Fall and winter are the best times to plant new trees and shrubs in Georgia. One of the most important considerations is finding trees that are suitable for a site based on available space. Decisions to purchase trees on impulse often end with trees that grow too large next to a home or road access as the trees mature. There are several small to medium size trees that are suitable for many landscape situations and urban areas where space is often a limiting factor.
The first decision is determining what tree characteristics are most important to you. Do you want native trees, flowering trees, evergreen trees for screening purposes, or do you prefer a tree that has great fall color? There are native tree options in each of these categories that you might want to consider. Instead of planting just one type of tree in your landscape, consider diversifying your landscape with different species to avoid long term problems with diseases or insects.
For native flowering trees, we have the American Fringetree, also commonly known as Grancy Grey Beard, which makes a very beautiful multi-stemmed tree reaching about 20 feet tall. They produce white, frilly flowers that are slightly fragrant from May to June. It is very tolerant of urban conditions and air pollution. There is also a Chinese Fringetree with similar characteristics that grows well in Georgia’s heat.
Another interesting native flowering tree is the American Smoketree, which has pinkish plumes of spent flower clusters that give the tree a smoke-like appearance from June to August. This small tree also reaches about 20 feet tall and is well adapted to urban plantings with dry soils. This tree has excellent fall color on foliage turning yellow, orange, and red to purple. There are also cultivars such as ‘Royal Purple’ that have year-round purple foliage.
A non-native flowering tree that is well adapted to Georgia includes the Star Magnola. Native to Japan, the Star Magnolias are a type of deciduous magnolia tree that sheds all its leaves in the fall. They begin to flower in early spring before the new leaves emerge. Star Magnolias are small trees and reach a mature size of about 20 feet tall. They produce clusters of fragrant flowers that are about 4” inches wide with 12 to 18 strap-like petals.
Unfortunately, our native flowering dogwoods are predisposed to several insect and disease issues. However, the Kousa Dogwood is an Asian species that is an excellent alternative to our native dogwood. The Kousa Dogwood averages about 20 feet tall, the foliage has deep red fall color, and flowers from May to June, a few weeks later than our native species. It can tolerate more sun than our native dogwoods and is more adaptable to urban environments. Interestingly, the Kousa dogwood produces an edible raspberry-shaped fruit that turns red in September and October.
There are a few hybrid dogwoods on the market now that have characteristics of both the Kousa and our native dogwood with resistance to many of the insect and disease problems that plague our native species. Rutger’s University patented these hybrids known as the Stellar® series.
For more information, check out our UGA Extension Circular 999, “Great Plants Under 20 Feet for Small Spaces” on our website. In my next article, I will feature some of our small native evergreen and deciduous trees that are underutilized in Georgia landscapes.
