I have several western redbuds. I have tried to train a couple into a tree; however, they like to be multi-trunked and they continue to send up shoots - not making any progress in height. I have given up and let them be what they want - a bush. They are beautiful in flower tho! I am having the same delimma as you so I will watch your thread for some answers!

What about a dwarf citrus tree? Like a lemon? You could even reach up and pick one to drizzle over your salmon while it's cooking! You would have flowers drop in the spring, but no fruit drop if you pick them regularly, and it's evergreen, so leaves only drop occsionally. They would be a plant that loves the full sun.

Carla in Sac

I have seen photos of redbuds as trees. Didn't know they are bushes. As for citrus, I had a mature grapefruit tree near a deck a few years ago and it was a really messy situation. I wonder if certain lemons (like meyers) are less so.

There aren't a lot of truly "dwarf trees". You say you don't want a "bush or shrub" but your limit of 15 feet pretty much rules out true trees (which many botanists say start at 20 feet) and leaves you with the opportunity to take a tall-growing shrub and train it to look like a tree.

Shrubs trained as such -- single trunk with a crown -- are called "standards". Usually marketed as "patio trees".

Here's a few ideas:

Acca (Feijoa) sellowiana PINEAPPLE GUAVA
Banksia ashbyi ASHBY'S BANKSIA
Banksia coccinea SCARLET BANKSIA
Ceanothus arboreus 'Blue Mist', 'Cliff Schmidt',
'Thundercloud', 'Trewithen Blue' TREE CEANOTHUS
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Snow Flurry' SNOW FLURRY CEANOTHUS
Cercocarpus betuloides MOUNTAIN IRONWOOD
Comarostaphylis diversifolia SUMMER HOLLY
Cotinus coggygria SMOKETREE
Escallonia laevis PINK ESCALLONIA
Escallonia x exoniensis 'Balfouri', 'Frades' HYBRID ESCALLONIA
Grevillea 'Honeygem', 'Ivanhoe', 'Long John',
'Poorinda Blondie', 'Red Hooks' HYBRID GREVILLEA
Leptospermum lanigerum WOOLY TEA TREE
Leptospermum polygalifolium 'Yarra River' RED SPIRE TEA TREE
Melaleuca decussata LILAC MELALEUCA
Melaleuca elliptica GRANITE BOTTLEBRUSH
Osmanthus fragrans SWEET OLIVE
Pittosporum crassifolium KARO
Pittosporum eugenioides TARATA
Pittosporum tenuifolium KOHUHU, TAWHIWI
Psidium cattleianum STRAWBERRY GUAVA
Rhaphiolepis 'Majestic Beauty' M. B. INDIAN HAWTHORNE

All of these need some work (pruning) to make them look like a tree (single trunk, crown). Some more than others (as already pointed out with Cercis occidentalis).

You didn't say why you need it to top out at 15 feet. Are there utility wires or a view from the house or?

Joe

Thanks for the suggestions. No. There are no wires dictating the height but the area is adjacent to a U shaped BBQ area which is adjacent to a 12 by 12 trellis. (there is not much distance separating the BBQ from the trellis maybe 6 -7 feet from where the tree trunk will be.) So if it is going to end up being a tall tree, in a number of years it may create a problem with the trellis in its way. What about a fruitless olive?