What shape are you after? Vase? Globular? Weeping? Columnar? Architectural branching or foliage? Evergreen? I think this is the most important question. Two options that haven’t been mentioned are katsura, especially weeping, and rosebay rhododendron.

babs, I’dlove to know some specific clematis that work with the paniculatas.

Babs, thanks for all the suggestions. Last night I actually was looking at your QuickFire with clematis as an inspiration! QuickFire is aesthetically very appealing to me, but is perhaps a little wide for the space--or rather, it would fit, but might overwhelm the scale. Do you think I could prune it to keep it a little narrower, vase-shaped, or like a multi-stemmed tree?

Kitasei, I am not set on a specific shape other than something taller than it is wide (not a giant sphere). I'm thinking 6'-15' at its mature height? I am open to ideas but am thinking something flowering and hence not evergreen.

I care somewhat about winter interest, but much more about other seasons. It feels like I spend most of the winter rushing into the house in the dark!

Anyone have experience with cornus kousa 'little poncho' or cornus florida 'red pygmy'? Both dwarf and say they get 8-10' tall. Or magnolia 'Lady woodsman'? Just looking at all my options!

You could get a panicled hydrangea pruned into tree form, or choose one of the smaller ones such as Little Lime or Little Quickfire. IME they tend to grow about as wide as tall, except for a few that get wider than tall. I don’t prune my panicled hydrangeas, so I don’t know whether they can be kept narrower without losing too many blooms. I know that they regrow height back quickly.

Kitasei, choice of the particular paniculata or other shrub is as important as the clematis choice, so be sure to choose one with rigid enough branches. I typically plant them both at the same time or sometimes the shrub first, and I typically plant the clematis just about at the expected mature drip line. I give the clematis a short trellis (3’-5’) to start growing up since lower branches don’t need to be pulled lower, and then let the clematis wander over into the shrub.

For the clematis suggestions, I try to find one that matches the vigor of the shrub and try to avoid really robust clematis like Betty Corning that would bury most shrubs. If there is a longer internode between sets of leaves so the vine isn’t as dense, that is another plus

Right now I have:

- Mikelite growing into both a Fothergilla and a wild type elderberry, Sambucus canadensis

- Guernsey Cream growing into a nonsuckering type of lilac, Syringa x prestoniae'Donald Wyman'.

- Little Bas (an all time favorite) growing into two different kinds of panicled hydrangea, Quickfire and White Diamond.

-Romantica is growing into Fothergilla

I will rummage around and see what else I have where If I can find ID.

Little Bas into Quickfire here and above

I can’t remember which this is growing into the elderberries

This is some combo of Mikelite and Romantica, which tend to mingle a bit. Sorry it and some others will be sideways.

I think that this is Giselle in the Fothergilla.