Thanks, weeper! Do you by any chance have any photo of your Tartarian Maple tree please? I would love to see it! But yes, you are right, it is probably too big for this spot....

The crazy thing is, the builder planted these Schuberts along the entire street at each house, and the lots are not that wide, so eventually, they will all be too big and overwhelming for all of the houses! Sigh...

I thought of Ivory Silk Lilac too, but then as you mentioned, they just are not that interesting apart from that brief duration when they have those gorgeous flowers.

I would love to have a Mountain Ash but I just worry that it will be way too big for this area. So I am kinda leaning towards Gladiator Crabapple....

Hard to say..I have Amur Maple and not really tip hardy, freezes back somewhat every winter, seen this happening even in the city.
Mountain ash are nice or crab apples, you can have a nice tree until fire blight hits them, seems it's happening ones in a while, just not a sure thing. Hopefully we don't get it, when you do, pruning out the effected branch can safe the tree.

As for another green leaves crab apple, I've got spring snow, sterile, it might be good if you don't want to deal with fruit droppings, flowers and smell is most wonderful. Or Russian Olive. A smaller version....I love Korean tree lilac.

Thanks, Konrad! I didn't realize that Amur Maple may have dieback like this.... maybe that will keep its size smaller! LOL! Do you find it interesting to look at during spring and summer at all?

As for fire blight, that was what killed my Showy Mountain Ash in my backyard last year! Sigh.... I got it planted in a rather moist area though and that was my fault. So poor tree probably was stressed out and then the fireblight got it. That's why I am nervous about another Mountain Ash, as much as I love them.

Now, I thought that these newer crabs like Gladiator and Starlite may be more resistant to fireblight.... if I want a green leafed one, I will go with a Starlite, otherwise I am thinking that the darker leaf ones like Gladiator may be more interesting throughout the season. Thought?

Interesting, Konrad, so far my amur maples haven't had any die back and they are in very exposed areas! Although mine are still small(I bought them as little twigs, now they are about 3-4 ft tall and equally as wide) so maybe that'll get worse as they get bigger. So far they have been quite slow growing for me.

Ostrich, give me a day or two and I'll get you a picture. They don't have the red seeds on them yet, but you can see the tree form(juvenile though it is) if you want. It is raining right now.

Yes,..Amur Maple is nice to look at, lovely shiny leaves, I love them despite the freeze back. There are some dark leaf Maples but I have no experience, Terry had some over the years and he might give you more ideas, ..I do grow some from seeds, still small and not sure what they will do.

Thanks, Konrad! Do you know if there is any significant difference between the regular Amur Maples and the Flame Amur Maple please?

Have no experience with flame.

Here is some pics of my Amur maple, it is quite vigorous but has poor crotch angles, included bark. One day there will be lots of broken branches.

Thank you, wayne! I appreciate it!

I love the multi-stem look of some amur maples... I think that it adds a lot of "architectural" interest to the yard. Very nice.

Now, is the 'crotch angle' the angle where the stem branches off?

I also like how horizontal your tree is going - nice. Do amur maples typically do that?

Thanks again!

Yes, the narrower the angle, the more prone it would be to break off under snow load or ice. I should have cut off all the bad ones. I have pruned this tree twice a year some times. It loves the heat off the building and if I would have left it, it would have all it's top going that way. I think if a tree is in the open, then they tend spread verses growing vertical.

I vote for the Gladiator crabapple. The flowers (and fragrance) in the spring is stunning.

Drawback is the clean up when the fruit fall. We had a mountain ash (not sure what kind), the berries routinely stained the light grey walkway, not a huge deal. I like trees more when they are far away from the house.

prairie-northrose, thank you! I am wondering if the fruits of the Gladiator crabapple actually do drop? Some of the crabs now don't drop their fruits, and I am wondering the Gladiator is one of them?

I used to have a Prairifire crabapple before I moved to Calgary and that was quite a lovely little tree, and the fruits stayed on the branches until they got eaten by the birds. So that was quite nice really....

ostrich, I have a half dozen one-year old Tatarian Maple 'Flame' seedlings that I grew from seed. You are welcome to one if you are interested. I live in NW Calgary.

bluegoat_gw, thank you! I very much appreciate your generous offer. I am still thinking about it but let me keep this in mind. Thank you again!

Ostrich, have you ever considered a narrow growing conifer for that spot? I think that a picea omorika pendula 'Bruns' would look fantastic in that location and wouldn't at all hide your very nice and stylish looking home. I'll try to post a photo of my specimen, I LOVE this tree!

Picea omorika pendula 'Bruns'

twrosz, thank you for the great suggestion! Actually, I talked to a tree guy last week and he suggested a conifer too. I did think about it, but given that I already have a weeping larch next to the tree now (it is in fact, in the picture above but it's easy to miss it!). If I have a conifer that is weeping too, I thought it might just be too much for that area.

I do agree with you though, that whatever tree I end up with should not be too big so that it will hide the house.

Given all of these factors, I am now leaning towards the Gladiator crabapple, or if I would like a green leafed one, either a Starlite or a Big RIver crabapple. What do you think?

Thanks again!

Picea omorika pendula 'Bruns' really does make for one very fine specimen, its needles are attractively highlighted in blue and soft to the touch and the tree having a beautiful draping and skirting habit, little wonder it's rated as one of the choicest of all conifers. Ostrich, that weeping larch is small and probably wouldn't be too much trouble to move when its dormant. Besides, you'd love this tree I'm suggesting, it's not at all generic and again would really accentuate your fine looking home :) ... okay, I've done my bit of over the top arm twisting for now, lol.

Oh my goodness twrosz, you are really tempting me here!!!

The thing is, I have a big limitation in that with the rock garden there, I can only accommodate potted trees without disrupting the existing landscaping too much. So I wonder if these beauties come in potted forms?

Also, twrosz, what is their mature size please? I found lots of conflicting information online, so I am wondering what your experience is please? I would like something big enough for this space, but not so big that it will be overwhelming...

Thanks!

How about a Pagoda Dogwood? I have the regular one but there's a variegated version that's even more spectacular.

Donna, I would love to have a Pagoda Dogwood!!! But I thought it was not hardy enough for our climate? Also I don't know where to get one from in Calgary as u have not seen that before - any idea, anyone?

Because picea omorika pendula 'Bruns' is weeping, it really does take up very little elbow room and requires staking to gain height, the tree does not mature to any great size. I've come across potted specimens at a few nurseries.

Pagoda dogwood is an excellent structural deciduous tree / shrub. I have several that I've raised from seed and one being superior with a denser fuller habit. I've grown the variegated 'Golden Shadows', it had thrived when placed in the SE corner of the house in deep rich soil, though had outgrown that location and later sulked and died in its new spot and another specimen just failed to thrive and also perished. I really wish to try yet again, though no longer see them stocked at any of the greenhouses :( ... but, the green selection is easily obtainable.

Since I dropped off my daughter at the airport I quickly swooped over to the Leduc Canadian Tire store again and leaf shopped,...found a interesting
Crimson sentry norway maple, [columnar] which I thought might fit the bill for you.

It says zone 3 but not sure if true.

Thanks, twrosz! I wonder if anyone knows from where I can get a Pagoda Dogwood in Calgary? I have gone to quite a few nurseries here but could never find one... Any advice please?

Oooh! Konrad, that is a lovely tree! But I thought that Norway Maples get huge, don't they? Let me check this one out... thx!!!

OK...it will grow narrow and tall, I think it's borderline for Calgary, I would trust this site better, [zone 4] http://plants.connon.ca/11100004/Plant/1619/Crimson_Sentry_Norway_Maple

A relative in south Edmonton has a 'Crimson Sentry' planted just down the street, it performed very well for several yeas and then was struck hard by winterkill, I haven't seen if the tree has made a recovery or not.

I admire Russian Olive. There are a few around here that are stunning, the silver leaf colour stands out nicely.

I like all the options you are considering. I also think a Walker's weeping caragana would look good and fit into the rock garden look, although much smaller than a typical tree.

I second the idea of Walker's weeping caragana. It is the first thing that came to mind when I saw your picture. I love your rock garden.
I'm enjoying all the ideas posted as I am also looking to replace a shrub and would like something more like a small tree. But I don't have many options.

Yes..and rock hardy in the rocks looks good,.. not sure if you cant get this one but I top grafted pigmy onto the tall caragana. Not sure yet how far this one will droop,..still young.

Ha ha ha.... it's funny that you guys now mention weeping caragana! I actually was wondering about it the other day. In fact, I saw a fern leaf caragana yesterday, and thought that it would look great in that spot!

The only thing that I wonder about weeping caragana is the lack of height. It is the same with the fern leaf one too. I think that I need something that will reach about 20 feet in that spot to give it the height that I don't have with the rest of my landscaping in the front yard, and to make it look good against the relatively tall house.

Then I also have the weeping larch already there, so I am not sure if I should have too many "weeping" trees there? :-)

I talked with my friends who came over to my house last night. One of them said something very true - my rock garden is very green (with the plants) and pale (with the rocks). She thought that a dark-leafed tree would look good there. So she thought that I should stick with the Gladiator crabapple, or even Thunderchild.

I think that she really had a point. If I were to choose between Gladiator and Thunderchild, I like the width of Thunderchild but Gladiator seems to have better scab resistance and more attractive foliage.... hmm.... if I limit it to these, what do you think?

Thanks again for all of your great thoughts - they are much appreciated!

prairie_northrose, I love Russian Olive too! The thing is, my neighbour has one already.... ha! Isn't it terrible that we compare ourselves to our neighbours in the 'burbs!? LOL! Also, doesn't it get to be huge? And doesn't it require quite dry soil too?

SCG, are you trying to get me in trouble again!? LOL! How are you man? I am staying away from roses for a while.... ha! That said, how would roses fit into a rock garden theme, I wonder?

Bought a Korean maple and they are not hardy to Calgary unless you have a micro climate and it is very sheltered. Mine is now a 2 foot stick and cannot be returned on warranty as it still lives! I have Amur and flame Amur maples. Both doing fine. Never tried pagoda dogwood but love them as you do so may just do so.

Hi Ostrich, maybe you have already made your selection but I will suggest an 'Evans' cherry or possibly one of the Romance series cherries. The Evans is the largest choice, and I don't think it gets bigger than 15' or so, and possibly smaller. The bark is an attractive reddish in the winter, white flowers in the spring, red fruit in the summer and you can get a nice orange colour in the fall. Plus you get to eat the cherries of course.

Yes..only if you love sour/pie cherries and don't mind suckers. A showy ornamental for your harsh zone is the prunus Maackii, very showy bronze bark. [please put in your climate zone].

Is prunus Maackii the same as Amur cherry? Those are pretty trees but I see a lot of sun scald damage on them. I think they can get pretty big too.

A Sutherland caragana could be interesting, although it's more of a shrub. You could also train some of the larger shrubs to grow in a more tree-like form, especially if you like a multiple-stemmed look. Maybe some type of viburnum would be nice.

Yes...same tree common name. The peeling of bark is normal, [like paper birch] which makes them attractive...if that's what you think is scald damage?

No, no, it wasn't peeling bark but split wood. Those little berries can be a pain too if they fall on a sidewalk. But there is nothing like them in the winter.

Wondering if you ever did pick a tree? I had to pull down my Schubert as well this summer due to black knot. Was just at golden acres looking for a replacement and she told me they are starting to see this infection in crabapple trees too! Hope she is wrong as I have 4 within breeze distance of the infected tree I had to take out. The black knot had girded the trunk! So sad...

I did plant a Gladiator Crabapple in the end, as I wanted the dark leaves and a narrower form. I hope the Golden Acres person was wrong!!! I thought this was more limited to Schubert Chokecherry and MayDay?

As did I, so I too hope that woman was wrong. My neighbor has a beautiful Mayday so I am hoping our tree came down fast enough that it did not infect hers too. I have an amur cherry, sour cherry trees, hawthorne, caragana, birch and apsens, and a Saskatoon which have bear no signs of infection and so far and there has been nothing on my 4 crabapple trees either - 3 of which are columnar like yours. I will certainly post if anything starts to grow on them this season.

mjar, I really think that the lady at Golden Acres made a mistake. Please take a look at the information on black knot from this Government of Alberta website:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/faq7622

This was last updated only in 2015 and stated clearly that the prunus family is affected by this. In fact, this was another reason I did not pick anything else from the prunus family as a replacement tree. It did not list anything from the malus family, which the crabapple trees belong to. So I would not worry too much about it...

In malus, I'd be more worried in fireblight then blacknot, in the prunus,.. maackii seems about the only one more resistant to black knot...never seen it on any.

I hope you both are right and she was tired or confused. Believe me, to save a caliber midnight shubert I read everything available online on black knot too. However, when someone in the industry tells you they are now seeing infection in malus, you tend to believe them. I have to choose a replacement tree this year. I know that the spores are likely in the soil and whatever caused the infection is likely still upwind. Maybe a buckeye or ivory silk lilac. Have to reconsider how big I want it. Maybe even a nice evergreen. Will try posting photo when sun is out for photo taking.

The lady at GA was probably referring to fireblight appearing. It's been a while since there was a large fireblight infection in Calgary - around 20 years. Could be due.

So here is a photo of space I need to replace tree in. The shubert gave excellent screening to neighbors which I still desire. Full sun all day and windy location, hence the screen I am trying to create with my Caragana wind break line. I am open to deciduous or evergreen options. Garden style is loosely Japanese inspired with severe western twist. Zone is 3a

Those caragana look nice, much better than the row of towering poplars you see people plant all the time.

I think the Ivory Silk lilac you mentioned earlier would look great there. Consider that an evergreen would take up more of your yard while providing less screening above your fence because of its shape.

I would vote for the Gladiator Crab. I have a couple in my yard for the last few years. Love them. They look pretty and their apples do not drop. Another tree that I love that is underused is a Toba Hawthorn. Blooms similar to a crabapple, but the leaves are more oak like looking.

Can't be a toba as there are junipers in yard across alleyway. I have a toba snowbird in my front yard and even it is bothered by them. Not sure. Pagoda dogwood, service berry, tolesten's weeping juniper? Have 4 crab apples already so not keen on that repeat. Love bristle cone pine but not sure that is responsible for next generation of owners. Love larch too but it is so massive.

Mountain Ash?