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Need small tree suggestions

thez_yo

instigator
I have a friend who is looking for a small tree (10' or thereabouts max) that will fit the following requirement:

-In his back yard in San Diego where its pretty tropical most of the year, but will have light frosts during the winter
-Barely gets any light because it'll be growing in the shade of his house
-Thought about a Japanese Maple but decided he doesn't actually want one

Any suggestions? I ran that giant Bird of Paradise giveaway past him but he said he's dead-set on a tree.

Thanks!
 
........Dwarf fig perhaps?
 
This is an unorthodox suggestion, but many Eucalypts could fill that role well. Most grow taller than ten feet, but the beautiful thing about them is that you can chop them to a stump and they'll be back to tree size again within a year or two. I suspect the low light would help to keep them from going bonkers as well. Eucalypts pretty much all add a nice smell to the yard, and you can use the excess twigs, wood and leaves around the house and in the garden. Plus their vivacity makes them good subjects for shaping, and I don't know if that's something your friend wants but I always get a kick out of it.
They might not work in low light, but my favorite Eucalypt would be Corymbia citriodora, the lemon-scented gum. It has long, fuzzy, bright green leaves that smell strongly of citronella. I like to mulch paths with the dropped leaves.
~Joe
 
My heart actually melts for Mimosa Trees (Albizia julibrissin rosea)... Lovely flowers, the leaves fold up at night like a mimosa pudica, has long, frondy, segmented leaves, hardy, and doesn't grow too tall from what I've seen... Not sure about how it does in low light though :/ ... Maybe I sound over-enthusiastic, but I actually love them! ^_^
 
Ok, thanks everyone - I'll run it past him and maybe he'll think some of these are the greatest idea since sliced cheese :p
 
small citrus
 
BONSAI! try it i love them they are cool plants.
 
Haha, 10' (feet), not 10" (inches).
 
  • #10
There are very cool bonsai specimens measuring a few feet tall. Temperate bonsai trees can tolerate a light frost as long as you cover their roots.
 
  • #11
BONSAI! try it i love them they are cool plants.

That's not a type of tree so much as a way of training them. As a general rule, bonsai are trees like conifers or broad-leaved trees, which don't like it shady.

I like Scheffleras, and at least my outdoor arboricola can stand a light frost. Actinophylla seems to like it >40 F, but it's more tree-like.
 
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