Mini trees.

[Giles]

Anyone with suggestions for miniature cultivars of otherwise 'normal' sized deciduous trees?
Things along the lines of Ulmus parvifolia 'Hokkaido' and the small Salix cultivars?
Are there any more?
Thankyou.

[Paddy Tobin]

Salix hylematia
Sorbus reducta
Sorbus koehneana

[Lori S.]

Ulmus parvifolia 'Davidii':
http://www.wrightmanalpines.com/plant/ulmus-parvifolia-davidii

I have no idea how hardy this one is... I've bought a couple of specimens through the years but managed to kill them even before winter came. 

[Lori S.]

Betula apoiensis is a nice small tree.  This one, shown first after leafing out at the end of May and then in fall colour at the end of October, has been here for over 10 years and is about 50 cm tall.

 

[Maggi Young]

Betula apoiensis is a nice small tree.  This one, shown first after leafing out at the end of May and then in fall colour at the end of October, has been here for over 10 years and is about 50 cm tall.

Not one I know, Lori - but I'll look out for that now,  thanks to you.

[illingworth]

A favourite here as well Lori.  Ours came from Heronswood in the 90s, and is now at least 1.5m tall.  Where did you get yours? We like its shrubby habit, glossy leaves and fall colour.  A bonus is the showy bark on the trunks and branches.  I need to take a photo of them now that the leaves are gone.  It is an endemic native of  Mount Apoi, Hokkaido, Japan. B. apoiensis is said to be a tetraploid,  that  originated from hybridization between B. ermanii and B. ovalifolia. Our efforts to get rooted cuttings have failed repeatedly, and to our knowledge our specimen has never produced viable seed.  Birch seedlings are very abundant in our garden to the point where they are weeds, and while I check near this tree for seedlings with really glossy leaves I have yet to find any volunteers that I feel are offspring. -Rob

[Carlo]

Fabulous looking Betula, Rob--and obviously bone hardy.

[Lori S.]

Where did you get yours?

Hi, Rob.  It was from the alpine section of a local greenhouse that no longer exists.  I suspect it may have been from either Beaver Creek or Wrightman's.  You're looks great! 
I have never noticed seedlings either.

[Lori S.]

Another suggestion... Salix x boydii:

[Giles]

Thankyou.
The birches are new to me. 

[Darren]

The birches are new to me too - and I rather like them

There is always Betula nana of course - it can sprawl rather untidily but our plant does well and is quite attractive.

We also have a small sorbus which was being sold for a while as 'S. fruticosa' but isn't. It is an upright multistemmed shrub about 70cm high after 7 years and has nice (but very brief) red autumn leaves and lots of white berries that last for ages. I found the real name by cheekily browsing through the Sorbus monograph in a bookshop but it completely escapes me now. There are lots of berries on it at the moment if you'd like to try it.

Rhamnus pumila - if you can get it (I'd love to) or Holubec lists seed of the similar Russian Rhamnus microcarpa which I now have one tiny congested plant of and it has lovely shiny leaves.

But my understanding is you want dwarf cultivars of normally large species.

[Robert G]

 Lori and Rob, that is a pretty little tree. Lori, I think a few years ago your recommended it to me on this forum. I tracked down some seed, but I think the plants in my nursery are either hybrids or just something completely different. Currently 7 ft. tall in pretty short order.

All the smalls trees idea are great and I have a few more. You may want to check out Larix decidua 'Little Bogle' and Ginkgo biloba 'Chase Manhatten.' Unfortunately I do not have pictures for you, but I have seen them in other gardens and want them for there stature. I know they are availible, but not common in my area.

You may want to consider Dirca palustris, a native here and it often takes on the habit of a mature oak except in a mini form. I also have seen Salix vestita working as a nice small tree in a trough, although some pruning and shaping was involved.

Good luck on your quest. I would like to know what you settle on.

Robert

[Olga Bondareva]

Larix decidua 'Little Bogle'

And many other dwarf larixes such as Vacikov, Wolterdingen, Blue Ball, Kreici.

Also I can suggest Rhamnus microcarpa, Rhododendron kamchatsense, Salix helvetica and some dwarf species (Salix tschuktschorum, S. herbacea, S, reticulata). They are the dwarfest. There are some prostrate species can be kept compact by pruning.

[Stephenb]

I had this  (http://www.cgf.net/plantdetails.aspx?id=1822) - Sambucus nigra "Hilliers Dwarf" for a number of years, but it didn't flower here possibly due to our climate. Anyone had success with it?

[Giles]

Thankyou for all of your suggestions.