American Hornbeam (Ironwood) Amur Maple Crabapple Eastern Redbud Flowering Dogwood Goldenraintree Hedge Maple Japanese Magnolia (Kobus) Southern Hawthorn Allegheny Serviceberry
Any of these you would recommend to stay away from?
How about a dogwood instead of the japanese maple? I agree with TD there are too many of those and if you're only going to have one or two small trees you should try something else. You can go with a pagoda dogwood if you want flowering but the leaves aren't as interesting as some of the other options unless you get the variegated kind. I put in a Cornus alternifolia 'Golden Shadows' two years ago and it's one of my favorite plants because of the beautiful golden variegated leaves from spring-fall. When the sunlight back lights them they practically glow! It doesn't flower but it brightens my little shady corner for far longer than a flowering tree would.
American Hornbeam (Ironwood) Amur Maple Crabapple Eastern Redbud Flowering Dogwood Goldenraintree Hedge Maple Japanese Magnolia (Kobus) Southern Hawthorn Allegheny Serviceberry
Any of these you would recommend to stay away from?
Crabapples are too messy for a neat tidy yard like yours. We have one down in our lower yard (mowed less often) and we have plenty of critters to eat the fruit and it's still a mess. Redbuds are a really nice alternative. Better color flowers too. Serviceberries are nice native plants (native here at least) that help support a lot of wildlife. They have an interesting bark that helps add winter interest.
I'll chime in that also w/redbuds (we live in NC) - when the pods drop, it's quite a bit to clean up...and we've had little vines/starts of trees grow from the pods.
We bought a 40 year old house that has LOTS of overgrowth & we're slowly working to groom it back into shape...and have found the redbud pods & small trees all over one side of the house
FoxInFiji --- Thanks for the thoughts/recommendation. The golden shadows look nice! Do you think it can be kept at a lower height, less than 8ft?
lb2006 --- Thanks on the info on redbuds. If we only have 1 or 2, hope we'll be fine with the cleanup. The flowers look awesome. I guess we can also pay someone to do the cleanup.
American Hornbeam (Ironwood) Great tree. I can't say anything bad. They get kind of big, like up to 40' in good conditions. Amur Maple It's a maple. Crabapple In the industry, we call them CrapApples. Lots of disease and insect issues, so not great for small spaces. Eastern Redbud A seedless dwarf variety, such a 'Don Egolf' or 'Little Woody' would be nice. Flowering Dogwood Opposite branch attachment, like maple, makes it a pruning nightmare for novices. Very overused in some places. I'd support an underused, weird dogwood species, like Cornus mas. Goldenraintree Love these. I'd plant one, but some people complain that they drop litter. Hedge Maple It's a maple. But I should admit that I have one in front of my house and it's the finest tree on the block. Probably because I planted it bare-root and have been pruning it for 7 years. For a maple, it has ZERO fall color, but it has very dense branching so it can be sheared into an elevated hedge (thus the name). Ironwood can also be pruned this way. Japanese Magnolia (Kobus) I've never seen this tree for sale locally. I've only seen one in a botanical garden. It has a wide crown but is not especially tall, and has profuse blooms. I'd plant it. Southern Hawthorn Like crabapple, a bug and disease magnet. Allegheny Serviceberry Love. Have planted many. Amazingly trouble-free for a native.
Any of these you would recommend to stay away from?
I recommend native species, but the thing about native plants is the native insects that come along with them. Insects are important in the food web, but most homeowners do not tolerate them well. For that reason, I use a lot of non-natives when space is limited. People react badly when they SEE caterpillars close up. It does no good to point out that butterflies come from caterpillars. Even bees piss people off. In tiny courtyards and townhouses around here I have planted things like Heptacodium, Franklinia, Evodia, and Stewartia. I'm in zone 7 and I have tropical plants like Oleander, banana, and a few palms. Most people are surprised by what I grow here. Palms are beautiful in snow.