Growing a tree?

Biblioklept

This is going to sound silly but I reallllllly want to grow a tree in my garden. Every time I'm out there I just think how much nicer it would be with trees and stuff but is it hard to grow a tree? I don't imagine it'll ever turn into a big giant tree but just something to give height and colour and character to the garden 

I saw you can order loads of types online but I don't know where to even start, and if I do it near the house or fence will the roots grow and damage them?? How close is too close? 

Albus_Scope

It's not silly at all! One of the reasons this house was picked was due to the big eucalyptus tree at the bottom of the garden.

You could pick up a lovely red acer (aka Japanese Maple) for about £30 I think?  Beautiful trees and they don't get huge which is a big bonus. 

When it comes to growth and positioning, I'd say look for where the sun hits your garden and place the tree somewhere so you'll still get plenty of sun (at a time of the day you'd want it) and give it about 50cm away from any fencing. Trees do grow slowly though, so you wont have a huge tree breaking down your foundations any time soon!

Rosie_Scope

Sounds like a nice idea @Biblioklept! If you're worried about the roots, you could maybe start off with a tree in a pot and see how you get on. That way (if you're able) you or someone could move it to a different spot should you need to. If you plant it in a big enough pot hopefully it'll still thrive for a good few years without having to repot it.

As Albus said, you can get some really nice Acers in some beautiful colours. Or if you like fruit, a fruit tree of some kind might be nice too. I've got a plum tree in my garden, but it only made one plum last year! Hopefully you'd have more success than me

66Mustang

I was going to suggest an Acers!! They are such lovely trees, my favourite tree, and they grow really well in the UK, I guess because our climate is similar to Japan's

I will have to ask this question to my brother and reply back because he works in the world of plants and arboriculture and stuff like that, but his specialism is tree surgery!!!

Biblioklept

I wasn't sure what an Acer was and looked them up and OH MY GOODNESSSSSSSS they are beautiful and so many colours!!!! 

How do you guys all know so much stuff? I don't think I'm stupid but general knowledge stuff I always feel like I wasn't given a manual everyone else was given  

poppy123456

Trees are lovely but when the roots start growing in places where you don't want them to they can be a nightmare. My next door neighbour has an evergreen tree in their garden and it's HUGE, I wouldn't like to guess how tall it is. The roots from this tree have come into my garden and are all under my lawn, coming out the sides and up through the lawn itself. I've dug a few square patches and some are so close to the top of the lawn and are quite thick.

Ada

I adore trees. Soldiers of the forest. I can’t have a tree in my paved backyard or my tiny front yard. So I grew a miniature one in a pot. Don’t ask what. If I forget to write it down I forget what everything is now. When it buds I put a pic on. 
I say start in pots. Then decide later. But I have Zero knowledge I wing it yet it works for me. 

chiarieds

I'd also suggest a photinia, tho only know about the 'Red Robin.' My son used to usually buy me hydrangeas, as that was the only thing he remembered me liking apart from lavender! One day, at a garden centre, we saw this little (just a few inches tall) 'Red Robin', which he also bought me. My ex trained it into a standard, & it became a lovely small tree, which has bright red leaves. 

Have you also considered using a trellis, & growing some climbers to add height? I have an evergreen honeysuckle (unfortunately not scented, but it usually being evergreen tempted me), & it's grown really high in about 18 months. A potato vine (I had a Solanum crispum 'Glasnevin' with sort of light violet flowers) & also evergreen, is even more vigorous, & just grown against a fence, but there are many attractive climbers to consider.

Then what about buddleias, the 'butterfly bush,' which Shadow loves (tho unfortunately because she eats butterflies)? My son honestly has a buddleia tree, tho we don't know how old it is! I remember you mentioning raised beds; of all the plants I hoped to save (was most worried about) when getting them out of their old raised beds, & into my new one, it was this, to be in the centre to give height. Thankfully it survived, tho it took my son & wife to move it into a very, very large pot, then into my new raised bed. It does need a pair of loppers, with my son attached, to cut it down in early Spring, but it's a fast growing bush. Just some ideas.

Albus_Scope

I can second growing a lovely buddleia, they need yearly trimming back or they get really leggy, but the butterflies and bees love them and they're so beautiful in full bloom.  They smell lovely too.  

Just avoid any tree with shallow root systems, anything around it for a few meters cant really be planted on properly!  

Biblioklept

I find making decisions so hard, I wish I could have you all here just picking it and planning out the garden for me and I could just take care of it to someone else’s plan! 🤣 I can’t ever visualise the final product which usually means I give up before I start!! I don’t have a visual mind at all 

OverlyAnxious

The best thing to do is see which trees are growing well in other gardens in your area, and importantly which ones you like the look of.  If you don't know what a tree is called, there are mobile apps that can identify trees by leaf shape now.

Personally I like deciduous trees as it helps define the seasons when the leaves change colour and fall, then bud up again in spring.  Even better if they flower and provide some sort of fruit!

Albus_Scope

As @OverlyAnxious has said, there's lots of apps out there to help find out what's what these days.  Unfortunately the one I used to use (Blossom) is now pay to use which is very annoying. 

bookrabbit

Why not put in a fruit tree so you can enjoy it in more ways? You get the blossom in the spring and the fruit in the autumn and the excitement of watching the fruit grow through the summer. There are varieties that can bear fruit in just a few years. Apples or plums would be good options. 

Biblioklept

OverlyAnxious said:

The best thing to do is see which trees are growing well in other gardens in your area, and importantly which ones you like the look of.  If you don't know what a tree is called, there are mobile apps that can identify trees by leaf shape now.

Personally I like deciduous trees as it helps define the seasons when the leaves change colour and fall, then bud up again in spring.  Even better if they flower and provide some sort of fruit!

I'm in a new build area and the whole estate is new build, from what I can see from my window next to no one has done anything to their gardens yet, they're all just rectangular grass patches or have kids' play equipment, no trees! I love the idea of a deciduous tree though  

poppy123456

My daughter lives in a new build too and no one has done anything there either.   All she has is a lawn and a very small patio (miniature ) outside the patio doors. I keep telling her that it would be better to extend it, especially for the children but she never listens.

The soil in new builds is often clay so I can see why no one has done anything. Clay soil is a nightmare to work with.