10 fantastic trees, part 1

Between November and March, the gardeners are busy planting the gardens. During the autumn period, the plants are dormant and this is the ideal time to transplant trees, hedges and shrubs.

Trees give structure to your garden. They are eye-catchers that immediately attract attention, but you should also take them into account in the rest of your planting choices (just think of the shade a tree provides). In this article, we highlight 10 special or popular trees. These are best suited to small or medium-sized gardens.

1. Parrotia persica or Persian ironwood

• Height: 4 to 8m
  
• Position: Sun or semi shade
  

You can immediately recognise the Parrotia persica by its trunk. This is very decorative with its light grey bark and purple-brown spots. This tree grows about 6 to 10 m high and prefers the sun or semi-shade. On taller trunks, this tree grows slightly spherical, but it is mainly as a multi-stemmed tree that its ornamental value comes into its own.

The beautiful dark green leaves turn from yellow to reddish purple in the autumn before falling off. In early spring, the older trees come into blossom, and small red flowers appear.

2. Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbraculifera' of Bolacacia/Kogelacacia

• Height: 5 to 6m
  
• Position: Sun or semi-shade. Make sure this tree is sheltered!
  

Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbraculifera' is a small, spherical and grafted tree. The spherical crown grows densely and quickly, and its fine leaves have a high ornamental value. This makes this tree very popular, especially in small gardens.

This tree grows 4 to 5 metres high and likes a sunny spot in the garden. It does not like wet feet, so pay attention to this when choosing a location! Just before winter or in early March, you should prune this tree. All branches should be pruned back to just the trunk. In the spring, its spherical shape will grow back very quickly.

3. Catalpa bignonioides 'Nana' or Trumpet tree

• Height: 4 to 5m
  
• Position: Sunny spot
  

Again, a small and bulbous tree, but completely different from the Robinia. Catalpa bignonioides 'Nana' has large and fresh green leaves. It is one of the, if not the, most popular small city trees.

You can partly determine the height of this tree yourself. You can choose to let it hang out, and leave the pruning shears for what they are. This tree can grow up to 10 metres high. Most people prune this species annually or biennially, however, so that it remains fairly compact and retains its beautiful spherical shape.

Some variants:
- Ordinary Catalpa Bignoiodes: this one grows faster + on the older trees small white flower clusters grow.
- Yellow Catalpa bignonioides 'Aurea': just like 'Nana', this one grows slower than the ordinary Catalpa. It also has striking golden yellow leaves.

4. Amelanchier laevis 'Ballerina' of Rotsmispel/Krentenboompje

• Height: 1.5 to 2.5m
  
• Position: Sun or semi shade
  

A very small and slow-growing tree or shrub, but with enormous ornamental value. When it flowers, Amelancier laevis is full of beautiful white bunches of flowers. In the summer, the edible blue-purple berries (currants) follow. Not surprisingly, these trees are very popular with birds and bees. In the autumn, the leaves turn a warm dark red before falling off.

This tree grows to about 4 metres high and prefers not to be pruned. Because it is a slow grower, it requires little maintenance. It is advisable, however, to buy this tree or shrub in sufficient size.

5. Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra' or Red cherry plum