Trees for a new woodland garden...

[WimB]

Thanks guys, Hamamelis, Corylopsis and Cercidiphyllum were already on my list.

Smack in the middle of the meadow there's already one young Quercus robur....that's a native and I was thinking of adding some Sambucus for sure, I'll have a look at some other natives too!

A wood pasture sounds wonderful but since I'm quite allergic to grass pollen I really want to get rid of the grass in the following years.

[Tristan_He]

Wim, forgot to add Cornus - C. florida, nuttallii and mas.

Veel geluk met de bostuin!

Tristan

[johnw]

Stryrax japonica  and for sunnier edges Nothofagus antarctica.

Davidia is not too hard to find here BUT var. vilmoriniana which is the only truly Z6 hardy form is very hard to find, it may well be around but no one distinguishes it from the tender v. incrolucrata.   The latter var. involucrata routinely freezes to the ground at Arnold.

johnw

[Gabriela]

Stryrax japonica  and for sunnier edges Nothofagus antarctica.

Davidia is not too hard to find here BUT var. vilmoriniana which is the only truly Z6 hardy form is very hard to find, it may well be around but no one distinguishes it from the tender v. incrolucrata.   The latter var. involucrata routinely freezes to the ground at Arnold.
johnw

All of the above are great and I would be interested in a good source for Davidia (whichever variety) John if you don't mind.

And a note to defend the serviceberry (jokingly) - I think it depends on the circumstances, i.e. where one lives. Inside the city you will never see the mess Rick describes and anyway it's not the kind of tree to provide the shade Deinanthe likes, in my opinion.
Or it may be that when I like something I accept the 'whole package' 

[ian mcdonald]

Some smaller trees/shrubs worth growing are Viburnum opulus, Euonymus europaeus, Acer campestris, Sorbus torminalis, S. aucuparia, Prunus avium, P. padus, Malus sylvestris, Rhamnus frangula, Ilex aquifolium, Cornus sanguinea, Viburnum lantana, Buxus sempervirens, Carpinus betulus, Taxus baccata, Pinus sylvestris, Juniperus communis, Tilia cordata,Pyrus communis. These should give quite a selection of size and shape and also provide you with crab apple jelly, which is delicious. Some are also attractive to wildlife.

[Jacek]

Cherries, especially East-Asian origin as they have nicer autumn colours

Apple-trees: both blossom and showy fruits

Woody Cornus.    C. florida cultivars should grow well in your warmer climate, but even here they do reasonably well. C. kousa is excellent. I have kousa Satomi - grows well in dry shade, flowers are nicely pink and long-lasting. Autumn colour very good. And last but not least, if you would like to combine beauty and some fruits for yourself - C. mas with plenty of cultivars. I have only old cv Macrocarpa - the fruits are big and quite palatable. They are also ornamental, but not long-lasting. Ukrainian cultivars selected for fruit quality may be much better in taste. Here you can try to buy them: http://cornusmas.eu/ (almost my neighbours). Only the autumn colour of C. mas is not perfect.

Another world is Viburnum - smaller and bigger, flowering almost year-round, good autumn colour sometimes. Fragrance. Easy to buy.

Whether they are shallow-rooting - I do not know. My garden is located among old birches, so it is shallow-rooted throughout and I am not able to judge additional effect of smaller trees.

[johnw]

All of the above are great and I would be interested in a good source for Davidia (whichever variety) John if you don't mind.

Might I ask why on earth you would want the tender variety that routinely freezes to the ground in milder Boston?

john

[Gabriela]

Might I ask why on earth you would want the tender variety that routinely freezes to the ground in milder Boston?
john

You may and surely I would prefer that one that doesn't freeze. I know it doesn’t sound too wise but I grow or/and buy some species just because of the name – say hookeri, sieboldii, wilsonii, fargesii… and so on,  as reminders of the botanical explorers/collectors associated with them.
E.H. Wilson is by far my favourite and there is a good story regarding his outing in search of Davidia. And there is of course Père David who first collected it….

Speaking of Wilson, another excellent small tree is – Heptacodium miconioides. What other tree will flower in September?!

[Hoy]

All of the above are great and I would be interested in a good source for Davidia (whichever variety) John if you don't mind.
. . . .

I picked 3 seeds in the streets of London once when visiting. They all germinated. I have kept one. It is still a small plant but gains about 25cm a year;)

[ashley]

and more hectares Wim

[Garden Prince]

Some thoughts:

-- Sorbus species are generally not as healthy in the Low Countries as they are in the UK.
-- Acer griseum is a beautiful small tree but is prone to verticilium wilt (especially as a young plant). Acer triflorum is not as showy as A. griseum but might be a better choice when it comes to a healthy tree.
-- Davidia involucrata can grow quite big, maybe in the long run too big for a somewhat small garden. Furthermore, some people find that the spring leafs of Davidia smell like cat pee. (For me they smell like stinging nettles).
-- Japanese cherries have in the last few years been attacked in the Low Countries by the Monilinia fungus which leads to wilting and branch die back.
-- So many Cornus florida shrubs/trees I see are covered in powdery mildew in the summer. A much better choice is Cornus kousa which performs well in most years in the Low Countries.
-- Malus/Crabapples have a lot to offer but be sure to pick one that is sufficienly resistant to scab and mildew.


My choice would be one or two of the following:

- Styrax japonicus
- Stewartia pseudocamellia or rostrata
- Cornus kousa chinensis or a reliable cultivar of Cornus kousa
- Acer triflorum
- Halesia diptera magniflora (a short flowering period but magical when in full bloom)
- Malus 'Red Sentinel'

Garden Prince (who lives in The Netherlands)

[Tristan_He]

A much better choice is Cornus kousa which performs well in most years in the Low Countries.
- Cornus kousa chinensis or a reliable cultivar of Cornus kousa

Mmm.. just make sure you see it in flower. I bought a 'C. kousa chinensis', had to wait 5 years for a flower, and it now produces a reasonable number of small greenish flowers that are easily missed. Waste of space. I'm sure there are better forms but you need to be careful.

[Garden Prince]

True!

Cornus kousa 'National'  and C. kousa 'Schmetterling' (German for 'butterfly') are reliable performers.

[François Lambert]

Another tree that might be of interest is Alnus.  Fast growth, light shade, suited for coppicing, fallen leaves decompose very quickly in autumn, nice early flowering, natural nitrate fertiliser, won't seed themselves around unless the soil is boggy (at least for the 2 indigenous varieties).

[WimB]

and more hectares Wim

LOL