I am looking for short trees that flower to plant along my fence line. What do you recommend?
Question:I live in the Central Valley of California, so I would need something appropriate for this climate zone. Short trees or shrubs that would grow higher than six feet is about what I am looking for. I am new to planting so any suggestions are helpful. Thank you!
Answers:
A very hardy tree would be India Hawthorn (Rhapheolepsis Indica) They come in many varieties but "Pink Lady" is the most common. You will get a profusion of pink flowers in the spring. These are most commonly sold in bush form, but patio trees are pretty common. There are also some mildew resistant varieties of Crape Myrtle (Lagerstromia) that you can use. Don't use the Crape Myrtle if you will have to keep sweeping up the fallen flowers. You might also check out Dogwood trees (Cornus) if you can put up with the tree losing it's leaves in winter. Lastly, although I hate to suggest it due to this plant's overuse, is the Iceberg rose in tree form. You will have a profusion of white flowers throughout much of the year.
Roses.
Don't get ones that drop leaves,
Go to Arbor Day Foundation's website and use their Tree Wizard. Lots of great information.
http://www.arborday.org/shopping/trees/t...
Depending on your location, you might look at weigela or althea. Both flower beautifully and don't grow too tall. (they are really shrubs) I'm in the midwest and both do very well here.. I don't know California flora all that well.
I could recommend Rose-of-Sharron, even though it does grow a little wild. The flowers are beautiful, the tree is self-seeding as well as suckers. You could also do a Hydrangea, but those require more attention than roses! Lilacs are a very popular choice and come in a wide range of flower colours & growing heights. There's a shrub called Japanese Kerria and I think that this is your best bet and it comes with cute little pompom flowers, colour depends on the cultivar you pick. The branches are yellowish green in youth then changes to bright green with only one growing season, and stays bright even in winter. This stuff grows beautifully on a school campus here in Ontario and survives our harsh winters & humid summers so I believe that it'll thrive in your area. If you buy them as container plants, and plant them soil and all, they'll give you a head start (almost a year) over bare root.
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