5 Best-Behaved Trees to Grace a Patio

Becky Harris Great ideabook! Crepe Myrtles are one of my favorites, and I love that here in Atlanta they are used as street trees, even though they are not exactly ideal for that use.

kennedytarheel Thanks for making me feel great about planting 11 crepe myrtles in our yard last year! The bark, leaf color, and large clusters of flowers provide year round interest. Even in the winter when the tree is bare, the branches are architecturally interesting. To stimulate larger and more flower clusters, I prune our crepe myrtles severely just when they start budding out leaves in early spring (following the way they cut the old, huge crepe myrtles at the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, NC). I've also used Witch Hazel (Arnold's Promise) as a patio tree (pruning as needed to keep a certain shape). And, Becky, Manteo, NC planted crepe myrtles along both sides of the road from the town, past the Lost Colony/Elizabethan Gardens and out of town (for the visit of Princess Anne years ago)...and when they are in bloom, the road is the prettiest of any road!

Rough Linen I agonise about two large and messy privet in my sunless front entry - they are horrible trees, but I doubt anything else would grow at all and the bottom line is: they are green! they are there! How I would love a jacaranda though,

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Great information. I have a Sweet Bay on my back patio and it always looks great, no trouble at all. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Charmean Neithart

michee57 I love my crepe myrtles and I choose to not murder the myrtles and enjoy their beauty as the stunning tree they are. However, they are very messy. I have found its best to keep them away from patios and walkways, especially if you let them grow to tree height.

suzannewheat The arbutis family is amazing.

cr8ive Are there more patio trees for Zone 5? I have a very sunny patio with no trees around. I have a Japanese Maple in the front yard and probably might plant another one in the back yard and looking for more options.

richa830 Any suggestions for patio trees that can handle being planter-bound rather than in the ground? I am currently in downtown Boston with access to a rooftop, and would love trees that can handle direct sun and potential windy conditions.

Ginkgo Leaf Studio We love Acer palmatum as a patio tree. In our Wisconsin climate it does best in a protected environment so it's perfect for tucking into a corner off of a terrace.

sj4home I too love crepe myrtles, but I see no mention of the fact that Japanese beetles also love them. In our area anyway, it takes copious amounts of spraying to keep the Japanese beetles from defoliating them. So I now avoid using them in my landscape.

pippabean This article should have been named 5 Best-Behaved Trees to Grace a SOUTHERN Patio. There is no really useful information for people in zones 4 to 6.

Under patio tree I understand shade tree, not pretty small trees or bushes.

So even the only suggestion of Japanese Maple does not help a northern gardener, since Japanese Maples need themselves shade in order to thrive. Also most Japanese Maples in zone 4+ 5 will never reach a size large enough to give enough shade to any patio.

We are looking for a shade tree for our patio, and this is our wish list:

Needs to thrive in zone 5.
Withstands hot and humid summers.
Grows well in clay soil that's limey.
Withstands a windy site.
Provides light shade.
Mature height: 15' -30'.
Multiple trunks, that are interesting to look at at eye level.

Anyone have any suggestions for us?

susan7mclaughlin Cornus kousa and Acer griseum are both hardy small trees with excellent bark. Also look at a Maackia which has lovely ferny foliage and blooms in August. Prunus maackia is another one with interesting bark - hardy to zone 2. Here in coastal Maine, cultivars of our native Amelanchier have become popular. Some of the larger viburnums can be pruned up to look like interesting, multi- stemmed trees, too.

inda49 I have a cottage in Nova Scotia on the ocean - we get salt spray - I need a fast growing tree that can stand the salt spray and the cold winters. What would you suggest?

leftyplg pippabean, we live in rural zone 5 and I got a redbud tree many years ago for Mother's day. It blooms early spring with its purpleish/pink blossoms then it all turns green when the short blooming time is over. We planted it at the corner of our patio and have enjoyed its shade as it has matured. It is the only shade tree for our patio and it grew into a nice rounded shape. Unfortunately, we lost part of it in a storm, but it still provides ample shade.

rhiannon960 Not one of these trees are, in my opinion, small when mature. I'm looking to replace a big round arborvitae (6 ft?) at the front of my property, which abuts to a street path and a busy road, but the replacement tree has to be no more than 12-15 feet at maturity because of overhead power lines. I'm leaning towards crab apple but would like any other ideas that would work in NE Portland, OR.

pippabean Thank you, susan7mclaughlin and leftypig for your suggestions.
I'll look up the trees you're recommending.
As to the Redbud, I love their beautiful looks and their lovely shape, unfortunately most Redbuds in my area seem to be dying suddenly for no apparent reason at about 10 feet height, so I've never seen one that actually achieved mature size. This might be due to the clay soil here. And we of course need a tree large enough, that we can walk underneath.

susan7mclaughlin Rhiannon, think about limbing up a large shrub. You'll have way more selection that way. Not many trees top out at 15 feet, especially in your enviable climate!

crivera0202 I love the crepe myrtle planted at the base of my front stairs but it is messy when it drops petals all over the steps that get tracked into the house.

kennedytarheel There are a variety of crepe myrtles that are only 10' tall full grown (for example: purple magic).

memo3 The title should have read - 5 Best trees for patios in Sunny California. Sorry Mr. Marken but you really missed with this one. Have you got anything for Zone 3a-4b? 110+ F. summers and -32 F. winters that can handle 30-40 mph sustained winds (and up) frequently and a two month long thaw / freeze cycle in the spring? And please don't say Sand Cherry or similar. They are prone to bag worm infestations big time in this part of the country.

Britastina I live 90 miles north west of Houston in a town that calls it self the Crepe Myrtle capital of the world. In fact, a crepe was developed and named after Barbara Bush. Give up? College Station, Texas. I have 2 crepe myrtles in my back yard that for the last 7 years look like a cumulus cloud hovering above my yard. I planted 6 more in my front yard that form a bower leading to my front door. My husband complains about them periodically because we are going through the trees growing pains. I ignore him because he has never gone through the female problem of waiting through growing out a particularly bad short hair cut. They look lovely, require almost no fussing, look great always, are graceful at all times, and be can be a shrub or a stately tree. They are fast growing (which is fantastic). Now I'm going to try several Japanese Maples throughout the back yard because of the colorful foliage but crepes are the love of my life.

maureenjohnston Love the Redbud tree also - the heart-shaped leaves are so sweet in the summer, and the tree is covered with purple/pink blooms in the spring. The open branching gives beautiful dappled shade, and it's size and shape are easy to manage.

fredericklc Reading about crepe myrtle reminded me of lilacs, which are my most favorite of all growing things. There is a house a mile or so away from mine that has always had two lilac bushes in the front yard. The bushes had grown huge, incredibly beautiful in the spring. I drove by the house yesterday and the bushes have been razed to the ground! The plants were old, at least 50 years, and it hurts my heart to see them gone. I would have tried to save them if the owners were just tired of them. I probably couldn't have transplanted them as they were so large but I would have tried. Thanks for listening to me cry over chopped down lilacs!

mewr Any suggestions for zone 13?!

pamzella Something is wrong in the description- podocarpus can get 80 foot tall! While I agree it can be a nice patio tree because you can shape it to fit the space, it can be an aggressive grower in the right climate, so if you aren't prepared or experienced enough to do annual pruning, it can become very expensive to keep in the shape you are going for.

noma These are Acomas that are close to reaching their expected height. The blooms are white and huge!
It's hard to get the camera perspective because it's so close to the door, but you get the idea. We just put the pond in last fall, and I just realized I don't have a picture of the
Acomas in full bloom.

noma Here are pictures of some of the Koi that reside in the pond :]

kysseka How about some zone 3 & 4 trees?

50terry50 Looking to create a Mediterranean style garden in a zone 4-5 windy setting. Any ideas for well-behaved trees or shrubs for me?

susan7mclaughlin For Mediterranean style, how about a skinny, upright juniper? One with character and berries.

marshall_street May I also suggest a lemon tree? Beautiful fruit, blooms in (northern-hemisphere's) winter with fragrent flowers, evergreen. Only downside is that colder areas will need to lug the thing to a sunny spot indoors.

Peggy Hart Designs I would strongly recommend AGAINST planting a crepe myrtle anywhere near a patio! These make such a mess, with their falling flowers and seedpods, they stain whatever surface they fall on, because of their long blooming season, which is beautiful, they are constantly dropping things. I'm sorry, I planted them all around a large patio, the trunks are beautiful, but I HATE them, and wish so much I hadn't planted them. I'm getting up the nerve to cut them down, even though they are big and mature!

diannagail With a patio in northern Minnesota, feeling left out here! Suggestions? Deer are an issue too :)

Ginkgo Leaf Studio Nice ideabook, wish we could use some of these trees in Wisconsin! Although we can use Japanese maple, they typically have to be in a protected location. A great alternative is Korean maple.

carlajene Please, some recommended trees that like zone 4 or less -- we like to spend time in the yard or on a patio, too!

wendy ebright We just took out two enormous ficus trees that were lifting up the driveway, patio, etc. Now we are looking out at...the phone pole and wires! UGH! Any great ideas for large, fast growing zone 10 trees for our backyard? Am considering podocarpis gracilior or Chinese Elm--but am worried about messiness I have been reading about? Thanks!

sclawson Last I knew, "crepe" was paper and the tree was "crape."