Tip of the Week! 6 Hardy Trees for Small Spaces

With Saturday, September 10 being National Planting Day, this weekend could be a good time to shop for hardy trees that can spiff up your landscape. Plant Select® has 3 small deciduous trees suitable for tough sites plus 3 conifers that are great at altitude and also squeeze into tight spaces.

Because these plants are available through Plant Select® they a have been vetted as survivors in Colorado’s tough growing conditions. They’re up to the challenge – and might be something to consider for your landscape.

Ornamental (deciduous) trees

Hot Wings® maple (Acer tataricum ‘GarAnn’)
Size: 5-18′ tall x 15-18′ wide
Culture: full to part sun and moderate to dry conditions in most soils.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4-10
Good for pollinators
This tree has bright crimson-red seed pods from mid-June through much of summer, giving the appearance of being “in bloom” nearly all season long. It’s well adapted to our alkaline soils and fluctuating temperatures.

Russian hawthorn (Crataegus ambigua) Size: 16-20′ tall x 12-16′ wide
Culture: full to part sun and dry to xeric (no additional irrigation needed once established, usually 2-3 years) conditions in most soils.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 -9
Good for pollinators
Deer resistant
This somewhat informal small tree offers gorgeous bark, ferny foliage, white flowers in spring followed by dark red fruit, and golden fall color.

Seven-son-flower (Heptacodium miconioides)
Size: 18-25′ tall x 10-15′ wide
Culture: full to part sun in moderate to dry conditions in most soils
Hardiness: USDA Zones 5-9
Good for pollinators
It’s a “late bloomer” that begins flowering at the very end of summer, offering rich nectar to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. As the flowers fade, the bracts surrounding them deepen to a rosy-pink color offering interest into fall.

Conifers

Woodward columnar juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Woodward’)
Size: 20′ tall by 4′ wideCulture: Full sun is best in moderate to xeric conditions in most soils
Hardiness: USDA Zones 3-9
Deer resistant
A super-narrow selection of our western Rocky Mountain juniper, Woodward offers lots of height with a small footprint. One of the best columnar junipers as it easily sheds snow loads without losing form.

Weeping white spruce (Picea glauca ‘Pendula’)
Size: 20-24′ tall x 4-6′ wide
Culture: Full to part sun in moderate to dry conditions in well-draining soils
Hardiness: USDA Zones 3-8
This graceful form of white spruce grows rather quickly once established, and offers layered, narrow evergreen focal point. Snow loads are easily shed as the branches hang downward, unlike most other upright evergreens.

Dwarf pinyon pine (Pinus edulis selections, Pinus monophylla ‘Blue Jazz’)
Size: 24-30″ tall x 24-30″ wide
Culture: Full sun in dry to xeric conditions in well-draining soils
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4-7
Deer resistant
And for REALLY small spaces, these tough miniature pinyon pines can fit just about anywhere, growing only 1-2 inches per year!
There are several selections of native dwarf pinyon pines available from specialty and rock garden growers, including Farmy, Trinidad and Blue Jazz. They’re best used in rock gardens, permanent containers or small space gardens.

Courtesy of ALCC Sustainable Landscape Partners