Trees are a vital addition to any landscape, but it is important to consider a species’ mature height, spread and growth rate before planting trees in smaller gardens. Here we have selected our top tree choices for small gardens, each of these species have a compact habit and will provide your landscape with seasonal interest and visual appeal. For alternative suggestions, have a look at the Small Garden Trees category on our website! If you are looking to plant an evergreen/semi-evergreen tree, you could explore our Top 10 Screening Trees for their year round coverage and privacy!
Catalpa bungei is the Dwarf form of the Indian Bean Tree. Grafted onto a 2m stem, this tree will only reach a mature height of around 4-5m which means that it could be a candidate for smaller gardens. Catalpa is a beautiful, distinctive tree with heart-shaped green leaves that form a full, round crown when mature. In hot summers, this tree can also produce scented pink-purple flowers to provide additional interest!
The Flamingo willow is best known for its masses of fuzzy yellow catkins that emerge in early spring and its distinctive lance-shaped leaves. These leaves exhibit a striking variegation of pink, creamy white, and green, gracefully transitioning to a solid green as they mature.
Our half-standard Salix trees have a 1m stem and a crown that typically grows an additional 2 to 2.5 meters above the graft. Perfect for adding height and visual appeal to smaller gardens, you can clip and shape these trees to maintain a neat, compact form. Alternatively, they can be left to grow more freely, developing into a larger, spherical shape or an attractive small tree.
Photinia Red Robin is a fast-growing, evergreen plant with young foliage that emerges as red and mature to green, in spring an abundance of cream-white flowers also appear. Often used to create height and interest in small gardens, this plant has a half standard stem (90-100cm) and a globular head of foliage. Half standard trees can be kept neat and small by clipping and shaping, or they can be left to grow out to create a larger sphere or attractive small tree.
This small, deciduous tree has glossy green leaves, attractive pink/red, double flowers in spring and deep red fruits in autumn. Reaching a mature height of 4-8m, Crataegus ‘Paul’s Scarlet‘ is a good option for small gardens owing to its manageable size, striking appearance and seasonal interest!
Tibetan Cherry has a recognisable shiny, mahogany/brown, peeling bark. The bark develops a smooth, almost polished, appearance in older specimens. Reaching a mature height of 5-8m with a rounded form and loose, transparent crown, this deciduous tree is ideal for providing smaller gardens with winter interest.
Reaching a mature height of 5-6m and a mature spread of 3-3.5m, Prunus ‘Snow Goose’ is a popular choice for smaller gardens owing to it’s upright habit and manageable size. Plant this tree to add interest to gardens with its smooth, reddish-brown bark, striking white flowers and vibrant autumn hues! Also known as Prunus ‘Umineko’.
At King & Co we can supply a wide range of fruit trees including Apples, Cherries, Pears and Plums! All of which have been grafted onto rootstocks to produce a strong tree that will reach a manageable size. Most importantly, fruit trees do well in pots. Buy fruit trees to add interest to a patio are where planting into the ground is difficult.
Reaching a mature height of 10m, Sorbus aucuparia is an excellent candidate for smaller gardens or areas with limited space. Often recognised for its pinnate leaves, clusters of creamy-white flowers and fantastic display of red/orange berries, the native Rowan tree is also valued for its attraction to wildlife!
This small, deciduous tree has green leaves that emerge with a bronze tint in spring and turn to seasonal shades of orange and red in the autumn. In spring, the Juneberry tree also bears star-like, white flowers, these flowers are followed by dark purple berries in summer. Reaching a mature height of around 5m, the attractive appearance, multi-season interest and manageable size make this tree a popular choice for smaller gardens!
Planted for its seasonal interest, Amelanchier ‘Robin Hill’ has an upright form which makes it ideal for more compact gardens. Like Amelanchier lamarckii, this tree has green leaves that emerge with a bronze tint in spring. These turn to seasonal shades of orange and red in the autumn. ‘Robin Hill’ also bears white flowers that emerge from pink tinged buds in spring, these flowers are followed by dark purple berries in summer.
Container grown trees can be planted all year round. Watch our video guide on how to professionally plant and stake your tree!
As a guide, we recommend giving each tree 5 litres of water every other day during the growing season. The water should be directed at the base of the trunk.
5 Litres is a good starting point to make sure that the ground stays moist, if the soil starts to become saturated or dry adjust the amount as required.
We can offer our planting service if you are local to the nursery. Planting prices are dependent on the size of the pot. Please contact us if you would like a quote.
King and Co the Tree Nursery are RHS Chelsea Gold Medals winners and are Plant Healthy certified, here we detail how to plant a tree grown in a container. This guide is for tree planting using a double staking method. The Nursery has also produced a step-by-step video – watch it here.
Container grown trees can be planted all year round, unlike bare root and root-balled trees, which can only be planted during the planting season (November – March). Buy a container grown tree which has an already more established root system for a higher success rate.
Trees of this type are lighter and easier to manoeuvre, making it faster and easier to plant and get them to the planting site. King and Co can deliver container grown trees next-day nationwide due to their portable nature once packaged.
Also known as the planting pit, which should be around 25% wider than the rootball. It is important to only dig a few centimetres deeper than the rootball. If the tree is planted too deep, the tree suffocates and ultimately the tree fails. Keep your excavated soil to one side, ready for improvement later on.
Remove the tree from its container, or bag that it has been growing in. Place the tree carefully into the planting pit to check the depth. Just add or take away soil if required.
Tree staking is critical for planting success. Staking protects the roots whilst establishing, keeping the tree upright and stable. The stakes should be knocked in with a post driver or sledgehammer until they are held firmly in the ground. Use 30cm as a rough guide.
Measure your crossbar up against the two stakes and, whilst keeping it level, screw or nail it to each stake. Weave the buckle tie into the tree pad and screw this into the crossbar, move this left or right to ensure the tree is upright. Place the tree back inside the planting pit and secure using the buckle tie.
Help your newly planted tree by improving the soil quality. Mix your excavated soil with some multipurpose compost to help improve water retention and nutrient uptake. Incorporate some King and Co specialised Tree fertiliser to give your tree a real boost.
Backfill the planting pit with your newly improved soil, making sure to fill around the side of the rootball. Heel in the soil firmly to ensure good root and soil contact. Next, mulch around the base of the tree, which will help prevent weed growth and trap moisture.
Water in your new tree to help it settle. We recommend a couple of litres, every other day in the warm growing season. Watering the key to success, too much can be just as detrimental as not enough.
Prune any dead wood, and maintain a weed free area around the base of the tree. As the tree grows, you can loosen off the buckle tie to stop it damaging the stem.
If you need any more help or advice, get in contact with King and Co. Watch our video below for a demonstration of how to plant a tree grown in a container.
We’re proud to share that King and Co has successfully retained its Plant Healthy certification for another year. This achievement reflects our ongoing commitment to high standards in plant health and biosecurity. As a certified Plant Healthy nursery, retail, and trade outlet, we ensure that every tree and plant we supply is responsibly sourced, expertly grown, carefully handled and treated with the utmost care and respect to biosecurity.
The Plant Healthy scheme plays a vital role in protecting the horticultural industry, cultivated plants, and natural habitats. It does this by reducing the risk of introducing and spreading destructive plant pests throughout the supply chain. Supply tenders for tree and hedge planting projects increasingly require suppliers to hold this certification!
At King and Co, we stay in regular contact with DEFRA and APHA to remain fully aligned with current plant health regulations. For example, we closely monitor and respond to Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) movement restrictions, which currently impact areas like London and Essex. Because of this proactive approach, we can dynamically ensure our trees, plants, and garden centre materials are protected, which means our customers receive healthy trees and shrubs.
The scheme reviews every step of our process, from grower to garden. Our certification isn’t just a checkbox, it reflects a voluntary commitment to following the horticultural industry’s best practices!
View King and Co’s Plant Healthy Certificate of Conformity for 2023-24 here.
How to Plant Bare Root Hedging and Trees: A Beginners Guide
Take a look at our recent project where we used Pleached Photinia Red Robin to boost privacy in a new build garden. Photinia Red Robin is one of our favourite evergreen varieties, so this garden will have year-round coverage and privacy, even in winter.
Pleached trees are a great choice for enhancing privacy because their foliage has been grown for several years to cover a trellis frame, this creates an immediate screening effect! Just like our other screening trees, pleached trees typically feature a clear stem of 1.8m, with most frames measuring 1.2m x 1.2m. This lets you enjoy the privacy benefits of a hedge without sacrificing valuable garden space.
The above image showcases a recent planting project featuring Pleached Photinia trees with 1.8m clear stems and 1.2m x 1.2m frameworks. As you can see, these pleached trees were perfect for planting against our customers standard 6ft fence panel. This design not only created an elegant, stilted hedge that sits beautifully above their fence line, but also provides them with ample time for planning an under-planting scheme. Planting Photinia Red Robin was also a clever way to add seasonal interest, as its foliage emerges as a striking red in the spring before maturing to a deep, lush green!
The Tree Nursery in Rayne, Essex (less than an hour from London) is open to the public Monday-Friday from 9am to 4pm. With over 2000 products on site, our sales team can advise on the most appropriate trees or plants to use in your garden. We can also conduct this over email, and are able to dispatch trees and plants next-day nationwide!
We also stock pleached Cherry laurel and Hornbeam with 1.5 x 1.2m frames. If you’re seeking an alternative to Photinia, Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is another evergreen variety that offers year-round coverage. Alternatively, if you prefer more natural light during the winter, Hornbeam is a great deciduous option. While Hornbeam is deciduous, it retains its brown leaves well into the winter, allowing light to filter through while still providing some coverage!
Check out our related posts:
Photinia trees and hedging are a fantastic way to introduce vibrant colour, life, and increased privacy to any garden. At King & Co, we offer Photinia Red Robin in two versatile forms to suit your gardening needs. Our standard Photinia trees are an excellent choice for creating an effective and natural screen. Alternatively, our bushy Photinia are perfect for establishing stunning hedges. Explore the many possibilities Photinia can bring to your garden today!
Photinia Red Robin is a stunning evergreen shrub particularly admired for its brilliant red young leaves, which later transform into a glossy green. This vibrant transformation makes the Photinia a fantastic choice for adding year-round interest and structure to gardens and property borders. As an added bonus, it produces a profusion of white flowers in April and May, further enhancing its appeal.
Photinia Red Robin suits almost any garden style from formal layouts to more tropical-inspired settings. Although it can be used for privacy or as a hedge to define property lines, it can also be planted as a shrub to adorn the outside area. In fact, the Photinia Red Robin is an exceptional choice if you’re searching for a shrub that provides vibrant colour and visual interest across the changing seasons!
Check out our video guide for more advice!
At King & Co, we offer a beautiful selection of Photinia Red Robin trees in both standard and pleached form. These trees are an excellent choice for creating a natural screen above a 6ft fence panel, providing an attractive solution for obscuring unwanted views such as neighbours’ windows, satellite dishes, or extensions.
Both the standard and pleached options feature a clear stem of 1.8m. However, our pleached trees have their vibrant red foliage expertly trained onto a 1.2 x 1.2m frame, making them an excellent choice if you’re looking to achieve a more formal effect. On the other hand, our standard Photinia Red Robin trees are left to grow in their natural shape, these a better for those who prefer a less structured look!
We also have Photinia Red Robin available in hedging form, these bushy plants are perfect for defining garden spaces and boundaries. Planted in a row, they create a beautiful hedge that can reach about 4 meters in height when mature. For a dense and formal look, we recommend pruning them twice a year!
Just like pleached trees, espalier plants are trained onto a frame to develop a wider and flatter shape. At King & Co we stock ‘Pink Marble’ and ‘Carre Rouge’ Photinia varieties in espalier form !
Photinia ‘Pink Marble’ – Striking variegated foliage that emerges red with a green tint and pink margin. This foliage then matures to dark green with a creamy margin.
Photinia ‘Carre Rouge’ – Shares a strong resemblance with the popular ‘Red Robin’, distinguished by its slightly smaller foliage that exhibits a deeper shade of red.
We hope this article gave a little insight into the ways you can use Photinia trees and hedging to enhance your garden! Please contact us if you have any more questions, we’re always happy to help!
2. Best Trees for Privacy: Before and after planting!
3. 10 Trees for Small Gardens!
4. Tree Planting Kits: Give your newly planted tree the best start!
You can buy trees, hedging, shrubs and topiary online by browsing our website.
If you do not see a plant or size that is suitable for you then please call as we stock a wide variety of plants in our tree nursery. It’s worth noting that many other websites sell other people’s stock (i.e. they act as an agent) so you cannot view the products at their own site. At King & Co, all of our advertised plants are available for viewing at our tree nursery in Rayne, near Braintree, situated just over an hours drive out of London.
Our knowledgeable and experienced tree nursery staff are always contactable via phone on 01376 340469 or if you have any questions regarding any of our trees or accessories.
If you cannot see what you require on our website, please complete the enquiry form. We will give it our urgent attention and will get back to you shortly with a solution that meets your needs.
If you are looking for specific evergreen trees, Photinia, Leylandii hedging, Leylandii trees, instant hedging or shrubs, use the search bar at the top of the page
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