to 25-foot native unleashes clouds of fragrant early spring white blooms that fade to pale pink. The following small purple plums are great for birds - and jelly. The trunk bark ages to a blue-gray. Give it sun to dappled shade. It's tough, tolerant of both drought and heavy clay soil.